Canada's toothless telco regulator finally shows a minute hint of fang

Michael Geist sez,

Canada's telecom regulator hearing into usage based billing concluded yesterday with a final decision expected some time in the fall. This long post focuses on the shift in CRTC thinking on the state of broadband competition in Canada but wonders whether it comes too late to make a difference. For many years, the CRTC has steadfastly maintained that the Canadian ISP market is competitive. The view that the Canadian Internet services market is competitive has shaped virtually every recent important CRTC decision on broadband regulation. Given its longstanding view that the market was competitive, the frustration felt by independent ISPs, businesses, and consumers simply didn't resonate with the commission. Yet despite this track record, the recent hearing provided glimpses of a change. On Monday, CRTC Vice-Chair Len Katz posed a question that started from the following premise:

"I guess I come from the position that we, the Commission, have already recognized there is a need to create competition, more competition in order to protect Canadians, and facilities-based competition is not yet here. So it's our job to find a vehicle to create that competition and, in the simplest terms, it is to create an environment where broadband would be made available to a third party through a lease arrangement."

That the CRTC Commissioners may have at long last recognized the need to prioritize competition above all other considerations is the good news. The bad news is that it may be too late. The Commission has already set much of the wholesale framework and has been unwilling to grapple with the retail one.

The Usage Based Billing Hearing Concludes: Has the CRTC Come to Competition Too Late?

• [Neural Kernel]

  Toothless, eh? Fire up an unlicensed transmitter if you don’t think they’ve got the ‘nads to do anything about it…

• [DarthVain]

  Oh they have the ‘nads to go after the little guy I have no doubt. Its going against their buddies Bell and Rogers that they are loath to do.

  As to the usage based billing hearing, and possible action on competition, well I wouldn’t hold my breath. We shall see what the decision is in the fall. If I were a betting man, I would say it will be along the same lines as every decision they have ever made, which is in favor of the “Industry” which really means in favor of “Bell” and “Rogers”.

  For real change to happen in the CRTC, the Federal Government will have to come in and make sweeping changes, or at least threaten to.

• [Anonymous]

  That sort of solution has worked well here in new Zealand. NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT.

• [Anonymous]

  Not good enough. They shouldn’t have to “stimulate” competition. They should get out of bed with Bell Canada. CRTC has stood by and watched Bell game the market for years as Canadian internet was upgraded in price alone. Bell has somehow convinced the Canadian government that they are the only company capable of doing the job when they’re pretty much the worst most inefficient company on the planet. But if you blessed to have monopolies like they do I imagine you always pull profits.