Okanagan Telephone Company featured in Okanagan Business Journal Magazine - 2002

An old friend is calling. To many long-time residents of the Valley, Okanagan Telephone will be a familiar name.

It was the region's telephone service from the early days of the last century until bought out by B.C. Tel in the 1970s.

Okanagan Telephone is back on the line, this time as an authorized distributor of Bell Canada's products and services. Headquartered in Kelowna, Okanagan Telephone services Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon and Kamloops.

The return of Okanagan Telephone began in 1994 when the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) established a new regulatory framework for the gradual extension of competition into local telephone services.

In 1997, the CRTC removed more competition barriers to give customers the option of choosing their telephone-service providers. Today, it's a wide-open field.

"Since deregulation of telephone-service delivery, service providers have been going into each other's back yards to gain additional market share. And that's where we come in," explains Gord Bedard, president of Okanagan Telephone.

"As Okanagan Telephone, we've come full circle to provide regional businesses with telephone lines and full telecommunications services through our association with Bell."

Under the Okanagan Telephone banner (picked up because B.C. Tel apparently let it lapse), Bell's products and telephone service are provided to business customers.

Residential service is currently not on the agenda.

"As an authorized distributor for Bell, Okanagan Telephone provides all the usual business telephone lines, data services and telephone equipment," Bedard says. "High-speed Internet service is planned for next year."

Deregulation guidelines stipulate that competing telephone companies must have access to existing telephone lines.

In other words, a competitive local exchange carrier must be able to access and interconnect with the phone lines of an incumbent local exchange carrier.

In the case of Okanagan Telephone, it provides full telephone-service delivery through Bell's interconnection with Telus.

"Bell installs the switching equipment it needs at Telus' facility, and for this it pays Telus a contribution fee," Bedard explained.

Without this ready interconnectivity, it would be economically unfeasible for a phone company to launch a competitive foray into new territory. Although the 1997 enactment allowed for immediate price increases, carriers could also lower them to be competitive. A company wanting to make a profit can do so only if the price is low enough for numbers of people to buy its service.

Competing phone rates have benefited many consumers. Since 1997, Bell has focused its western expansion on cities like Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. Only recently has it made the move to smaller communities.

Bell spokeswoman Gina Gottenberg says Bell's expansion in the West is part of a strategy to offer innovative communications solutions from coast-to-coast.

"We're pleased to be partnering with Okanagan Telephone to bring innovative communications products and services to Okanagan businesses," she said.

"Bell is dedicated to customer value - both in the quality of our product and service offerings and in our commitment to meet our customers' needs."

Gottenberg says Bell's range of leading-edge products and services will provide businesses in the Okanagan with a truly competitive alternative in communications services. Bedard says he expects Bell's rates will be 10 to 35 per cent lower than Telus.

"Bell will provide those rates to get market share," says Bedard. "And business service has more profit in it than residential service."

Partnering with Okanagan Telephone negates the need for Bell to have its own local facility.