With the oral hearings approaching for the CRTC’s re-examination of wholesale high-speed internet access, alternate internet service providers have still been unable to offer matching speeds to their clients in the absence of an interim tariff until today. The CRTC issued Telecom Order 2011-377 which sets an interim rate based on a number of compromises.
The Commission recognizes the importance of providing competitors with access to higher-speed and increased POI aggregation services as soon as possible.
After all, it is two years since the CRTC began its consultation process (Telecom Notice of Consultation 2009-261).
In the interests of expedience, allowing non-facilities based competitors to begin to offer advanced internet access arrangements, the CRTC instituted interim rates that provide a 35% discount off residential rates and 15% off business rates.
There is no usage-sensitive component to the interim wholesale rates, but the CRTC was quite explicit on this point:
No inferences of any kind should be drawn from the fact that this interim tariff, given its short and transitory nature, contains no separate usage component.
In addition, the CRTC may adjust the rates retroactively, depending on the outcome of the final proceeding.
The new wholesale arrangements will be described in tariff pages to be issued by June 23 (next week). The implementation date is 30 days from today – in the middle of the oral hearings for TNC 2011-77.
I can’t help but notice that you say there is “no usage component” while the CRTC says “no separate usage component” (emphasis mine). There are already some usage components to the arrangements between the independent ISPs and the incumbent wholesale providers, right?