FMCC participates in CRTC 2023-56: Review of the wholesale high-speed access service framework

September 21, 2023

On June 22, 2023, FMCC submitted an intervention to the CRTC public proceeding on wholesale high-speed access service framework. FMCC has long advocated for fair, equitable, and reliable access to transport facilities. Below are FMCC’s recommentations:

1. Pricing for incumbent transport services in remote and Indigenous regions should be regulated to ensure timely access at reasonable rates.

2. Large incumbent TSPs that are building transport infrastructure using public funds should be required to offer a range of transport speeds at costs that reflect the diversity of needs of third-party organizations.

3. Regulators and policy makers should encourage the development of open access telecommunications components in public infrastructures or utility projects, such as electricity, transportation or energy corridors.

4. Transport services requested by third-party providers must be provided by incumbents in a timely manner. Incumbents should be penalized for unreasonable delays.

5. Any policies that the Commission implements should include provisions that Indigenous and non-profit providers operating in rural, remote, Northern and Indigenous regions can maintain their autonomy and decision-making power (as per Telecommunications Act, section 27.6).

6. Incumbents and other major telecommunications providers should be prohibited from negotiating wholesale prices that discriminate against other providers requiring access (as per Telecommunications Act, section 27.2).

7. To support the Commission’s BSO, recipients of public funds should be required to install sufficient transport capacity to meet projected demand and network redundancy requirements over at least 10 years.

8. The Commission should publish details concerning how oversight of funded transport projects will be carried out, and how compliance to provide wholesale access and other requirements at reasonable terms and rates will be enforced.

NT4