CRTC orders Videotron to pay Bell 911 service fees despite protest over duplicative costs

The CRTC denied Quebecor Inc.’s request for relief regarding fees for enhanced 911 (E911) and next-generation 911 services (NG911) and its request that the commission direct incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) to charge new fees according to a TSPs actual usage of the different types of 911 networks; refund TSPs for NG911 fees collected since March 2022; and charge the new fees once the migration from the E911 to NG911 networks has begun. “Given that both the E911 and NG911 networks will be in operation at the same time, ILECs will continue to incur many of the costs associated with operating both types of networks during the transition period, regardless of the number of subscribers using the E9-1-1 networks at any given time,” the CRTC wrote in its Monday decision. The CRTC also denied an application by BCE Inc. to impose an administrative monetary penalty (AMP) on Videotron for failing to pay the fees. The commission did note that it would open an AMP proceeding if Quebecor’s Videotron does not “promptly pay all unpaid and future fees for 911 services provided to them by their 911 network providers.” The dispute between both parties began in a Part 1 application filed in November. Bell said that the Quebec telecom refused to cough up money for E911 and NG911, even though the CRTC has mandated such fees until March 2025. Videotron objects to paying for both services at the same time. Quebecor, in turn, filed a Part 1 in December. The company said that Bell’s fee model is completely outdated and “does not prevent it from pocketing tens of millions of dollars per year.” In 2017, the CRTC directed the telecoms to ready their networks to fully support sending emergency information via text, photo or video messages by the end of 2020. (The NG911 implementation deadline was later pushed to March 2022 due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.) In its 2017 decision, the commission kept the ILECs (Bell, Telus Corp., and Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp.) as the NG911 network providers responsible for building, operating, and maintaining the networks. The commission determined that the existing tariffs would continue to apply during the transition period to ensure a smooth transition and to permit the recovery of the costs related to maintaining existing services and deploying new ones. Basic 911 and E911 networks are supposed to be maintained in parallel with the NG911 networks for a three-year period starting from the establishment of the NG911 networks. After the transition period, set for March 2025, the legacy networks will be decommissioned. “If TSPs disagreed with the not to re-examine costs related to 911 service during the transition period, including E911 costs, they had the opportunity to challenge that determination before the start of the transition,” the commission wrote in its decision. The CRTC said initiating a new cost study would take away resources and “take away from the strategic objectives of ensuring an effective and timely transition to NG911 service and increasing the safety of Canadians by giving them the best access to emergency services through world-class telecommunications networks.” The commission also found that Quebecor’s pay-per-use model would drive up rates for TSPs still on the E911 network as the demand decreases. NG911 network costs would also be high and only begin to decrease as more TSPs transition. “This may, in turn, act as a disincentive to complete the NG9-1-1 onboarding process should TSPs attempt to avoid or delay paying fees for NG911 service,” the commission wrote. “Such outcomes would be contrary to the commission’s objective of maintaining cost-effective 911 services and would result in higher costs for many Canadians.” – Reporting by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca and editing by Phalen Tynes-MacDonald at pcreed@thewirereport.ca.

CRTC orders Videotron to pay Bell 911 service fees despite protest over duplicative costs

News | September 11, 2023

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CRTC orders Videotron to pay Bell 911 service fees despite protest over duplicative costs

News | September 11, 2023

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