Bell internet plan risks 'double-charging' users, CRTC told

Independent internet service providers risk having to pay twice for the same internet usage if the CRTC approves a new usage-based billing modelproposed by Bell, MTS Allstream says.

"Bell is attempting to charge in multiple ways for usage, which sets up the conditions for double-charging competitors for the same network transport component," Mike Strople, MTS Allstream's vice-president of technology, said at a CRTC hearing Thursday.

The hearing, which opened Monday, will determine how independent ISPs should be charged by larger telecommunications companies such as Bellfor access to their networks. That access allows the small ISPs to connect to individual customers and create their own retail internet packages, in order to meet the CRTC's goal of boosting competition.

MTS Allstreamprovides wholesale network access to small, independent ISPs in some areas, as Bell does. However, in other areas, it rents similar access from other telecommunications companies

Strople said MTS Allstream's plan has similarities toBell's both include fixedfees for network access and a component linked to the capacity of the network link that would vary with the number of customers and their usage. However,MTS Allstream'sproposal would not placea cap on thevolume of usage or impose a surcharge for overuse.

Strople said that extra component "adds the opportunity to charge twice for the same capacity" and the surcharge for extra usage above the cap would make it difficult for small ISPs to predict their bill for each month.

The company gave examples showing that under certain scenarios, an ISP's bill would be four times higher usingBell's billing model than MTS Allstream's.

Small ISPs' proposal poses 'challenges':MTS Allstream

Earlier in the week, the Canadian Network Operators Consortium, a group representing small ISPs, also proposed that small ISPs becharged based on peak capacity.

However, MTS Allstream criticized that groups model because it would not require small ISPs to predict the amount of capacity they would need ahead of time it would simply charge them for the peak capacity they used after the fact.

"Its variability provides challenges for both parties," Strople said.

MTS Allstream would require ISPs to reserve a certain amount of capacity ahead of time that they could not exceed in a given month.

CRTC commissioner Michel Morin asked what would happen if an ISP needed more capacity in a month than they had scheduled.

Strople responded that as the limit was approached, the quality of the service would degrade data packets would be lost and the network would slow down for all users until the amount of traffic declined again. It would be the ISP's job to manage the traffic of their customers to avoid that, he added.

However, he said, the ISP would be able to order more capacity for delivery within several weeks.

At least two the CRTC commissioners pointed out thatBells model appears to allow ISPs to get extra usage on the fly if needed, unlike MTS Allstreams.

Strople clarified that the extra usage was a different measure volume in gigabytes transferred and that if an ISP exceeded its allotted peak capacity on Bells network, it "would be in the same position that they would be with us, regardless of where you may be on total gigabytes transferred."

Teresa Griffin-Muir, vice-president of regulatory affairs at MTS Allstream, said volume-based pricing is sometimes used for retail internet customers because it provides a measure of a customers usage that the customer can look at. However, when applied to the ISPs, it limits their flexibility and effectively imposes a pricing model on them, she said.

Small ISPs hadexpressed similar concernsearlier in the hearing.

CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein observed, "You make it sound like a revenue grab more than anything else."

"Uh, yeah," Griffin-Muir responded.

Claude Hnault, a former journalist and public servant who also appeared at the hearing Thursday, had a similar view of Bells proposal.

"Usage-based billing is double-billing," he said, noting that users already paymore for higher speeds.

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