Telus and Bell are squabbling once again, this time over access to their fibre networks and alleged attempts to undermine each other.
Vancouver-based national telecom Telus claimed Bell had “drastically degraded” its ability to sign up new fibre internet customers and violated the Telecommunications Act in a Jan. 20 application to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). Though the details in the filing were redacted, Telus leverages Bell’s fibre network to offer wholesale internet services in Ontario and Quebec — something Bell has not been a fan of.
Per the filing, Telus asked the CRTC to step in, claiming that Bell is “determined to harm Telus, and therefore competition and consumers.”
However, in a response filed with the CRTC on Jan. 26, Bell denied Telus’ claims and called the company “blatantly dishonest,” saying Telus was fabricating an artificial crisis. Bell blamed the problem on a brief technical issue and claimed it provided all necessary functionality to Telus.
While many specifics were redacted from the filings, MobileSyrup learned that the core issue revolves around a gateway access service (GAS) portal, which Telus used to provide fibre services to customers in Ontario and Quebec. According to people with knowledge of the system who spoke to MobileSyrup anonymously, Bell allegedly shut down the portal late on the evening of Jan. 14, disrupting Telus’ ability to process fibre internet and TV orders and support issues. The person suspected Bell shut the portal down as “revenge” for the wholesale situation in Western Canada.
That suspicion is backed up by Bell’s own words, with the carrier arguing in its report that Telus hadn’t yet made available a “minimally workable” system for Bell to resell Telus internet in Alberta and B.C. Speaking to the Globe and Mail, Bell accused Telus of disadvantaging consumers by “failing to provide a workable activation and installation process.”
Bell announced in October that it planned to expand its fibre internet offerings into Western Canada using Telus’ network. However, Bell hasn’t officially launched internet plans in the region.
Telus disputed Bell’s claims in another CRTC filing on Jan. 28, and said if Bell was encountering issues, it could have brought an application before the CRTC, but it did not do so.
MobileSyrup reached out to both Telus and Bell about the fibre wholesale issues earlier this month, but neither carrier was keen to discuss the issue. Telus has not responded to multiple requests for comment, while Bell would only say that it “continues to fulfill all customer orders and provide all required customer support.”
Notably, this isn’t the first spat between the providers over internet. As mentioned above, Bell has not been happy that the CRTC allowed Telus to use the wholesale program to resell Bell’s fibre services in Ontario and Quebec, though the company eventually changed its tune when it chose to expand into Western Canada.
Additionally, the two carriers sued each other last summer over television services. Bell claimed in a June lawsuit that Telus was training salespeople to sell unlicensed internet protocol television (IPTV) services in Ontario and Quebec. A month later, Telus denied Bell’s accusations and filed a counterclaim against Bell over “anti-competitive acts.”
Source: CRTC Via: The Globe and Mail
