‘Expedited’ FTTP proceeding delayed as incumbents file last-minute extension requests; strike keeps proceeding behind closed doors

Less than two months after the launch of an "expedited" proceeding into the potential mandating of competitor access to fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP), the proceeding has been derailed, according to competitors. Because of the Public Service Alliance of Canada strike that was roiling the federal government, much of the back-and-forth around the expedited fibre proceeding over the past week has been happening out of view of the public. PSAC and Treasury Board announced a tentative settlement for most workers early Monday morning. Here's what happened, according to documents not yet posted to the CRTC's website, but obtained by the Wire Report. On April 19, BCE Inc. wrote to the CRTC to inform the regulator that it would not be able to meet the commission's Apr. 24 deadline for tariff filings and cost studies related to aggregated wholesale access to FTTP. Bell had previously requested an extension in the proceeding, which the CRTC denied. Bell said that in an effort to meet the original deadline following the rejection, Bell employees were required "to work extensive overtime hours, both during the week and, in a number of cases, throughout each weekend, including the entire Easter weekend." "Unfortunately, despite this unprecedented effort to meet the stipulated due date, and given the status of the work to date, we have determined that we will not be able to collect all the inputs we need for the studies, to validate those inputs and to complete the cost studies and the related cost support we need to file," Bell wrote. As such, the company again asked for an extension until May 10, and acknowledged it was asking for an extension just days before the deadline. "It only became clear that we cannot meet that date once we started to analyze the inputs we have," Bell continued, "as well as when recent internal targets for providing data were missed because the teams gathering the data were unable to collect and analyze that information in time." The following day on Apr. 20, the CRTC asked parties to comment on Bell's new request, and the company received support from a number of other incumbents, and opposition from competitor ISPs. Then, according to a source familiar with the proceeding, there was silence from the CRTC, all the way through Monday, Apr. 24, the original filing deadline. On Tuesday of this week, Apr. 25, the CRTC sent an email to all parties to the proceeding, in which the commission wrote "We have received a large number of procedural requests for extensions in the above-referenced proceeding." "Greater clarity with respect to procedural matters and associated expectations going forward will be provided shortly," the CRTC wrote, and reiterated that its original Apr. 24 filing deadline remained unchanged. "Parties failing to do so must explain why they did not comply with the Commission’s directives and why their late submission should be accepted," the CRTC warned in an email. On Friday, Apr. 24, the CRTC sent another letter to parties to the proceeding, directing them to send an email attaching anything filed in the proceeding after Apr. 17 to the distribution list by Tuesday morning, May 2. The letter also admonishes parties to the proceeding for missing filing deadlines, and advised that "ailure to provide the information by the requested date is a violation of the Act." "Moreover," the regulator continued, "whether a party is required to file the information or simply has the opportunity to do so, failure to provide information by the deadline can result in the Commission choosing not to accept the information on the record." – Reporting by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca and editing by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca

‘Expedited’ FTTP proceeding delayed as incumbents file last-minute extension requests; strike keeps proceeding behind closed doors

News | May 1, 2023

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‘Expedited’ FTTP proceeding delayed as incumbents file last-minute extension requests; strike keeps proceeding behind closed doors

News | May 1, 2023

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