Small player groups like direction of CRTC under Eatrides

The new regime at the CRTC met with general approval Wednesday from industry representatives speaking for small players. The final day of the Canadian Association of Wireless Internet Service Providers (CanWISP) annual conference in Gatineau featured a panel titled Independent ISP Update. The group’s executive director Johnathan Black moderated the session and asked participants how they felt about recent changes to the commission. Geoff White executive director of the Competitive Network Operators of Canada raved about the arrival of a new chair and new bureaucrats. “One hundred per cent, 100 per cent,” he enthused. “What’s the expression ‘trust but verify’?” Jonathan Holmes, executive director of the Independent Telecommunications Providers Association, pointed to a ruling on pole access, which he categorized as a “game changing decision.” “I would concur with my associates here that the new chair and the new direction of the CRTC is a breath of fresh air,” Bob Allen executive director of the British Columbia Broadband Association said. “They’ve immediately gone out and captured some of the gorillas in the room that we’ve all had to accept.” The only person who was a little wary of the new team at the regulator was the CEO of the Canadian Communications Systems Alliance. “One thing that I would caution all of us about is it’s early days with respect to this commission,” Jay Thomson warned. “Those of us who’ve been around for a long time as commission wonks can recall back to previous commissioners, vice chairs and chairs.” He cited examples of previous commissioners who arrived all gung ho but soon found themselves boxed into an existing system. “I think it’s a yes and no answer to whether it’s a new commission,” Thomson maintained. “On the telecom side, yes in terms of the chair level; broadcasting, not so much.” Asked to list challenges facing the industry, most of the panelists said consolidation was a problem. Black said many small ISPs in his region had been bought up by Telus Corp. The BCBA lost 12 to 15 members through such purchases. “The mood is one of major anxiety but cautious optimism,” CNOC’s White noted, highlighting several recent high-profile takeovers in the sector. “This is a make or break year I would suggest when it comes to home internet competition.” White heralded the CRTC’s recent decision to deny the incumbents a delay in proceedings on fibre-to-the-premise and high-speed access. It happened so fast, CNOC did not have time to file its own intervention. Regulatory burden is a hurdle for his members, Holmes stated. “As former monopoly telephone companies we’re still subject to things like a price cap regime and rate regulation and tariffs and everything that goes with that,” he asserted. “We still operate under an obligation to serve and stand ready for that last customer down that last dirt road in our operating territory.” Holmes also wondered if the commission’s move to mobile virtual network operators would benefit his members. Only the CCSA’s Thomson had good news about membership numbers. His organization opened up to service-based providers and saw membership increase. That led to another challenge. “We now have such a diverse cross section of members it’s become much harder now for us as an organization to actually identify, beyond on the video side, which is obviously common for everybody, what are the common issues,” he stated. Black asked the panel if matters would move faster if the CRTC had a telecom ombudsman who could act for business in the same manner that the Commission of Complaints of Telecom-television Services (CCTS) handles consumer affairs. None of the speakers was in favour of such a proposal. –Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca and editing by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca.

Small player groups like direction of CRTC under Eatrides

Broadcast | March 30, 2023

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Small player groups like direction of CRTC under Eatrides

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