CRTC issues confusing decision on wholesale services

Less than three months into a massive and comprehensive review of the wholesale services regime, the CRTC has ordered the ILECs to provide access to competitors for some non-essential services on a mandatory basis. Bell Canada, Bell Aliant Regional Communications, Telus Corp. and SaskTel have all asked the commission to stay implementation of these provisions set out in a series of decisions issued on January 25.As of the date of publishing, Bell Canada is the only incumbent telephone company to launch an appeal – Telus and SaskTel say they will but have to date submitted stay applications. Bell argues in its petition that it would be better to set these decisions aside until the commission completes its review of the wholesale services regime (Telecom Public Notice 2006-14). The country’s largest telco is appealing Telecom Orders 2007-20, 2007-21 and 2007-22. In Order 2007-20, the CRTC ordered the ILECs to provide new wholesale Ethernet services to competitors "on a mandatory basis" despite the commission’s own finding that virtually all of these services are non-essential. The telecom regulator determined in 2007-21 and 2007-22 that the ILECs must make certain wholesale Internet access services available to competitors as well. Bell argues in its Part VII application that these decisions run counter to the policy direction adopted last December. "The policy direction calls for the phasing out, not the introduction, of ‘non-essential’ wholesale services," reads Bell Canada’s Part VII. "In the orders, the CRTC rejected calls from competitors that Ethernet and wholesale digital subscriber line (DSL) services be found to be essential (or even treated as essential services)." Telus writes in its stay application that it will be unable to comply with the provisions set out in Order 2007-20 because it doesn’t offer some of the services in question. "For pure practical reasons, the company is not in a position, at this time, to implement many of the requirements of the order," states Telus. The western Canadian incumbent telephone company argues that, aside from the practical reasons for not implementing the orders, the commission doesn’t have the legal authority to issue this type of order. "More specifically, the commission has, in effect, ordered Telus to design and build new network services and to make such new services available to other carriers," states Telus, noting that the order lacks foundation in the Telecommunications Act. Telus also notes that the policy direction, once adopted, applied to matters pending before the CRTC. "Therefore, the commission is required to implement the policy direction in regard to such wholesale services," the company writes. Following in lock-step with its ILEC counterparts, SaskTel says in its stay application that it won’t be implementing the CRTC’s directives until the commission deals with the review and variance applications already filed and forthcoming of these orders. The provincial incumbent telephone company notes that the orders seem to lack logic. "SaskTel submits that the directives in these orders require SaskTel to develop services and service options specifically for use by other carriers even though neither these services nor service options are used by SaskTel to provide retail services in direct competition with these carriers," writes the ILEC. Competitors and the CRTC have yet to respond to the applications and Network Letter will have follow up articles on this matter.

CRTC issues confusing decision on wholesale services

News | March 5, 2007

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