In the form of a regulatory application, Public Works has fired the latest salvo in the battle between Bell and TELUS over the network for Canada’s Department of National Defense (DND).
The Globe and Mail has a write-up on the case, which is apparently one of a number of customer network for which Bell is less than sympathetic to the challenges faced by its competitors in transitioning circuits.
Recall that back in September, I wrote about a TELUS application in front of the CRTC. TELUS sought a ruling from the Commission on two separate issues. On September 22, the CRTC agreed with TELUS that there was no obligation for the customer to have to enter into a renewal of the old deal with Bell.
But the Commission declined to rule on the second request, a declaration that
Bell Canada is not entitled to require the customer to agree to a minimum contract period or minimum revenue guarantee as part of the terms upon which Bell Canada will continue to provide such services/circuits as required by the customer after that date to complete the transition
The CRTC said that it did not have sufficient information to consider all of the relevant circumstances.
Now, Public Works has filed an application that provides some of the additional context.
The application confirms suspicions that the customer in question is DND. The root of the dispute appears to be that TELUS has been unable to migrate the network as aggressively as it planned. The application asks the CRTC for a determination under Section 27 of the Telecom Act, the section that refers to just and reasonable rates and discriminatory practices.
The rates for most of these services are forborne, so it is even more of a challenge to see how the CRTC will wade in on the issue of the rates themselves.
In any case, negotiating through the regulator can’t be good for any of the parties: Bell, TELUS or the customer. The letters in the appendices demonstrate that customers have long memories. There is a lot of ill will being generated by a customer account that is worth in the order of $20M annually.
As I suggested in September, both carriers need to put the customer first.
And customers with sophisticated networks are going to need to take a really good look at their contracts to ensure that there are adequate provisions for transitions at the front end and at contract termination.
It takes time to switch carriers; enterprise customers need to make sure their interests are properly covered.