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CRTC Decision: Review of wholesale wireline services and associated policies

16K views 58 replies 21 participants last post by  ExDilbert 
#1 ·
Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015-326

BNN begin their report as follows:
Canada's telecommunications regulator has once again sided with small competitors of Canada's telco and cable giants, in a ruling it says will spur more competition in the market for ultra high-speed internet services.

Companies like BCE (BCE.TO -1.31%), Telus (T.TO -0.77%) and Rogers Communications (RCIb.TO -0.95%) will be required to make their new–and costly–fibre-optic networks available to small competitors like TekSavvy, Distributel, Primus and hundreds of others. Other so-called "wireline incumbents" like Manitoba Telecom and SaskTel will also be required to make their fibre-optic networks available.

The decision was announced Wednesday by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission, following its review of Canada's market for wholesale wireline services. That review included a hearing held in November last year.
CRTC wants to spur more competition in the high-speed internet market - BNN News

Looks promising, especially for those in Ontario and Quebec.
 
#2 ·
CRTC News Release: CRTC fostering competition in the broadband Internet market
Large incumbent companies will now have to make their fibre facilities available to their competitors. This measure will ensure that Canadians have more choice for high-speed Internet services and are able to fully leverage the benefits of the broadband home or business.

The large incumbent companies will continue to be required to provide access to wholesale high-speed access services throughout their region and transition this access to a disaggregated architecture. The provision of wholesale high-speed access services on a disaggregated basis will be implemented in phases across Canada, starting with Ontario and Quebec.

The CRTC’s wholesale services framework sets out the rates, terms and conditions under which telecommunications service providers are required to make parts of their respective networks available to competitors.
Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015-326

TekSavvy news release: http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/157...ision-to-raise-the-bar-for-canadian-broadband
 
#5 ·
Bell's appeal to the cabinet was denied today:
"The CRTC's decision to extend wholesale broadband regulation to fibre to the home means the CRTC has updated its regulatory approach to keep pace with changing technology and consumer demand. The decision strikes the right balance between the private sector having incentive to invest and consumers having a competitive choice.

"Therefore, the Governor in Council is denying Bell Canada's petition and letting the CRTC decision stand.
This means the incumbents will have to make their FTTH facilities available to their competitors.
 
#8 ·
I agree. Bell have a many decade history of being snotty to the CRTC and insisting that their demands are more important than anything else. They should have been broken up years ago.

On the other hand what is to stop them from just delaying FTTH in areas where there is a company that wants to piggyback...


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#13 ·
On the other hand what is to stop them from just delaying FTTH in areas where there is a company that wants to piggyback...

So, getting on towards a year since Bell's FTTH appeal was thrown out there seems to be a deathly silence in regards to either Bell or Telus opening up their FTTH services to TPIA's.

Is this simple delaying tactics?
Or are there intense negotiations happening behind the scenes that are commercially confidential?
 
#9 ·
how will this be cheaper?

Question, can someone explain to me how this decision will make it cheaper for canadians? In readers digest version please. Don't the 3-5 companies own the infrastrcuture etc? How would this make things cheaper for us?
Thanks
 
#11 ·
All the incumbents need to do to jack up wholesale rates is to increase retail prices. Published retail prices for internet and telephone have skyrocketed in recent years. Then they turn around and offer discounts to people who want them. Some deals and discounts, especially when combined with win back or retention offers, can be better than what the competition offers. It wasn't always that way but big companies are good at finding loopholes that increase their bottom line.
 
#12 ·
CRTC finds proposed wholesale high-speed access rates unreasonable
After analyzing the tariff applications, the CRTC is of the view that the rates proposed by certain of the large companies were not just and reasonable and had to be revised downwards. The CRTC is very concerned that certain large companies have not conducted their cost studies in accordance with well-established costing principles and methodologies.

In light of this finding, the CRTC is setting revised interim rates that better reflect costs that are just and reasonable.
"Competitors that provide retail Internet services to Canadians using wholesale high-speed services must have access to these services at just and reasonable prices. The fact that these large companies did not respect accepted costing principles and methodologies is very disturbing. What's even more concerning is the fact that Canadians' access to a choice of broadband Internet services would have been at stake had we not revised these rates. As always, we strive to create a dynamic competitive telecommunications market for Canadians." Jean-Pierre Blais, CRTC Chairman and CEO

See the press release for links to the interim wholesale rates for each provider as set by the CRTC. You can also find more info on the CRTC site for some of the steps that brought us here.
 
#14 ·
@Obed the negotiations are VERY intense, but they are occurring at the CRTC level. Pricing for Ontario and Quebec is still being finalized (see my previous post.)

The CRTC has started collecting info for the other provinces, due April 10.

Telecom - Commission letter addressed to various parties interested in the follow-up process to consider implementation issues of disaggregated wholesale HSA services

Follow-up to Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015-326 : 8638-C12-201509663

Contrary to the threats by the incumbents, they are continuing to rollout FTTH in Vancouver, Edmonton and Toronto. Bell just announced almost a billion dollars to do Montreal.

On a side note, the CRTC significantly reduced wholesale pricing on an interim basis and some third party providers passed the savings along to the end consumer.
 
#15 · (Edited)
#16 ·
Press Release: CRTC enables greater competition in the broadband Internet market

Telecom Order CRTC 2017-312 | CRTC

Interim rates for disaggregated wholesale high-speed access services in Ontario and Quebec

The Commission determines that disaggregated wholesale high-speed access (HSA) services should be made available, on an interim basis, by Bell Canada, Cogeco, RCCI, and Videotron to competitors in Ontario and Quebec, and sets out the interim rates for these services. The availability of disaggregated wholesale HSA services will enable competitors to become more innovative by giving them a greater degree of control over their service offerings to Canadians, including access to fibre-to-the-premises facilities...

50. The Commission directs Bell Canada, Cogeco, RCCI, and Videotron to issue revised tariff pages by 8 September 2017 reflecting the determinations set out in this order.

Notes: RCCI is Rogers.
Fibre-to-the-premises facilities include Fibre to the Home (FTTH) for single-family homes, condos, apartments, etc.
 
#17 ·
CRTC promotes competition for broadband Internet services by setting lower wholesale rates

The CRTC today set final wholesale rates that will facilitate greater competition and promote innovative broadband services and affordable prices for consumers.

The wholesale rates are paid by competitors who access the existing high-speed access networks of the large cable and telephone companies.

In 2016, the Commission set revised interim wholesale rates as those proposed by the service providers were not just and reasonable. The final rates announced today are lower than the interim rates and retroactive to the date they were set in 2016. The monthly capacity rates are 15% to 43% lower than the interim rates. As for the access rates, they are 3% to 77% lower than the interim rates.

See the news release for more info and links.
 
#18 ·
Looks like a bit of a windfall for TPIAs. The lower rates will be applied retroactively to 2016 or 2017.

It's interesting that wholesale rates for customer access are typically under $20. Don't know all the costs that go into TPIA rates but that seems to be a lot lower than what end users get charged, especially for higher speed plans. Just what is the difference in actual cost between different speed services that use identical infrastructure where a customer uses the same amount of data? Customers end up paying more for higher speed plans and are sometimes forced onto them. In my case, I had to upgrade to a higher cost, faster service to get a more reliable modem even though the retail cost of the two modems is not significant. Up-selling in the industry is rampant and often due to ISP created criteria, not customer requirements.
 
#21 ·
Customers around here notice. Bell has spent close to zero dollars on improvements in this neighborhood for the last 15+ years. At that time, improvements were made only due to road work that required replacement of existing infrastructure. As a result, almost everyone subscribes to cable internet, including directly from Rogers.

It's notable that Rogers has lowered its prices to compete with TPIAs which has made internet service much more affordable. That hasn't appeared to have affected Rogers' ability to improve service. The CRTC's new rates are based on actual costs, which includes network improvement. If TPIAs can take those cost based rates and provide internet at a reasonable markup, so can the incumbents. Gouging at the retail level is rampant in Canada and has been for decades. It's obvious in the retail prices of incumbent ISPs and their sister companies.

I find it interesting that the incumbents response is to lower infrastructure investments. I call BS. It's a ploy, a directly attack targeting the government and CRTC on their stated long term goal of rolling out high speed internet to all Canadians, especially those in rural areas. Maybe they should take a look at inflated CEO salaries, high profits and aggressive expansion tactics that have often resulted in huge losses due to overpriced acquisitions.
 
#22 ·
but nobody is interested to take notice how much those companies are spending on improvements or new infrastructure.
Many years ago, I worked in planning at Unitel and part of my job was creating cost estimates. I knew how much the equipment cost and the labour and materials to install it. Some systems I put in were around $250,000, though $50 - 60K were more typical. This was back in the early '90s.
 
#24 ·
Canadians don't need to destroy the big telcos. The telcos themselves are doing the job by overcharging and alienating customers. That's why the CRTC got involved in the first place. If the CRTC didn't exist and our only choice was Bell, we would be paying over $100/mo for a landline and $2/min for long distance to towns just 20 miles away. I remember paying $3/min for long distance to a location just 10 miles away in 1980's dollars. Some people had to pay long distance rates to houses on the other side of the road due to being on a different exchange.
 
#25 ·
Exactly, and the once that are fed up with Canadian government getting involved telling them what to do and how to run their business just move to the states.
When telcos asked CRTC if they could step up the fight against pirates so they stop losing millions of dollars every year, CRTC said no because some of the pirates might actually get upset and change their mind next election.
 
#29 ·
Yes, the coddled oligarchs of Canada are going to abandon their cushy government protected racket to go compete in the US. They would get utterly destroyed if they tried.

Give me a break. Price gouging in Canadian telecom is the status quo, and it has little to do with investment. They invest when competition forces them to, which is also when they lower prices.
 
#26 ·
Yes I guess they will abandon the obscenely profitable business they have, to go to a place they will not have a hope of making money. That makes sense they cannot just take their ball and bat and go home if they do not like the rules. Sorry about their poor hard done by luck them scumbags can rot in hell for as far as I am concerned with their thieving ways. I think most here are of the same opinion and your shilling for them will do you no good.
 
#27 ·
When telcos asked CRTC if they could step up the fight against pirates so they stop losing millions of dollars every year, CRTC said no because some of the pirates might actually get upset and change their mind next election.
That's BS too. The CRTC refused because the proposed implementation violated net neutrality rules and didn't follow Canadian legal precedent.
 
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