GATINEAU – Canada’s cable companies say now is the time to wrest control of the 911 emergency system away from the incumbent telcos and hand it over to a new consortium charged with implementing next-generation emergency services.
Just as the telecom market has evolved from a monopoly environment to one based on competitive dynamics, so too should NG911.
While the cable operators believe the telcos have done a good job of running the existing 911 system over the last four decades, the CRTC shouldn’t simply renew their mandate to oversee a new NG911 system. As Shaw Communications noted in its opening remarks to the CRTC hearing into next generation 911 services on Monday, the legacy 911 system is now obsolete and it hasn’t kept pace with changes in communications. Rather, a NG911 administrator should be created to oversee budgeting, selection and implementation of the network.
This administrator would “oversee and engage a national Emergency Services IP network (or ESInet) operator,” said Damian Poltz, VP of technology strategy and networks at Shaw. He added this would create efficiencies.
“In particular, designating a national administrator to oversee this complex process will promote the effectiveness, efficiency and transparency of the system, and enable 911 services in Canada to keep pace with a rapidly changing global digital ecosystem,” he added.
Rogers Communications and Vidéotron parent Quebecor Media agreed it’s time to transition away from a telco-controlled emergency system, and that a single NG911 operator using a centralized architecture is the best approach. The Quebec-based communications provider is convinced that an RFP led by an independent consortium is an efficient and fair way of choosing a NG911 provider.
Quebecor argued that the telecommunications industry is competitive at nearly all levels and that an RFP in this type of environment is more likely to produce a solution that is the least costly and most effective, said Dennis Beland, VP of telecommunications regulations, under questioning.
The company added that the Commission should only renew the incumbent telcos’ mandate to operate the NG911 network when it’s convinced that the ILECs can deliver better cost advantages and efficiencies than would otherwise arise from a competitive RFP process.
The cablecos believe that current 911 rates don’t reflect today’s reality because the ILEC cost studies are well out of date, some being 18 years old. Even if the Commission ordered new assessments of costs, this wouldn’t result the most cost-effective and efficient system.
“The overall costs of the architecture to cover the country could be less if it was provided by a single integrated operator,” – David Watt, Rogers Communications
“It could be that you could do a perfectly excellent cost study of say four providers that would absolutely accurately capture the cost of those providers and that would be good. But we don’t think that’s the optimal solution because we think the overall costs of the architecture to cover the country could be less if it was provided by a single integrated operator,” said David Watt, senior VP of regulatory and chief privacy officer at Rogers.
During questions, the Commission panel wondered how NG911 would be funded. For Rogers, the starting point would remain telephone numbers, landline or wireless, and the current regime could apply. Even when texting 911 operators becomes commonplace, it would still be based on telephone numbers. The difficulty comes when devices which don’t have telephone numbers can contact 911 call centres, but a levy would still have to apply based on some sort of identifier for each device.
To prevent Canadians from paying more than once, Watt suggested the rates paid for voice would decrease as text increases. The sum of the fees from each device would essentially add up to what’s being paid voice 911 today, he explained.
Pressed for information on the costs to deploy NG911, the cable companies didn’t bite. Rogers couldn’t put a number of it, only saying that the costs of networks have been declining and new IP-based networks will be more efficient. The company added there could be significant costs for the public safety answering points (PSAPs).
The hearing continues Thursday with representatives from the deaf, hard of hearing the blind communities as well as Freedom Mobile and Bell Canada appearing.
