PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, ARCHIVES THE PRESS
Videotron is fed up with not having access to Bell's telephone poles quickly enough to build its high-speed Internet network in certain regions of Quebec.
Videotron asks the Competition Bureau of Canada to investigate Bell's practices for sharing its poles. Videotron, which qualifies these practices of "unfair tactics" and "illegitimate obstruction", also filed Wednesday a civil lawsuit of 12.7 million dollars against Bell to compensate its losses suffered in recent years. Bell refutes Videotron's allegations.
“Bell's anti-competitive maneuvers must stop. That is why we are asking the Competition Bureau to take all necessary measures to put an end to it. Quebecers have the right to healthy competition and to quality telecommunications services. All are unfairly penalized when Bell blocks access to other operators in their region, municipality or neighborhood. It is simply unacceptable, ” said Jean ‑ François Pruneau, President and CEO of Videotron, in a press release .
Why is access to the 2.7 million traditional telephone poles in Quebec so important for telecom companies? In existing neighborhoods, optical fiber on high-speed Internet must pass through telephone poles, which are owned by Hydro-Québec (61%), Bell (25%), Telus and Télébec. A permit must be obtained from the owner of the poles before having access to them. Without access to the poles, it is impossible to offer high speed internet in certain regions of Quebec.
Bell disputes Videotron's allegations. “The poles are the property of communications companies, sometimes used jointly, as well as Hydro-Québec. A strict regulatory and authorization process from the CRTC must be followed, but Bell, Telus and Hydro-Quebec are part of a working group with the Quebec government that aims to ensure faster access to poles for all suppliers of services while respecting all safety standards. Far from slowing down the deployment of networks in Quebec, Bell is leading the way with its own investments, while improving access to our infrastructure for other service providers, ”Bell indicated by email.
The Quebecor-owned company alleges that Bell "systematically delays or neglects to process requests for access to [poles]" and "often creates artificial pitfalls in deploying competing networks, while deploying its own as a priority", adding that 'a Videotron request for access to a Bell pole can take up to “two and a half years to be processed”, a “completely unreasonable” delay. "By doing so, Bell is slowing the development and upgrading of the Internet in all regions of Quebec," said Videotron in a press release.
Videotron is not the only telecommunications company to complain about the long delays in gaining access to poles, especially those of Bell. Cogeco would also like to have faster access to the poles. “The poles are a big problem,” says Philippe Jetté, President and CEO of Cogeco. There are a lot of difficulties, we would like it to go quickly. The reality is that it takes a lot of coordination with private parties, public parties, parapublic parties. The more people there are, the longer it takes. And the attitude of Bell in this file? "Bell has its best interests at heart and not that of its competitors," says Mr. Jetté.
Unlike Videotron, Cogeco did not request an investigation from the Competition Bureau or take civil proceedings against Bell in this case. Cogeco "welcomes" however "the initiative of Videotron in the context of the complaint to the Competition Bureau". Cogeco says it is "active on several fronts" in this file, in particular by proposing solutions to the Government of Quebec and the CRTC as well as by setting up a dispute committee between Bell and Cogeco to discuss priority cases. “Our priority is to accelerate the deployment of our infrastructure in underserved and underserved regions,” Cogeco said by email.
[Traduction from : Google Traduction]
