OTTAWA — The Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC) on Friday submitted a Part 1 application to the CRTC asking for “an expedited and temporary resale remedy for competitive access to incumbent fibre-to-the-premises facilities.”
CNOC says it’s making the application because it has been more than five years since the Commission’s last wholesale wireline review resulted in its CRTC 2015-326 decision in July 2015 that “promised service-based competition over Incumbent FTTP access facilities,” CNOC says — a promise it notes has yet to be fulfilled.
“Without a viable wholesale FTTP option, competition in the provision of retail broadband services, which is already being eroded, will continue to deteriorate. Incumbents have been enriched by an extended regulatory holiday that has allowed them to exercise unfettered market power over retail FTTP-based Internet services,” reads CNOC’s application, which was filed on January 8 but has not been posted on the Commission’s website as of Monday afternoon.
To facilitate temporary wholesale access, CNOC is asking the Commission to approve a remedy it has used before: retail Internet service resale (RISR).
“As informed by the Commission’s numerous prior applications of RISR, CNOC’s proposed ‘FTTP RISR Remedy’ would require an incumbent to make its retail Internet access services provided over FTTP access facilities available for resale at a 25% discount from the lowest non-zero retail rate charged to an Incumbent customer in the applicable serving area during any one-month period including any discounts or credits,” says CNOC’s application.
CNOC notes its application should not be interpreted as an endorsement of resale or retail-minus rate setting as a general practice. “As always, the preferred approach involves interconnection-based wholesale access services with just and reasonable rates based on Phase II costs plus a reasonable mark-up,” CNOC says.
In its application, CNOC makes several requests regarding how the temporary resale remedy is to be applied.
“First, FTTP RISR Remedy serving areas must be the same as the serving areas for incumbents’ aggregated wholesale HSA services, and rollout should occur simultaneously in all serving areas. This requirement avoids any prolongation of Incumbent head-starts that would otherwise occur.
“Second, competitors must not be subject to any limitations on their intended use of resold Internet services over FTTP (e.g., prohibitions on use for telephony or video) that are not also present in the wholesale aggregated HSA tariffs of the Incumbents. This requirement prevents arbitrary restraints on the use of resold Internet services for the provision of a wide range of services to Canadians that require broadband connectivity.
“Third, the FTTP RISR Remedy must continue until the Commission makes final determinations in all of the outstanding HSA proceedings. Until then, the wholesale wireline framework will remain mired in a high level of regulatory uncertainty. The FTTP RISR Remedy will provide much needed support during this period,” CNOC says.
CNOC notes outstanding HSA (high-speed access) proceedings include the one initiated by Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2020-187 (the disaggregated wholesale HSA proceeding), subsequent tariff proceedings, and other proceedings related to the wholesale HSA framework up to and including the Commission’s upcoming wholesale wireline services review.
“Altogether, the FTTP RISR Remedy consists of a highly effective temporary solution to the absence of a viable wholesale FTTP option. The regime can be implemented almost immediately with minimal regulatory lag. If adopted, the remedy would end the Incumbents’ regulatory holiday and create opportunities for entry in market segments that have been starved of competition for the better part of a decade. This outcome will significantly further the telecommunications policy objectives and the Policy Directions,” says CNOC’s application.
