| CRTC launches online consultation on basic telephone and Int OTTAWA-GATINEAU, July 23 /CNW Telbec/ - The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today launched an online consultation to hear the views of Canadians about their access to basic telephone and Internet services. This consultation is part of a proceeding that will include a public hearing beginning on October 26, 2010, in Timmins, Ontario.
In 1999, the CRTC set out the basic services that telecommunications companies should offer to Canadians, which include local service on an individual telephone line and access to low-speed Internet at local rates. Over the last decade, new technologies have changed the way that Canadians communicate and do business. There has also been an increase in competition between telephone and cable companies to provide telephone and Internet services.
The CRTC is examining its current regulations in response to these technological and competitive changes in the telecommunications industry. More specifically, the CRTC is asking Canadians whether the obligation to provide certain services should be modified in light of the technologies available today.
Through the online consultation, the public is invited to discuss various topics and questions. The topics for discussion are:
- the services that should be included as part of a basic telephone
service
- the role of the CRTC in ensuring that Canadians have access to
broadband Internet service
- whether cellphones can serve as a substitute for landlines, and
- whether wireless Internet services can serve as a substitute for
landline Internet services.
The online consultation will close at midnight EST on August 20, 2010 and can be found at www.obligationtoserve.publivate.ca.
The CRTC
The CRTC is an independent public authority that regulates and supervises broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada.
These documents are available in alternative format upon request
»www.newswire.ca/en/releases/arch···118.html |
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| See:
»www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/com100/2010/r100723.htm
The online consultation will close at midnight EST on August 20, 2010 and can be found at www.obligationtoserve.publivate.ca.
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Also released today is the telco retention offers hidden as a "call us before you port your number rule"
»www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2010/···06-2.htm
People will not be able to port out and being bribed with better internet, phone, tv or bundle packages in order to stay. This should affect the small wholesalers who can't compete to offer retention pricing.
Also, lets not forget the run-around people will get when trying to port. |
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| reply to backness
I wonder if jf will participate in this and repeat his famous quote :P |
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| He's stocking up on RedBull now.  |
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 andybPremium
join:2003-05-29
SW Ontario
kudos:1
 ·TekSavvy DSL
| reply to backness
The online site to post your comments is here »o2s.publivate.ca/index.php?lang=···d=&id=52 |
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| reply to backness
I wonder what sort of information privacy commenters can expect have this time around? If the CRTC insists on collecting detailed contact information and then publishing it without permission or prior warning - I'm out.
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"Anonymity is a shield from the tyranny of the majority ... and spambots." - US Supreme Court, McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission, 1995. |
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| said by fiestaware:I wonder what sort of information privacy commenters can expect have this time around? If the CRTC insists on collecting detailed contact information and then publishing it without permission or prior warning - I'm out. Found here »o2s.publivate.ca/index.php?optio···&lang=en
Privacy Notice
In order to submit a comment as part of this consultation, you will have to provide some personal information. This Statement explains the purposes and use of your personal information.
The collection, use and disclosure of personal information in the context of public hearings is authorized by the Telecommunications Act (section 19), the Broadcasting Act (section 18), and the CRTC Rules of Procedure (sections 9-12) and is required for your participation.
All information that you provide as part of this e-consultation, except for your email address, becomes part of a publicly accessible file and will be posted on the CRTC’s web site. This information includes your personal information, such as your name and any other personal information you provide. As an administrative tribunal, the CRTC endeavors to maintain maximum transparency and disclose the information on which its decisions and rulings are based. A valid email address is required so as to limit exposure to spam. Email addresses will not be included in the transcript of the consultation that is disclosed on the CRTC’s web site. The information collected as part of the public proceedings is described in Personal Information Bank “Interventions” – CRT CIN 220, will be available on the CRTC’s website and will be retained for 7 years after which time it is stored for 3 years and then destroyed.
If you require clarification about this Statement, contact the Commission’s Privacy Coordinator at (819) 997-4274 or toll-free at 1-877-249-2782. For more information on privacy issues and the Privacy Act in general, consult the Privacy Commissioner’s website or contact them by phone at 1 (800) 282-1376. |
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| reply to backness
said by backness:The CRTC is an "independent" public authority that regulates and supervises broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada in order to serve the interests of those media and telecommunications monopolies while pretending to serve the public. There, I fixed it for you. |
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 mlernerPremium
join:2000-11-25
Nepean, ON
kudos:5 | reply to backness
Yawn.. We can expect some more golf meetings and then 6 months later, oh the net is fine we don't need to regulate.  |
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 milnoc
join:2001-03-05
H3B
kudos:1 | reply to backness
Why is the hearing being held in Timmins, Ontario? That's pretty much in the middle of nowhere.
The Internet there must really suck! 
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Watch my future television channel's public test broadcast!
»thecanadianpublic.com (click "Watch Live!") |
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| said by milnoc:Why is the hearing being held in Timmins, Ontario? That's pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Because they don't want members of the public showing up. It won't deter Bell from spending money to show up in Timmins, Sioux Lookout, or Labrador City, but the average guy won't.
Can't be an issue if only 6 concerned citizens show up. |
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| reply to backness
*Groan* It seems as though people really haven't read what is being asked of them in the online consultation. To be clear, this is a very narrow proceeding:
-Should there be changes to the basic service objective (single party, digitally switched e911 capable POTS line with support for modern features, copy of directory), how it is paid for (user fee vs. subsidy), how the subsidy money is collected/distributed and how subsidies and the obligation to serve should persist when competitors are present.
-Can wireless be a substitute for wireline voice or broadband to some extent. AKA if we're looking at removing an obligation, can we consider wireless as a partial or complete substitute for some part of the market?
-Should broadband be part of the basic service objective.
For most people not in rural areas, the impact on you will basically be how much you pay as part of your bill to support service in other areas where costs are high. The greatest threat here is from a broadband service obligation, which would cost $1BN+ per year and require substantial increases in contribution charges and an expansion of the services counted towards the calculation of the charges (internet is currently not counted). We do not want a US-style USF slush fund. For rural dwellers, it is more a matter of life and death it would seem. An expanded wireline basic service objective could bring them broadband at low prices subsidized by urbanites. Or this review could change things and increase the maximum price for wireline service in rural areas (less subsidy, more user contribution) as well.
Unfortuntely, most of the comments will get filed away as irrelevant, as they discuss a wide range of things way beyond the scope of the proceeding. It is basically an anti-big company or anti-CRTC hate fest. For example: mandating that all wired/wireless phone plans have caller ID, voicemail and call waiting included; eliminating long distance charges within canada; eliminating provincial/municipal 911 fees (talk to your province/municipality folks!); net neutrality; making usage caps illegal; making usage based billing for data and voice illegal; setting up Wi-Fi at truck stops; re-regulating long distance (the biggest success we've had in Canada under the market liberalization IMHO); and of course the ever present cries for nationalization and the myth that the Government built or directly funded the entire telco network.
Props to PIAC for an excellent legal analysis of obligation to serve under the Acts and common law. Very good read, although I have no idea which one is more correct. Ryan did write one of only 2 major books I know of on telecom law in Canada (the other is by Handa) and is a partner at a very well respected firm. Also of note is that most parties (TSI et al, The Companies, Telus, MTS Allstream) don't support an expansion of the universal service objective to include broadband, with the exception of those representing rural areas and "consumers" (PIAC). |
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