By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The CRTC has ordered Tuesday several changes be made to the proposed tariff pages of the national players and has set a timeline for the implementation of the mandated mobile virtual network operator regime.
MVNO-eligible regional providers with spectrum and facilities were provided the opportunity to comment on the proposed tariffs of Rogers, Bell, Telus and SaskTel, which include the terms by which they would provide access to their wireless networks.
On Tuesday, the CRTC kept some of those terms the same but is forcing the large players to modify their proposals in response to regional carrier complaints. The final tariffs are due May 19. The MVNO service must be ready no later than June 8 and agreements between large players and regional providers must be in place by August 7.
The commission addressed issues ranging from how the incumbents deal with network borders and applicable network generations, device restrictions and seamless hand-off.
The CRTC said the large players must not restrict MVNO access to just phone and tablets but wearable devices so as not to discourage consumers from using the service; must encompass the range of network generations, from 3G to 5G; cannot restrict MVNOs to “contiguous” borders where the areas of eligibility are not connected; and must not have a requirement for carriers to be members of the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), which brings together mobile network operators from around the world to “advance innovation;”
On seamless hand-off, the regulator said the need to ensure that customers don’t have service disconnected when switching between networks should be built into the system, not be contemplated as an add-on. There would be an option for the customer to opt-out of seamless hand-off, the regulator said.
That said, the CRTC will allow for costs related to seamless hand-off to be factored into commercial MVNO access negotiations, which will be backed by an opportunity for arbitration at the CRTC if those talks fail.
In March, the regulator launched a proceeding on whether it should expand the MVNO regime to include large business customers and internet of things segments.
The regulator had released in October its guidelines for terms and conditions for the MVNO regime, which was mandated in an April 2021 decision. The terms stipulated that eligible MVNO operators must already be actively offering services to retail customers.
Since the release of the terms and conditions, the regulator has asked the parties involved to update it on how negotiations are going. Pierre Karl Peladeau, CEO of Videotron parent Quebecor, said earlier this year that negotiations have been “difficult.”
The CRTC has already denied a request from Videotron for an arbitration hearing with Bell.
