Rogers claims Iristel inflated its call traffic by over 295%

Rogers Communications Inc. is backing Telus Corp. in its traffic stimulation fight with Iristel Inc., claiming that the phone traffic that was supposed to be eliminated by an earlier CRTC decision has reemerged. The alleged 295 per cent boost in “artificial” call traffic from Rogers to Iristel numbers in the 867 area code occurred between February and August 2018, Rogers said, following a December decision by the CRTC to halt calls to numbers in those area codes that dial into a Toronto-area radio station broadcast. The CRTC, however, chose not to set additional regulations. The implementation date of that ruling was Jan. 20. “Today, around 90% of Rogers’ traffic destined to the Iristel telephone numbers in NPA 867 is being routed to radio listening services and conference call services that by all appearances are not located in the North .” The dispute between Telus and Iristel began when Telus filed a Part 1 application in early August, accusing the other of engaging in traffic stimulation -- the act of artificially inflating the number of calls to it in order to collect additional revenue, which arises when one receives more calls from a telecom than it outputs to it. It follows a similar claim by Rogers back in 2016 that led to the CRTC’s December decision, which Rogers claimed in its Monday submission resulted in a reduction of 95 per cent of “illegitimate” traffic from Rogers numbers to Iristel’s 867 numbers -- but only temporarily. It said while Iristel “may have complied for a few days in January and February, verbatim, with the letter of the Decision... it is still earning increased local exchange revenues through other traffic simulation schemes.” The 867 area code has among the highest local termination rates in the country, according to Rogers. Part of the issue raised by Telus and Rogers is AudioNow, the service that allows users to dial into radio stations -- in this case, using Iristel numbers for some stations, according to the submission. In June, the radio company ZenoRadio LLC purchased AudioNow. ZenoRadio has a client station named Punjabi Radio USA, which, according to the telecoms, is made available when users call into 867 numbers. “Telus’ actions to control the flow of traffic to Iristel are a direct and proportionate response to protect itself and its customers from the financial damage associated with Iristel’s illegal practice and the upward pressure on retail sales that it creates,” Telus said in a reply submission. Rogers added that Iristel is using methods to avoid detection and get around the traffic stimulation mechanism. One scheme, the allegation goes, has callers first register to the radio service, which provides dedicated 867 numbers for that service. When those numbers are dialled from an unregistered calling number, it plays a recording that says no service is available, Rogers said. It’s a “deliberate attempt to side-step the intent of the Commission’s earlier Decision,” Rogers alleged in the submission. But Iristel said in a reply submission that neither it or its affiliates have any knowledge of these screening attempts. Though Iristel noted that if the screening mechanism is designed to keep non-paying customers from the service, then there shouldn’t be an issue, and could be a way for those service providers to recoup costs. Rogers supports Telus’ call for the CRTC to order a public proceeding to review the traffic stimulation activities, direct Iristel to set a new rate for long distance call termination, and allow the final rates to be retroactive. Iristel noted in its reply that a public proceeding would be a “waste of regulatory resources” because no traffic stimulation exists with respect to Iristel. It also said inbound calling services, such as conference call and call-to-listen services, should should use toll-free numbers, not local telephone ones. In response to Telus’ complaint, Iristel filed its own application in August claiming Telus was making some of its subscribers’ calls to Iristel users fail, a practice it said began on May 29. The CRTC since merged the two applications, finding that the two are interrelated. A core component of Iristel’s application rests on Telus violating section 36 of the Telecommunications Act, whose scope includes barring internet traffic management policies (ITMP) from blocking the delivery of content without CRTC approval, its submission said. Irisitel noted in its August submission that the application of voice calls should be the same as that in internet cases. “Blocking any voice call effectively renders its content meaningless, and as such, absent prior Commission approval, Telus is contravening section 36 of the Act,” it said in the August application. Telus hit back, stating that ITMPs can’t be applied to voice traffic, Telus’ actions would not constitute an ITMP even if those rules applied to the situation, and that it isn’t blocking any calls, though it is using “traffic control.” Telus said that it identified a list of numbers associated with traffic stimulation and called the numbers three times to verify its suspicions. It said it is perfectly within its right to do so to control costs by managing what it calls artificial and “illegal” traffic stimulation. Iristel is asking the commission to order Telus to revert its network capacity back to its pre-May 29 state. The Canadian Network Operators’ Consortium, which represents smaller providers, filed one response in mid-August and another dated Monday, saying that while it “has no personal knowledge of the facts of this case,” the record shows a situation that raises alarm. “The alleged conduct is causing irreparable harm to Iristel and its end-users by damaging Iristel’s business reputation and preventing Iristel’s end-users from receiving calls from Telus’ end-users,” CNOC said in its August submission. It pointed to a Telus user who complained in a intervention that Telus’ move “has had a detrimental effect” on his ability to communicate with friends and businesses in the Yukon and NWT since June 1. CNOC noted in its September submission that based on the traffic data it’s seen, “there is no evidence of any traffic stimulation by Iristel.” The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) agreed with CNOC. Though taking no position on Telus’ traffic stimulation complaint, PIAC noted that that issue is no justification for Telus allegedly throttling communications to Iristel customers -- which, not to mention its regulatory obligations, is not in its terms of service, it said. — With reporting by Ahmad Hathout at ahathout@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Rogers claims Iristel inflated its call traffic by over 295%

News | September 12, 2018

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Rogers claims Iristel inflated its call traffic by over 295%

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