Cybersurf calls Bell’s non-action on speed matching “bologna”

Cybersurf Corp. and Bell Canada are arguing over the details of the speed matching decision with the two companies at odds over the services covered under the CRTC ruling. Cybersurf wants access to Bell's 7 Mbps service, while Bell says it doesn't have to provide it according to the language in the decision. The commission ruled on December 11 that ILECs were required to provide wholesale customers access to higher speed Internet services that matched the ILECs' retail offerings. The ruling ordered ILECs to file tariffs for these higher-speed services within 45 days. Bell, in a letter filed with the commission earlier this week, contests its requirement to file tariffs for all high-speed services discussed in the decision. The company contends that according to the ruling, tariff filings are only required for those services carried over copper networks. To prove its point, Bell highlights paragraph 22 of the decision in noting that the proceeding, which led to the speed matching decision, was "limited to addressing the issue of matching service speeds of the ILECs' aggregated ADSL access services, which are provided over copper facilities." Bell adds that the commission therefore limited the scope of the ruling to include only "traditional ADSL service" which runs over "pure copper facilities." Services that are provided using next generation services such as fibre to the node (FTTN) are "explicitly excluded" from the decision, according to Bell. Cybersurf responded quickly to the matter. "Bell hangs its hat for its exclusion of higher speed on its interpretation of paragraph 22 and the commission's reference to ‘copper-based' facilities, that it embellishes to ‘pure copper facilities' to exclude any ADSL service that includes what it calls Fibre to the Node (FTTN) component," states the Calgary communications company in its response to the Bell letter. "Bell's interpretation that anything with a fibre component must be excluded is also untenable," reads Cybersurf's letter. "Almost every telecommunication service has a fibre component somewhere, and if the commission were to recognize Bell's argument, it would mean Bell could grant itself forbearance from almost any service it currently provides by replacing a copper medium with a fibre one." Marcel Mercia, Cybersurf COO, was surprised by the Bell intervention. "It's complete bologna," he tells Network Letter. "The commission actually does say over copper facilities in paragraph 22 of the determination and so taking that to mean if there's any fibre component they don't have to . But clearly by the policy they do have to do it. So they're just trying to read into what they want."

Cybersurf calls Bell’s non-action on speed matching “bologna”

News | January 15, 2009

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