There is an interesting file in front of the CRTC in the form of an application by TELUS to have the Commission issue a declaratory ruling to interpret the terms of a customer specific arrangement.
Much of the application [zip] is blanked out, but it appears that there is a very large customer that is transitioning from Bell to TELUS with “many thousands of services/circuits which need to be installed in hundreds of locations across Canada”.
The customer’s current contract is coming to an end and it appears that TELUS is having trouble completing the transition prior to the expiration of the current Bell contract.
It appears that the customer approached Bell to see if all or some of the services currently provided could remain on reasonable terms and conditions. According to the application, Bell took the position that if any of the services are required after the contract expires, they can only be offered under the same terms and conditions, including the minimum contract period and minimum revenue guarantee.
TELUS asked the CRTC to intervene in what the Commission suggests may be more of a contractual than regulatory dispute.
TELUS submits that to permit the incumbent service provider to impose these obligations where the customer’s requirements are for a transition period from the incumbent service provider to a new service provider selected by the customer amounts to a penalty, is an abuse of Bell Canada’s temporary market power, would necessarily be a barrier to customer choice and would impair the operation of market forces.
Although the customer’s identity has been shielded, this looks like a dispute over a government contract.
Lessons to learned from our first day back at school?
- In the commercial marketplace, one can’t assume an incumbent service provider will roll out a welcome mat for a competitor taking away millions of dollars in revenue;
- Customers with complex networks should consider a transition period clause in their contracts;
- The carrier relations groups from both service providers may want to remember that this is just one contract. Other projects, such as the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, will need some serious cooperation between Canada’s two biggest ILECs.
At the end of the day, both service providers need to be guided by the principle of putting the customer first.