Tag: wholesale internet

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Mobile Syrup

CRTC’s decision to review internet competition met with positive reactions

Independent internet service provider TekSavvy is welcoming the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) decision to investigate internet competition and lower some wholesale rates. 

“The CRTC appears to understand that previous decisions have decimated the competitive market for internet services and led to higher prices for consumers,” Andy Kaplan-Myrth, TekSavvy’s vice president of regulatory and carrier affairs, said. 

“While additional interim rate reductions are required to have a meaningful impact, we are pleased to see a proper focus and fast-track toward more competition and better prices.”

The Commission is examining wholesale rates smaller companies pay to larger providers to access their networks. 

TekSavvy said a number of larger companies acquired independent players, pointing to policies under the CRTC’s “former leadership,” and emergency action is needed. 

Bell has acquired Distributel and EBOX. Telus took over Start.ca and Altima, while Cogeco purchased Oxio last month. 

Paul Andersen, Chair of the Canadian Network Operators of Canada (CNOC), tweeted the Commission has finally taken an approach to address a wholesale regime that “was not prompting competition for consumers.”

CRTC Chair Vicky Eatrides promised to revamp the internet pricing model when she took over as the head of the CRTC. “It’s a top priority for the organization because what we’ve done is not working,” Eatrides told MobileSyrup in January. 

The action also follows the policy direction Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada issued last month, directing the CRTC to operate a wholesale internet framework with reasonable rates. 

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne believes the policy direction played a role in the CRTC’s review. 

“I think the new directive is paying off for Canadians,” Champagne said Wednesday. 

“We’ve been asking the CRTC to make sure that prices go down, that we have more competition, and that’s one of the tools in the toolbox to make sure that we have better prices for Canadians.”

 Source: TekSavvy, Paul Andersen, CBC

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Mobile Syrup

Mandating internet speed transparency will help consumers: MP Mazier

Peace Tower at the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa Framed in Arch

Dan Mazier says small internet service providers (ISPs) support his push to have telecom companies share the typical download and upload speeds of internet services with customers.

The Conservative Member of Parliament’s move is part of Bill C-288. Introduced in June 2022, the bill is an amendment to the Telecommunications Act.

“Consumers need that information to make an accurate decision,” Mazier said during Monday’s industry and technology committee meeting.

If passed, the bill would require carriers to make information on fixed broadband services they offer accessible, including service metrics during peak periods.

As Cartt points out, the bill will eliminate language including “up to” and “maximum” that telecom providers use when sharing information on available internet services.

“It would level the playing field,” Mazier said. “I’ve heard very positive feedback from the smaller internet service providers, interestingly enough.” Consultations with larger companies led to mixed reactions, he said.

OpenMedia offered its support for the bill back in September, stating the bill would help Canadians make educated decisions.

“If an internet provider is advertising certain speeds, consumers have the right to know before they buy if those speeds accurately reflect average network performance,” OpenMedia’s campaigns director, Matt Hatfield.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada issued new policy directions for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) last month. The Commission is tasked with ensuring a number of issues regarding wholesale internet, including that larger players offer the services at reasonable prices.

Source: industry and technology committee Via: Cartt

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Mobile Syrup

Ministers Rodriguez and Champagne outline new CRTC chair’s expectations in letter

As the new head of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), Vicky Eatrides has a long list of responsibilities, and two federal Ministers want to cement the fact.

In a letter to Eatrides, Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez and Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne listed a number of issues they say are vital for Eatrides to accomplish her mandate.

Listed towards the beginning of the letter are references to Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, and Bill C-18, the Online News Act. If passed, the CRTC will govern them, giving the regulatory body additional powers.

“Our leadership, and that of the CRTC more broadly, will be critical to ensuring that new legislation is implemented effectively,” the letter states. “Practical and workable regulations can ensure policy goals are met while maintaining Canadians’ online experience and ensuring everyone can participate in and benefit from an increasingly digital culture and society.”

The Ministers further state their concerns on a number of issues weighing the CRTC down, namely how long it takes the CRTC to make decisions, how accessible their practices are to the public, and transparency.

“Public interest decision making requires hearing from diverse interests. Right now, there is a perception among many that access to CRTC processes is unequal,” the Ministers write. “While the regulator’s open and evidence-based processes are a core strength, barriers to participation remain.”

The letter also states the CRTC should continue reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples by working together on policies that may affect them “in a spirit of recognition of rights, respect, co-operation, and partnership.”

The telecom industry also needs improvement, the letter states, and a proposed new policy direction for the organization will help guide them. Addressing competition and affordability, the Ministers say the CRTC should ensure wholesale internet services are “used, supervised, and adjusted effectively and in a timely manner.”

Wholesale internet services are something Eatrides has promised to change. In an interview with MobileSyrup, Eatrides said the CRTC will share a new model with Canadians “within the coming months.”

“It’s a top priority for the organization because what we’ve done is not working,” she said.

Source: Canadian Heritage 

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Mobile Syrup

TekSavvy wants the CRTC to update its tariff approval procedure

Internet service provider TekSavvy has asked the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to reexamine the approval process for competitor tariff filings.

TekSavvy says the current process makes wholesale competitors wait for Commission approval for service speeds offered by retail carriers. But those incumbent carriers can immediately provide the speeds to their customers.

“Service limitations significantly prejudice competition in the provision of retail internet service, depriving Canadian telecom consumers of the very benefits that competitive wholesale access was mandated to provide,” TekSavvy says in its application to the CRTC.

The company wants the CRTC to confirm that “no tariff approval is required to introduce speed tiers that fall within an approved speed-band associated with an approved rate.”

Source: CRTC via Cartt.ca