CNOC defends fibre resale proposal

The Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC) recently defended its application for a “retail internet service resale” (RISR) framework for fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP) services from incumbent claims that the application is effectively an "end-run" around existing CRTC proceedings for the creation of a disaggregated fibre regime. In a reply filed with the regulator last Thursday, CNOC rejected incumbent characterizations of the original application as a delay tactic. Contrary to BCE Inc.'s claim, CNOC argued, the organization "does not prejudge that a modified disaggregated model will not be implemented in a reasonable time frame." "Based on timelines from prior proceedings to configure disaggregated service, we can reliably predict that a modified disaggregated model will not be implemented within a reasonable horizon. Canadian consumers cannot afford to be deprived of competition for FTTP-based services for several more years," CNOC wrote in its reply. The CRTC announced the disaggregated regime in 2015; though initially supported by CNOC, the group sounded the alarm that the system had turned out to be “unworkable” in 2017, and asked the regulator to reconsider aspects of the regime. The CRTC then acknowledged that the level of disaggregation may need to be reconsidered, initiating a consultation in June and suspending its proceeding to set final rates for the regime. Responding to several incumbent claims that the implementation of a RISR framework for FTTP would hurt facilities' investment, CNOC replied that the lack of a viable disaggregated regime is in fact a greater threat to investment. "For as long as the disaggregated regime remains unworkable, there is no viable path for competitors to make economically efficient investments in the deployment of alternate transport facilities to be used in conjunction with disaggregated HSA services," CNOC wrote. "That is a fact regardless of whether the Commission decides to grant or deny the FTTP RISR Remedy." Opposition to the RISR framework, CNOC argued in its reply, is another in a series of attempts to discourage competition in the provision of high speed internet in Canada, similar to incumbent challenges to the CRTC's wholesale rates in the aggregated regime, which have been the subject of legal and regulatory skirmishes for the last 18 months. The incumbents, CNOC wrote, "simply prefer to extend the regulatory holiday they enjoy in providing FTTP-enabled services, and to continue a years-long campaign against smaller competitors."

CNOC defends fibre resale proposal

Brief | March 1, 2021

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CNOC defends fibre resale proposal

Brief | March 1, 2021

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