CRTC launches consult on cabinet order to revisit interim wholesale decision

The CRTC is asking if it is in the public interest to change its interim decision on the wholesale fibre access regime – after being ordered to do so by Canada’s cabinet. The commission issued a call for comments on the matter Thursday afternoon. On the recommendation of Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne (Saint-Maurice–Champlain, Que.), cabinet directed the CRTC to reconsider part of an interim decision from November 2023 requiring large incumbents BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. to provide aggregated wholesale access to their fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) networks in Ontario and Quebec. Specifically, the government told the CRTC to revisit whether it should block Bell, Telus, and Rogers Communications Inc. – Canada’s three largest internet service providers (ISPs) – from accessing fibre networks on a wholesale basis in the two provinces. At the time of the interim decision, no restrictions were placed on any of the companies from using the regime to access each other’s networks. While cabinet recently ordered the CRTC to revisit that 2023 interim decision, there have already been further developments at the regulator on the matter. The November 2023 decision was temporary, put in place until the CRTC issued a final decision this August further expanding the wholesale mandate. Notably, that decision saw Bell, Telus, and Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. restricted from accessing each other’s networks within their traditional serving territories. READ MORE: - SaskTel seeks judicial review, appeal of CRTC wholesale fibre decision “Although the order refers to the final decision (which has now replaced the temporary decision), it does not order its reconsideration,” noted the CRTC. “However, following issuance of the order, several parties have asked the commission to review and vary different aspects of the final decision, including the issue of whether the three largest ISPs should be able to use the aggregated FTTP services provided by the final decision.” Rogers, Cogeco Inc., Bragg Communications Inc. (Eastlink), and the Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC) are pushing the CRTC to block the Big Three from using the wholesale regime to resell over each other’s networks. “The public proceedings regarding these requests to vary the final decision are already underway,” the CRTC explained. Although Teksavvy Solutions Inc. did not submit its own application to the CRTC on blocking the Big Three, vice president of insight and engagement Peter Nowak expressed his support for the cabinet order in a post on LinkedIn. “While it outwardly seems that having the most possible number of competitors using networks and therefore offering services to consumers would be a good thing, the reality is this was an anti-competitive mistake in the wholesale framework. As the government rightly acknowledged, having large companies like Telus using a wholesale system designed to enable smaller providers to expand and grow would allow them to crowd out and kill off those competitors, ultimately resulting in only the big guys remaining,” Nowak argued. “It's good to see that policy makers are recognizing and addressing these problems, because they're not immediately obvious. Let's hope we see more of this,” Nowak concluded. In a Nov. 15 statement to The Wire Report, a spokesperson from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) said the Governor in Council had yet to receive any petitions on the October 2024 decision by the CRTC setting interim rates. The spokesperson also noted that parties had until Nov. 12 to file petitions on the Aug. 13 decision expanding mandated wholesale access throughout Canada. They said ISED received a joint submission it was reviewing but did not specify who filed that submission. “Any valid petition received will be published on ISED’s website in due course, along with a notice in the Canada Gazette inviting public comment,” the spokesperson said. “The process for any petition regarding the August decision is for to publish a notice in the Canada Gazette inviting public comment. The Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry must also give provinces and territories an opportunity to comment prior to making a recommendation to the Governor in Council. This is the standard process for any petition under the Telecommunications Act and procedurally is separate from processes before the ,” they said. phalentm@thewirereport.ca With a file from Hannah Daley

CRTC launches consult on cabinet order to revisit interim wholesale decision

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By Phalen Tynes-MacDonald
|November 21, 2024

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CRTC launches consult on cabinet order to revisit interim wholesale decision

Regulatory | By Phalen Tynes-MacDonald |November 21, 2024

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