Telecoms file interventions on thousand block pooling

Wednesday was the deadline for interested intervenors to file their comments on the CRTC’s investigation of evolving to a 1000-block pooling (TBP) system to conserve telephone numbers. The commission began the process last March. It posed a series of questions to telecom service providers (TSPs) and other interested parties to facilitate the reduction of number pools from the current 10,000 to 1,000, which is the standard currently used in the United States. BCE Inc.’s Bell Canada is generally supportive of the proposed regime. It does note some technical limitations. “TBP can only be implemented in exchanges with Local Number Portability (LNP) in place by using the existing Local Routing Number (LRN) architecture that supports LNP in Canada,” the incumbent wrote. “Under TBP, the LRN must be used to identify the TSP that has been assigned a given block of numbers within the CO code.” Bell believes the optimal number of phone numbers in a block should be 1000 and opposed smaller numbers for TSPs in smaller population zones. Carriers should have to justify the number of blocks they require before any assignment, the telecom added. The Canadian Numbering Administrator (CNA) is best suited to be the neutral administrator of the new system, Bell states. Eligible TSPs would pay to cover administrative costs of the CNA. It rejected the notion of the CRTC levying administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) to combat inefficient use of numbers. The 1000-number threshold was also advocated by Telus Corp. It also endorsed the idea of the CNA administering the plan. The western telecom dismissed talk of AMPs as “premature”. Dissenting from these views was Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. “Code sharing…is a viable and preferred alternative over the implementation of thousand-block number pooling from a number conservation and cost perspective,” SaskTel told the regulator. Similarly dubious was Rogers Communications Inc. The Toronto-based telecom questioned whether the new plan was even necessary. “The industry has not reviewed any evidence that suggests TBP will achieve the end goal of reducing consumption of telephone numbering resources,” the company wrote. “The US appears to have conserved numbering resources by the implementation of TBP in 2000, however the benefit of implementing TBP in Canada has not yet been determined, some 23 years after the US and after so many Canadian CO codes have been assigned.” Rogers opposes using blocks smaller than 1000 and that carriers should justify the number of blocks they require. It called for a new administrator separate from the CNA. Quebecor Inc. urged the adoption of the CNA as administrator. The Independent Telecommunications Providers Association supported the CNA. The 21-member consortium agreed that 1000 was an ideal number and rejected the idea that smaller blocks could be used for smaller carriers. Eastlink, the telecom arm of Bragg Communications Inc., said there could be challenges to its internal processes but generally endorsed the plan. It called on the CNA to handle responsibility for the regime. “Eastlink supports the use of variable block sizes with a minimum block size of 1,000 as blocks of less than 1,000 could become onerous to manage,” it wrote. TekSavvy Solutions Inc. also hopped on the bandwagon enthusiastically. “TekSavvy is not aware of any barriers or obstacles to the implementation of thousand-block pooling in Canada,” the company said. “It is an elegant solution that all parties can implement and that will achieve the required results.” It differed from other firms in that it called for smaller blocks to be used where necessary. These could be as low as 500 or 100 number blocks. TekSavvy called on the CNA to be utilized to run the program. Iristel Inc. stated that it has been unable to meet current requirements for numbers. This has led to it turning away business. “Implementation of thousand-block numbers will necessitate major overhaul of several Iristel systems, including its numbering management system, routing, inventory management and order processing,” the competitor told the CRTC. It estimated it would take two years to adapt to a new regime. Iristel opposed making carriers justify the number of blocks they require. It endorsed the plan to have the CNA oversee the new system. It rejects the notion of imposing AMPs. TBP has been successful in the United States, according to Neustar, and it does not foresee any problems in adopting it in Canada. Smaller blocks could be feasible but complex. The firm advocates that a standard number be used. “Thousands-block pooling is a proven and structured method of extending the life of the numbering plan,” the company stated. “With industry cooperation and direction from the commission, it could be defined and implemented with a 12 to 24 month timeframe.” The Canadian Numbering Administration Consortium Inc. (CNAC) also gave its views on the topic. “CNAC submits that 1K number blocks would be the optimal choice,” it said. “CNAC sees no reason why Canada should deviate from the US model as we can leverage the experience of our US counterparts, which will likely speed up the Canadian rollout.” It rejected the idea of smaller blocks, saying it would make the system too complicated. It endorsed the plan to have telecoms justify their number requests. It similarly gave thumbs up to the CNA as administrator. Also filing an intervention was the Canadian LNP Consortium Inc. It said it did not have any relevant data to add to the discussion but might reply after reading the other briefs. –Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca and editing by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca.

Telecoms file interventions on thousand block pooling

Brief | May 31, 2023

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Telecoms file interventions on thousand block pooling

Brief | May 31, 2023

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