CRTC completes 5-year review of regs based on Tory cabinet directive

The CRTC said Thursday it has completed a five-year comprehensive review of its telecom regulations with an aim to reduce or streamline the rules based on a cabinet directive to rely on market forces. Initiated in the middle of 2007, the review sought to reduce regulatory burdens for telecom providers following the Conservative cabinet's 2006 policy directive, which instructed the CRTC to rely on market forces to the maximum extent feasible for the telecom sector. The commission asked industry players to identify which regulations should be reviewed according to the new policy direction. In all, the commission reviewed more than 80 telecom regulations, “which resulted in the elimination or streamlining of over 60 per cent of these regulations,” the CRTC said in a release. Twenty-three regulations were removed outright, 28 were modified or streamlined, and 33 were maintained, the commission said. The review resulted in reduced reporting requirements for telecom providers and the creation of a streamlined tariff approval process, the CRTC said. “Service providers should have as much flexibility as possible to bring innovative communications services to Canadians,” Len Katz, the commission's acting chair and vice-chair of telecommunications, said in a statement. “We have gone to great lengths to reduce costs and red tape for the industry by ensuring that our regulatory measures don’t interfere with a competitive marketplace, while maintaining necessary protection for Canadians.” Some of the policies crafted under or affected by the review process include the creation of the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services in 2007, the revised definition of essential telecom services in 2008, and the updated list of providers’ essential service obligations in 2009. The commission’s “obligation to serve” decision last year and its interconnection decision this year also resulted from the review. The CRTC said it completed its final policy review Thursday with a new directive to telephone companies to provide free diagnostic services to customers who experience problems with their phone lines but who do not have a “jack-ended demarcation device”—which is the point between the provider's outside network and the customer's own network inside their home. Under the new regulations, telcos will be required to install jack-ended demarcation devices after performing diagnostics, which will allow the customer to perform a diagnostic test themselves by plugging their phone into the jack. “If they hear a dial tone, then the problem is with the inside wiring and they can choose a repair service. If they do not hear a dial tone, then the problem is in the network outside and the telephone company must repair it free of charge,” the commission said. With its five-year review now behind it, the commission said it will continue to look at the 2006 policy directive when considering new regulations. “Going forward, the CRTC will continue to favour market forces and carefully weigh the need for any new regulations,” the commission said in a release. “In particular, the CRTC will be mindful of the administrative burden any proposed requirement, enforcement measure or penalty may create for small Canadian businesses.” news@thewirereport.ca

CRTC completes 5-year review of regs based on Tory cabinet directive

News | 02/10/2012 5:12 pm EST

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