TELUS: Whose money is it?

On October 30, TELUS filed an application with the CRTC to review and vary its decision that retroactively adjusts the rates that competitors pay for a number of wholesale access services. Collectively, TELUS says that the CRTC wants it to rebate more than $20M to the competitors.

Part of TELUS’ complaint is the length of time that the refund covers – leading to refunds of 4-6 years worth of over-payments. In a reply filed last night, Yak blames TELUS itself for part of the delay, charging that

TELUS, not having an interest in seeing lower costs to competitors… contributed significantly and intentionally to the delay in establishing final rates

Yak provides at least 3 examples of TELUS’ delaying tactics.

In an interview with Network Letter, TELUS argues that it doesn’t want to be a savings bank for the competitors. TELUS’ application characterizes the refund as a “windfall to the competitor” and “gifts from the regulator”.

I am pretty sure that the competitors didn’t want TELUS to be their savings bank either. Most of them needed the money – they didn’t want to have it tied up. Ask the bankrupcy trustees.

Let’s be perfectly clear: a return of the competitors’ money isn’t a windfall. It is refunding what is rightfully theirs.

A windfall “gift from the regulator” would be the case of the CRTC telling TELUS that the rates all along were wrong, but keep the change. That would be a windfall for TELUS. That would be how you define a gift from the regulator.

I wonder if TELUS has the same view about tax refund cheques in the spring.

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CRTC, TELUS, Yak, Mark Goldberg