CNOC says the company didn’t remove older modems from compatibility list
By Ahmad Hathout
GATINEAU – Rogers Communications is suggesting an application to allow third party internet access (TPIA) providers who lease access to its networks to sign-up new subscribers on legacy DOCSIS 3.0 modems past June this year would delay its upgrade plans and cost it millions of dollars.
The cable giant said it gave members of the Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC) a full year to adopt the newer DOCSIS 3.1 modems, which it said will allow it to introduce greater network capacity, faster upload and download speeds, and deliver greater spectrum efficiency.
CNOC first filed a Part 1 application with the regulator in February asking it to delay by two years a forced transition to the newer modems because of its existing inventory of mid-lifespan older modems and it says newer models are in short supply. CNOC is asking its members be able to use the legacy modems for download speeds up to 300 Mbps, which are current standard speeds, while Rogers is pushing for the newer modems to use all speeds.
That short supply, CNOC says, is due to a semiconductor shortage that affects several kinds of technologies in the market, including the new modems.
CNOC was backed by Distributel, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, and TekSavvy in its application. The latter argued, however, that instead of a two-year delay, the CRTC would allow the use of legacy modems until it deems the market sufficiently supplied with the newer boxes.
CNOC says the decision to force it to move to the new modems by June would have a significant impact on its members’ financial health.
Backed by its cable peers Shaw, Videotron and Eastlink, Rogers said if CNOC is granted its relief, the company would have to revise its entire network plans in order to accommodate legacy modems, costing it “millions of dollars due to the reduced capacity and spectral efficiency of our network.
“DOCSIS 3.1 most important features can only be deployed with newer and compatible equipment, including any customer premise equipment (“CPE”) attached to the network (in this case, modems owned by resellers),” Rogers claims in its submission.
It is alleging CNOC’s application is “nothing more than an attempt to provide themselves with a veto over necessary network upgrades because they are inconvenient to them.
“CNOC is again requesting the Commission intercede with what is clearly poor business planning and an attempt to avoid sourcing the next generation of modems,” Rogers added in its submission.
But CNOC – which said it also sees the benefit in the newer technologies – said it tried to negotiate with the cable giant up to December 2020, when it alleges Rogers “preferred a Commission determination in this matter.”
“It is not reasonable to have expected CNOC members to have stockpiled DOCSIS 3.1 modems before the shortage became apparent.”
CNOC added that there was no way it could’ve predicted that a global semiconductor supply shortage would prevent it from instituting Rogers’ “aggressive” move to phase-out older modems.
“It is not reasonable to have expected CNOC members to have stockpiled DOCSIS 3.1 modems before the shortage became apparent,” the industry organization said in a reply submission.
The organization that represents smaller TPIA companies also said Rogers did not abide by its third-party regulatory obligations with respect to changes to acceptable modems. Citing the tariff rules, CNOC said Rogers needed to remove the older modems from the list completely for a change to register with the regulator; instead, it grandfathered the DOCSIS 3.0 modems, the organization claims.
“Rogers has no basis for claiming that CNOC’s proposed relief would be responsible for economic impacts in the amount of $70 million,” it said. “Rogers chose to conduct its network planning in ignorance of the requirements of the Tariff. It is thus for Rogers to bear any costs created by its own disregard of regulatory requirements.”
That $70 million, Rogers says, would go toward, among other things, additional node installation in the event it cannot fully realize its upgrade due to a decision in favour of CNOC.
CNOC also cited a decision the regulator made recently in a similar case involving Eastlink and its wholesale customers’ use of Technicolor modems.
