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.

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TELUS, Bell

When Industry Canada auctions spectrum, the frequency bands are divided into various sizes of geographic service areas – known as tiers. Think of it as creating a jigsaw puzzle: no piece overlaps and when assembled, the entire country is covered.

As an example:

• Tier 1 is the whole country;
• Tier 2 divides the country into 14 regional areas – almost following provincial boundaries, except NS and PEI are combined, the territories are combined and Ontario and Quebec are each divided into 3 blocks;
• Tier 3 uses 59 large metro areas;
• Tier 4 has 172 community areas.

Regardless of the tier, any given tier covers the whole country.

In the recent AWS auction, Industry Canada used Tiers 2 and 3 for various bands.

Sometimes, these tiers just don’t fit the way the service providers want to operate. Last Thursday, Barrett Xplore (BXI) and Mipps announced an agreement for BXI to acquire some spectrum from MiPPs, covering 2 Million Canadians in rural areas.

Mipps holds 35 Tier 4 licenses in the 3.5GHz, covering more than half the Canadian population. Despite the smaller resolution of Tier 4 (compared to the AWS tiers 2 and 3), the puzzle pieces include a lot of area that is outside Mipps urban target market. Those outlying areas fit perfectly with the rural markets that BXI wants to serve.

The deal benefits both companies and results in better utilization of the spectrum resources. In the past, BXI has called for consideration of more refined resolution in setting service area boundaries in the auction process.

In this case, market forces have allowed BXI and Mipps to correct overly broad geographic markets.

The Alberta Medical Association is calling [ pdf] for a total ban on using cell-phones in cars.

It’s important to note that the Alberta Medical Association favors a total ban on cell-phone use while driving – hand-held and hands-free – because research shows that hands-free is not safer than hand-held. Although Bill 204 calls only for a ban on hand-held devices, we realize that sometimes change takes a while. This is an important first step toward
what we hope will be a full ban in the future.

Alberta’s Standing Committee on the Economy is examining Bill 204: Traffic Safety (Hand-Held Communication Devices) Amendment Act, 2008. The complete submission of the medical association can be downloaded here [ pdf].

What would be the impact on 911 reporting from mobile drivers?

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mobile, Alberta

About two-thirds of telecom and technology firms have had a new rival enter their market with innovative products or services, according to a recent report from the Economist Intelligence Unit. The report was sponsored by SAS.

“Opening up: How R&D; is changing in the telecommunications sector today“, [ pdf] cites the entry of Apple into the mobile phone market as an example impacting both technology firms and wireless service providers.

Most of those companies that had not yet faced innovative new competitors expected a disruption to impact them soon. Just 8% of the firms surveyed for the report believe they are immune to such shifts.

Eighty percent of executives worry about the entry of new rivals and expect the complexity and pace of R&D; to increase over the next two years. Over the same period, half expect to see product life-cycles shorten, adding pressure to the innovation process.

The paper discusses firms embracing the principles of “open innovation”, engaging suppliers, partners, academia and customers in the process.

Other key findings from the report include:

• Telecom firms plan to deliver more products than before, with shorter lifecycles.
• Embracing a more open approach brings organizational challenges.

Download the report. It will make for some interesting reading over the holiday weekend.

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SAS

With a month and a half of experience behind them, Rogers has had a chance to look at how people are using their 3G iPhones. Recall that the iPhone launched in Canada with a $30 monthly data plan that permitted 6GB of downloads.

Considering that the first wave of customers were the early adopters, and people who might have tried to really put the device through its paces, you would think that a bunch of folks might have exceeded the download cap.

As it turns out, Peter Nowak was right when he wrote that Rogers original plan providing 400MB would satisfy most people. In the first 6 weeks, 95% of all iPhone customers downloaded less than 500MB in a month.

So, Rogers has announced some price plan adjustments that will enable some savings for many 3G smart phone users. The current offer of 6GB plan for $30 has been extended to September 30, to enable people who were waiting for the Blackberry Bold to get activated.

Effective October 1, there will be a new rate plan that provides 500MB of downloads for $25. 95% of Rogers’ iPhone customers can save $5 per month by downgrading to this plan.

After October 1, $30 will get you 1GB; and a new $80 plan will provide 8GB. Regardless of your plan, excess data is charged at a rate of 3 cents per MB.

Rogers is putting in place tools to help customers understand and manage their data usage. For the first three months of their data plans, there are no data charges – Freedom of Data. This enables users to adjust their price plans to match the way they actually using their devices.

Rogers will send text message alerts when users are at their data limits and there is a safety net – a $100 cap on excess data charges in order to avoid awkward month-end surprises.

Here is a comparison of the evolution of rate plans this year:

2008 Prices	Jan 1	June 20	July 11	Oct 1
$15	2MB	2MB	N/A	2MB
$25	4MB	4MB	N/A	500MB
$30	N/A	300MB	6GB	1GB
$50	N/A	500MB	N/A	2GB
$60	30 MB	1GB	N/A	3GB
$80	500MB	3GB	N/A	8GB
$100	1GB	6GB	N/A	N/A

Most significantly, Rogers plans cover all data – you can even tether your smart phone to your notebook computer or move your SIM to your PC’s air card; the same rates apply.

As such, $80 for 8GB makes Rogers mobile data pretty attractive. How does Canada compare to Ghana now?

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Rogers, Peter Nowak