CRTC tweaks Quality of Service regime rules

The CRTC has approved a number of adjustments to the upcoming Quality of Service (QoS) regime that will govern the way incumbent telecom companies track and report how well they provide service to their wholesale-based high speed access (HSA) customers. In a Thursday decision, the regulator approved several rules in the QoS regime recommended by the CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee (CISC) Business Process Working Group (BPWG), primarily related to the timelines allowed for repairs and service upgrades performed for wholesale customers by incumbents. The regulator emphasized in the decision that incumbents must now keep more detailed records on installations that are affected by events beyond the control of the incumbent that does the installation, known as force majeure. "The commission considers that the revised guidelines are acceptable since the reporting format will include additional details about events claimed as force majeure, which will allow for unadjusted results to be calculated, as required," the CRTC wrote. The CRTC added that "these additional details, and the fact that HSA service providers will maintain supporting records for a year, will ensure that the data is tracked in a verifiable manner." The regulator will now also require incumbents to keep records on the length of time between the date an appointment is confirmed and the installation is completed, rather than just when the installation is scheduled. The BPWG's recommendations had previously only suggested using the scheduling of the installation for a wholesale HSA customer as the end interval. The commission has also accepted recommendations from the BPWG that the data concerning which wholesale HSA customers will be kept confidential when published on the commissions website. "Wholesale HSA customers would be able to compare their results both to results of other wholesale HSA customers that obtain services from the same wholesale HSA service provider, and to results across wholesale HSA service providers if customers also purchase services from an additional provider," while maintaining the confidentiality of the customer. In Dec. 2020, the CRTC announced it was giving incumbents a year to implement the QoS regime. Starting in 2022, incumbents must track data on a month-by-month basis for installations and repairs, and report the data every quarter. When it comes to new installations, incumbent providers must meet a standard of a 90 per cent completion rate for a given month, based on a due date given to the wholesale provider by the competitor when the latter submits an order for service. The CRTC has also applied the same 90 per cent standard for repair appointments. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Competitive Network Operators of Canada and TekSavvy Solutions Inc. sent a letter to the CRTC alleging that incumbents were changing or delaying their installation regimes for wholesale customers. “We are concerned,” the April letter read, “that in the rush to develop new processes to mitigate risk related to COVID-19, wholesale HSA service providers are unilaterally changing regulated processes or processes that are necessary to deliver regulated services.” — Reporting by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca and editing by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca.

CRTC tweaks Quality of Service regime rules

News | October 15, 2021

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CRTC tweaks Quality of Service regime rules

News | October 15, 2021

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