Freedom cites ‘suspicious patterns’ in Iristel traffic pumping case

Shaw Communications Inc.’s Freedom Mobile says that its decision not to pay some traffic termination charges to Iristel Inc. is based on “suspicious patterns” indicating traffic stimulation, which include “aberrantly high traffic volumes” terminating on Iristel’s network in the 867 area code, ever since the two parties revised their interconnection agreement in 2016. Freedom said in a reply to a Part 1 filed by Iristel last month that while it expected that traffic termination payments would “likely be payable primarily to Iristel” it also “fully expected that the number of minutes per month destined for high-cost serving areas would remain at historical levels.” Instead, traffic going to phone numbers with a specific central office code (the first three digits following the area code), in Iristel’s network in the 867 area was in some cases around 50 times higher than that experienced by top three or five central office codes belonging to large carriers in the same cities, Freedom said in an intervention filed July 31. The 867 area code covers Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. “Another telling feature of the Iristel-originated NPA 867 traffic is that the average duration of such calls is more than 30 minutes per call, whereas the average call duration for calls terminating on the Iristel network other than in NPA 867 was only 3.9 minutes per call,” Freedom argued. “This fact also strongly suggests that the Iristel NPA 867 traffic has been artificially stimulated.” It’s not the first such allegation against the company. Rogers Communications Inc. filed a complaint with the CRTC last year accusing the company of deliberately driving up the volume of phone calls to the Northwest Territories in order to benefit from the area’s high traffic termination rates, which Iristel denied. The regulator is also considering an application by BCE Inc. for a new regime governing traffic pumping, which is being opposed by small internet service providers (ISPs). In its intervention, Freedom cited “Iristel’s role, as confirmed on the Commission’s public record in other proceedings currently before the Commission, in artificially stimulating this traffic.” The company added that it doesn’t aim to “evade or delay payment,” and that it has paid other traffic termination charges invoiced by Iristel, but that the two parties won’t be able to resolve their disagreement until the CRTC reaches a decision in the other two proceedings. “Freedom will abide by any final Commission determination in relation to Iristel’s traffic pumping practices and will, as appropriate, resolve its dispute of Iristel’s invoices in light of any such Commission determination,” it said. It asked the CRTC to return Iristel’s application, arguing that its request to order “Freedom pay the disputed amounts pending the Commission’s determinations of the Bell Part 1 and Rogers Part 1 is premature.” In its own intervention, Rogers argued that Iristel shouldn’t “be allowed to benefit from this activity. This would amount to unjust enrichment.” It added that should the CRTC deem traffic stimulation to be acceptable, “then the likelihood of excluding NPA 867 from unlimited long distance plans is more and more tangible (as is the case in the United Stated for Hawaii and Alaska).” — With reporting Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Charelle Evelyn at cevelyn@thewirereport.ca

Freedom cites ‘suspicious patterns’ in Iristel traffic pumping case

News | August 2, 2017

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Freedom cites ‘suspicious patterns’ in Iristel traffic pumping case

News | August 2, 2017

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