The Canadian Association of Internet
Providers
(CAIP) wants the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications
Commission (CRTC) to make Bell Canada change its retail ADSL activities.
“We are asking the CRTC to direct Bell Canada to immediately cease and
desist from providing its affiliates with network facilities for ADSL
Internet access service.” said Ron Kawchuk, president of CAIP. The
organization is made up of over 125
Internet service providers throughout Canada, and serves approximately 80
percent of the market.
In what is known as a Part VII Submission, CAIP asks CRTC to ensure that,
if Bell or any of its affiliates wish to provide retail Internet access
using ADSL, that the services be provided by Bell on an in-house basis and
at cost-based rates that have been filed with and approved by CRTC
beforehand.
CAIP is also seeking reasonable wholesale prices for these services.
“Independent members of CAIP are suffering serious and irreparable harm as
a result of Bell’s anti-competitive conduct in the retail market for
ADSL-based Internet access,” said John Nemanic, CAIP board member and
Director of Access Issues.
“The tariffed rates which CAIP’s Independent ISP members must pay for Bell
Canada’s wholesale ADSL service make it impossible for them to compete
with
the retail prices offered by Bell. The result is that small ISPs are
virtually blocked from participation in the high-speed Internet access
market.”
The full text of CAIP’s Part VII submission to the CRTC is available on
their Web site.
Earlier this month, ISP Internet
Direct asked regulators to intervene in Bell Canada’s marketing
tactics
to promote the ADSL roll-out. And in August, six Ontario-based ISPs
applied
to Canada’s Competition Bureau requesting it look into the pricing
practices of Bell Canada affiliate Bell Sygma.