MONTREAL — Cogeco Connexion, Videotron and Quebec municipal ISP Maskicom are banding together to demand that Bell implement “real solutions” to resolve major problems with access to its telephone poles, saying previously announced measures fall short.
“Bell’s anti-competitive and unfair practices are significantly limiting the ability of ISPs to deliver high-speed Internet expansion projects to rural communities in Québec,” says a press release jointly issued today by the three Quebec ISPs.
“Cogeco Connexion, Maskicom and Videotron do not believe the ‘seven regulatory easements’ announced by Bell on October 30 will solve the current problems in any way, as none of them will actually speed up the roll-out of high-speed Internet outside the major urban centres. Of nearly 300 Cogeco, Maskicom and Videotron projects currently awaiting permissions from Bell, only 13% could go ahead with the so-called easements,” continues the release.
The companies note that the current public health crisis has highlighted the important role played by ISPs at a time when the Internet is essential to economic recovery. Saying that access to Bell’s poles is the “main stumbling block” to connecting Quebec households to high-speed Internet, the companies question the new measures Bell said it was introducing to simplify the process for accessing its poles.
“It is the unanimous opinion of Cogeco Connexion, Maskicom and Videotron engineers and technical experts that five of the seven proposed regulatory easements were already in place or partially in place well before the announcement, and the other two will do little to reduce the significant delays currently faced by Bell’s competitors in accessing Bell’s structures to deploy their broadband networks,” reads the companies’ release.
“This is another operation orchestrated by Bell for the sole purpose of convincing Quebecers that it is finally prepared to change its ways,” says Jean-François Pruneau, president and CEO of Videotron, in the release. “Nothing could be further from the truth. On the ground, our people have been coming up against the same unjustified delays for months, despite the urgency of connecting rural areas. It hardly needs to be said that the pandemic has made high-speed Internet access essential to the social and economic well-being of smaller communities. It is high time Bell stopped pretending the matter is settled and offered genuine solutions.”
Cogeco Connexion’s president Frédéric Perron also voiced his frustration in the press release.
“We have been very patient and have tried many times and in many ways to proactively collaborate and help find solutions to the problems with access to Bell’s telephone poles, such as rolling out our networks and upgrading the structures at a later date, when public safety is not at risk, but our efforts have been in vain,” says Perron. “We’re disappointed by Bell’s behavior. It is time to resolve this situation, which is hindering regional economic development. At the end of the day, it is consumers in unserved and underserved communities who must pay the price for the lack of true cooperation from Bell.”
“Since work began in July 2019 and we filed our requests for permission to use Bell’s poles, we have faced persistent foot-dragging by Bell,” adds Robert Lalonde, president of Maskicom. “The Legault government set up a co-ordinating committee including Bell and Hydro-Québec to reduce the waiting time for permission. In view of the good results we have achieved with Hydro-Québec through this committee, the easement announced by Bell cannot be considered a major victory that will facilitate the construction of fibre-optic networks by the subsidized companies. We’re hoping for real cooperation from Bell at the coordinating committee and support for the government’s strategic priority of connecting citizens to the Internet, given the current situation in Québec.”
Maskicom is a non-profit organization created by 12 municipalities in the Maskinongé regional county municipality to provide Internet service to local residents. Its fibre-optic network is being built with $10.4 million in subsidies from the federal and provincial governments ($5.2 million from each).
As for Bell, the company’s chief regulatory officer Rob Malcolmson acknowledged during last week’s Canadian Telecom Summit there are some issues – and that Bell is working hard to smooth its processes. “You can rest assured that we’re aware of the issue,” he said, “(b)ut the issue of pole access is not is not simple. You have joint use poles in many cases, you have hydro safety considerations and obviously, that requires the proper procedures, permits, safety code requirements, you have a need for make-ready work in order to make sure the poles can accommodate the demand upon them. You have finite space, and taken all together, it’s a resource intensive project.”
He also noted the company is concentrating on addressing issues in Quebec, where it has had many complaints about access, and is working with the provincial government and Hydro Quebec to reduce roadblocks.
