Telecom - Staff Letter addressed to Peggy Tabet (Videotron Ltd.) and Philippe Gauvin (Bell Canada)
Ottawa, 17 February 2023
Our reference: 8622-V3-202300416
BY EMAIL
Peggy Tabet
Vice President, Regulatory and Environmental Affairs
Videotron Ltd., 612 Saint-Jacques Street
Montréal, Québec
H3C 4M8
tabet.peggy@quebecor.com
Philippe Gauvin
Assistant General Counsel
Bell Canada, 160 Elgin Street, 19th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario K2P 2C4
bell.regulatory@bell.ca
Subject: Québecor Media's Application for Final Offer Arbitration (FOA) regarding Bell Mobility Inc.'s Wholesale MVNO Access Service Rate
Peggy Tabet and Philippe Gauvin,
On 26 January 2023, the Commission received a letter from Québecor Media Inc. on behalf of Videotron Ltd (Videotron) requesting the resolution by final offer arbitration (FOA) for the purpose of establishing rates for the provision of facilities-based MVNO access service by Bell Mobility Inc. (Bell) to Videotron (the parties). Videotron also indicated that it is prepared to submit to a mediation session “in a last-ditch effort to resolve the matter.” On 31 January 2023, the Commission received an answer from Bell submitting that the Commission should deny or postpone Videotron's application as no negotiations between the parties have taken place, and it is thus premature.
The Commission made it clear in Telecom Regulatory Policy 2021-130 (2021-130) that access rates would be left to commercial negotiation between the parties and that, only if negotiations failed, would a party be able to refer the matter to the Commission for resolution by way of an FOA as a “backstop.” The FOA process, included in Broadcasting and Telecommunications Information Bulletin CRTC 2019-184, is only provided for when “the parties have been unable to resolve the dispute by other methods.” Despite these clear directives, the Commission notes that the parties have confirmed in their respective letters that no specific negotiations on rates for the provision of MVNO access service have yet taken place.
The Commission believes that Videotron and Bell did not make a good-faith effort to initiate and conduct negotiations sessions. In this regard, the Commission notes that many of the communications exchanged between the companies—communications that were reproduced in Videotron's application—were addressed to the CEOs of these companies and not to the personnel responsible for the relations between suppliers. Moreover, some of these communications were distributed to individuals who are not employed by either company and have no role in the negotiations. The Commission considers this practice unacceptable.
The Commission expects the parties to have actively engaged in good-faith commercial negotiations before applying for final offer arbitration. Consequently, Videotron's application for final offer arbitration is denied.
The Commission requests that Videotron and Bell negotiate in good faith for a minimum period of 30 days, and that they meet for this purpose, at least twice a week. The Commission also orders Videotron and Bell to report to the Commission on the progress of the negotiations, as well as the dates and participants in the meetings and the content of their negotiations, on the following dates: 6 March 2023 and 20 March 2023.
Following a 30-day period of serious negotiations, if the parties have negotiated in good faith and an impasse persists, a new FOA application may be filed. In accordance with Broadcasting and Telecommunications Information Bulletin CRTC 2019-184, the Commission expects that the scope of the FOA will be well defined and that the parties will have reached a prior agreement to that effect. This scope could include the duration of the agreement and the terms of renegotiation, the rate structure, the areas covered by the agreement and any other elements deemed appropriate by the parties.
In addition, the Commission believes that it is reasonable for the parties to enter into and sign a non-disclosure agreement regarding their commercial negotiations, as it is frequently used in mediation and negotiation processes and is therefore a common and acceptable practice in the telecommunications field. The Commission notes that it has broad powers under the Act to compel the provision of information that is deems necessary for the proper administration of the Act. The Commission considers that in order to discharge its duties properly, it may need to be appraised of developments that occurred during prior negotiations. Given this it would not be appropriate for any NDA to preclude the sharing of information with the Commission as part of any subsequent FOA or other process.
The Commission reiterates that the provision of wholesale access service for MVNOs is mandatory and that, in Telecom Decision CRTC 2022-288, the Commission directed the incumbents to begin accepting requests for wholesale MVNO access and to enter into good-faith commercial negotiations.
Yours sincerely,
Original signed by
Claude Doucet
General Secretary
c.c.:
Fiona Gilfillan, Executive Director, CRTC, Fiona.gilfillan@crtc.gc.ca
Michel Murray, Director, Dispute Resolution, CRTC, michel.murray@crtc.gc.ca
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