Blais foresees broadband access as ‘basic service’

OTTAWA—CRTC Chair Jean-Pierre Blais said he expects universal access to broadband Internet to one day be defined and regulated a "basic service," as home telephone services are now. “The commission’s mandate and overarching goal is to make sure all Canadians, including vulnerable populations, have access to essential communication services. No debate about that,” Blais said Friday in a speech at a dinner hosted by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC). “Deciding exactly what constitutes a basic service is open to interpretation, of course. Years ago, it meant having a basic telephone line. In light of the growing importance of broadband to all aspects of Canadians’ lives, I can foresee the day when universal access to broadband will form part of the definition." Telecommunications services classified as “basic” by the CRTC can involve price and access regulations. The Telecommunications Act says the CRTC can establish a fund to support services it defines as basic to ensure Canadians have access to it at affordable rates. Basic service regulation ensuring access and price ceilings currently applies to incumbent home phone services in some markets where there is not enough competition. In its "obligation to serve" decision in 2011 (2011-291), the CRTC said the deployment of broadband Internet access "should continue to rely on market forces and targeted government funding, an approach which encourages private and public partnerships." The commission said "it would not be appropriate at this time to establish a funding mechanism to subsidize the deployment of broadband Internet access services." In that decision, the CRTC set a target for all Canadians to have access to Internet speeds of 5 Mbps or faster for downloads and 1 Mbps for uploads by 2015. In February, a CRTC-commissioned report raised the question of whether Internet connectivity is an essential utility, and what that may mean for monthly bandwidth caps or customer disconnections. "From these complications concerning the rise of cloud computing in a digital culture of bandwidth capping, arise questions about whether internet service providers should be allowed to cut households and small businesses or organizations off from the web because of overuse, or if internet connectivity is an essential utility or service, like water, electricity, or the telephone," said the report, by Queen's University professor Sidneyeve Matrix. Blais said Friday that CRTC requirements for incumbent telecom companies to offer smaller telcos wholesale access to essential services is “vital to competition” in Canada, adding that the commission “refrains from regulating when we are convinced that market forces are sufficient to produce the desired benefits for Canadians.” nkyonka@thewirereport.ca --- CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly cited Blais saying he foresees broadband access as an "essential service." The story mixed up the definitions for "basic service" and "essential service." The two are different regulatory terms, with essential services relating to wholesale and basic services relating to universal access.

Blais foresees broadband access as ‘basic service’

News | December 1, 2012

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