By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – On June 16th,, Videotron requested the CRTC intervene in a disagreement on access to support structures claiming Bell was using anti-competitive tactics to prevent Videotron from serving its customers.
In Videotron’s territory (Québec and part of Eastern Ontario), the vast majority of support structures are owned by Bell, according to Videotron’s application, and access to those structures are essential for the deployment of high-speed Internet access and to enjoy competition in the marketplace. In that regard, the CRTC has rules in place to deter multiplication of support structures and has tariffs in place to ensure smooth deployment of infrastructure.
As an example, on February 15, 2017, Videotron requested access to Bell structures, to upgrade its network in an area of Montreal. Bell turned down the request, claiming there was a problem with a pole. According to Videotron, it was Bell’s responsibility to fix tit and it still has not done so after all this time, despite many requests by Videotron.
In another example, in October 2019, Videotron asked Bell to install another support strand on one of its poles. Bell said no, because it overburdened the pole and it would require work to consolidate the structure. Bell required Videotron to pay for the work, which they did, even though they were convinced that it wasn’t required.
So, Videotron is requesting the CRTC this time issue an order forcing Bell to repair, within five days, anomalies on its network as mentioned earlier and then give access to its support structure.
The vehicle chosen by Videotron this time to try to get the CRTC to resolve this issue is a formal complaint which could take quite a while to get to a decision, since numerous interventions may well be filed, complicating a process that is not really simple. Requests for information, sent by the CRTC staff to get to understand the issue, which would again delay the process.
Some form of mediation, since the CRTC offers staff mediation services for that purpose could have been another way to go.
“Since we believe that this is a systemic behaviour from Bell and that it needs to be corrected, we did not use assisted mediation,” wrote a Videotron spokesperson in an email, when we asked about that.
Interventions are to be filed by July 22 and Videotron’s reply is due 10 days later.
