National Capital FreeNet asks gov. to reverse CRTC wholesale rates decision

An Ottawa-area internet service provider has added its voice to those asking the government to overturn the CRTC's decision to revert rates for wholesale-based internet service providers (ISPs) to 2016 interim levels. In a petition to the Governor in Council filed Wednesday, National Capital FreeNet Inc. argues the decision "does not promote competition, affordability, or consumer interests, as ordered in the 2019 Policy Direction, but instead actively inhibits these goals, while disproportionately affecting those living on low incomes." The petition calls on the Government to reinstate an August 2019 decision which dramatically lowered the rates at which incumbents are allowed to charge wholesale-based ISPs for mandated access to incumbent networks. National Capital FreeNet also blasts the amount of time it took the regulator to conduct the proceeding, beginning with the establishment of interim rates in 2016 and concluding with essentially the same interim rates this year. "This time lag and the ensuing rates reversal made it significantly harder for NCF to expand digital equity programs, plan operations and fundamentally threatens our sustainability. We therefore request that this petition be addressed on an expedited basis," the company wrote. The not-for-profit company has some 5,000 subscribers in the national capital region, it said. "This decision feels like the sustainability and community-minded investments of a not-for-profit, as well as the lower prices brought about by increased competition, have been sacrificed to ensure the continued dominance and profits of the incumbents," the company wrote in the petition. “We believe this trade-off does a disservice to all Canadians, and disproportionately hurts those living on low incomes.” This petition comes a day after TekSavvy Solutions Inc. notified some internet customers it is hiking fees by a few dollars a month due to the CRTC's decision. TekSavvy filed a petition of its own in May and later asked the court for permission to appeal the regulator's wholesale rates decision, while the Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC) also filed a petition to the government asking it to overturn the CRTC's reversal.

National Capital FreeNet asks gov. to reverse CRTC wholesale rates decision

Brief | August 25, 2021

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National Capital FreeNet asks gov. to reverse CRTC wholesale rates decision

Brief | August 25, 2021

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