By Bill Campbell

A month ago, a coalition of over 40 Canadian Internet service providers launched the Campaign for Competitive Broadband. The campaign’s aim is to rally the support of businesses and consumers to ensure that fair and equitable access to facilities and networks partly controlled by incumbent telecom companies like Bell and Telus continues. Without this access, independent ISPs face a critical test of their ability to service customers, which, in some cases, could eventually lead to their collapse. This will ultimately impact the choice Canadians will have in ISPs and the quality of service they receive.

Thus far, the campaign has helped generate close to 70,000 letters from concerned Canadians to the federal government. A staggering amount given the time frame, and a clear indication that this issue resonates with Canadians from coast to coast.

At the core of this issue is a decision by the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission that will allow Bell and Telus to have complete control of the telecommunications network that was built over decades supported by federal rules which gave these companies monopolies over telephone service. This was effectively a subsidy by taxpayers, guaranteeing that these companies would be profitable, so that the public could benefit from having telecommunications networks built across the country. Once these networks were built, and the telephone companies were very well established, the federal government put in rules to help create healthy competition by allowing independent Canadian ISPs to compete in the marketplace by assuring equitable access to the network at fair and reasonable market rates.

All competitive providers, including my own Vancouver-based company, Skyway West, must make use of local network facilities controlled by the large national incumbents: Telus and Bell. Without the CRTC mandating access to those facilities on fair, cost-based terms, customers are likely to suffer from a lack of competition and innovation for their important broadband services because the incumbents will be empowered to prevent competitors from reaching the customer. Equitable access also means that the telephone companies must deliver service speeds to independent ISPs that match their retail offerings—something which Telus and Bell are refusing in spite of a CRTC order to do so.

Businesses choose independent ISPs to deliver e-mail, Internet access, VPN, Voice over Internet Protocol, and other services. Internet-based businesses depend on independents to design their networks to support innovative services like off-site backup, cloud computing, Web hosting, and software as a service. Many are located in small communities, support local organizations, and employ local people.

Independent ISPs attract business customers by making their services more reliable than Telus or Bell and by innovating more quickly. They earn loyal customers by providing personal, localized service that is delivered and maintained by skilled technicians. Many bundle VoIP and offer video-conferencing capabilities, helping people save money and stay connected with loved ones. They will soon begin distributing video content from around the world.

If the federal government allows the decision to stand, Bell and Telus will control the network, and there will be little incentive for them to provide independent ISPs with the fair and equitable access we require to service our customers. And why would they? Without us in the market, competition will cease and they can effectively raise the price for broadband access, while decreasing overall service levels, to consumers and businesses alike.

The Canadian ISP market is dominated by the likes of Telus in the west and Bell in the east, and their collective track record in keeping the customer top of mind is spotty at best. Independents rightly see themselves as the alternative conscience of the Internet, fighting to ensure that it maintains its origins as an open and neutral technology. Without independent ISPs to challenge the dominant players, competition and service will suffer, and the Internet experience as we know it will be subject to the absolute controls of these dominant corporations.

The coalition believes that the CRTC has made their initial decision without understanding the impact it will have on ISPs, Canadian consumers, businesses, and the economy overall. We’re asking the federal government to review and overturn this decision. And we’re asking Canadians to join our Campaign for Competitive Broadband by visiting our consumer site or business site to let the federal government know they want competition in the broadband market.

Bill Campbell is the Western Canada board member for the Canadian Association of Internet Providers and the president of Skyway West Business Internet Services, a Vancouver-based ISP.