Last week’s CRTC Decision on the Deferral accounts has 95% of the money going to fund expanded broadband access in rural and remote territory. There is an interesting twist that has gone without notice by the majority of analysts. Paragraph 194 says
As indicated above, the Commission considers that any backbone facilities constructed with funds from the deferral accounts should be made available to alternative broadband service providers on the same terms as the ILECs. The Commission considers that allowing all providers to use backbone facilities on the same terms will encourage competition while also providing direct benefits to consumers. The Commission further considers that, since the ILECs would be compensated from the deferral accounts for the uneconomic portion of these initiatives, all service providers should have access to these backbone facilities at a minimal rate. The Commission considers that the maintenance rate applicable to dark fibre backbone facilities could be a reasonable proxy rate in these circumstances. This rate will be established when the Commission approves each ILEC’s broadband expansion proposal. [emphasis added]
What does this all mean? It looks like a return to the old days of Construction Program Reviews when the ILECs file their plans this summer. For each of the projects, it looks like the ILECs will need to identify what portion of the draw from the deferral account is attributable to backbone facilities (versus access facilities). If deferral account money is going to subsidize the construction of the backbone, then competitors stand to get access at reduced (or free) rates. That kind of stimulation of competition will be interesting to manage.
Presumably, we will see tables that identify reduced prices for competitors on a route-by-route basis. What rules will apply for this access? If backbone is free to competitors for a given community, will a user sharing group get together in order to qualify a service provider and thereby get free service? Will the route get forborne if someone else builds facilities (such as the electric utilities)?