Fibre needed for viable third-party access framework, CRTC hears

telecom | 02/13/2024 2:42 pm EST

If Canada is to have a viable wholesale market, high speed access needs to...

Trudeau says Bell decision to cut jobs is “garbage”; CNOC not surprised

telecom | 02/09/2024 5:07 pm EST

Reaction has been swift and condemnatory to the announcement Thursday by...

Telus asks CRTC to go easy on vBDUs for initial base contributions into broadcasting system

Internet and Governance | 12/08/2023 9:34 am EST

Gatineau, Que. – Telus Corp. asked the CRTC to...

AIDA needs to be scrapped, civil society groups tell committee

Internet and Governance | 11/03/2023 5:14 pm EDT

A quartet of civil society groups appeared before the House of Commons...

PIAC, FRPC demand strengthened CRTC participation fund

Media | 04/21/2021 6:19 pm EDT

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and the Forum for Research and Policy in Communications (FRPC) are urging the CRTC to come up with an interim plan to “stabilize the finances” of the Broadcasting Participation Fund as they anticipate a shortfall in money for...

Focus on competition at ‘day of action’ following Rogers-Shaw deal

Media | 03/16/2021 6:10 pm EDT

As news of Roger’s Communications Inc.’s deal to acquire Shaw Communications Inc. sparks discussions on what it may mean for the wireless market in Canada, advocates say competition and other...

PIAC, CMG criticize CBC’s request for digital flexibility

Media | 01/26/2021 6:13 pm EST

The new digital initiatives from CBC/Radio-Canada like the English-language Gem and its French counterpart ICI Tou.tv have not yet shown themselves to be good enough to fulfill the broadcaster's...

PIAC calls for $50 internet subsidy for lower-income Canadians during pandemic

telecom | 01/14/2021 4:12 pm EST

Canada should follow the lead of the United States and put in place a $50 “broadband benefit” throughout the rest of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) says. The...

Create a broadband czar to coordinate funding: PIAC

telecom | 12/08/2020 6:05 pm EST

The disparate broadband funding programs administered across different federal government departments...

OPC supports PIAC call for CRTC to clarify rules for tracing apps

telecom | 12/01/2020 5:48 pm EST

While it believes the CRTC's existing definition of "customer confidential...

Gov’t tables PIPEDA reform, new consumer privacy legislation

Media | 11/17/2020 5:54 pm EST

The federal government introduced sweeping private-sector privacy law...

PIAC requests privacy review of contact tracing apps

telecom | 10/29/2020 6:24 pm EDT

Six months after the CRTC declined its request to hold an inquiry into contact tracing technologies and...

CRTC stepped back to allow telecoms to handle COVID-19

telecom | 08/13/2020 3:37 pm EDT

The CRTC largely played a hands-off role during the COVID-19 pandemic in a...

Canadians complaining about wireless less, experiencing fewer unexpected charges: research

telecom | 08/05/2020 3:31 pm EDT

Canadians are complaining less about their wireless service and fewer consumers are receiving unexpected charges in their monthly wireless bill, according to wireless code research commissioned by the CRTC. The report, conducted by market research company Kantar and published on July 29, found 22 per cent of Canadian cell phone users experienced bill shock -- a surprisingly high bill -- in the past year, compared to 25 per cent in 2019. That dip was more modest than the decline in data...

Telecoms end overage fees suspension

telecom | 07/02/2020 4:52 pm EDT

Major Canadian telecoms have ended one of their major relief measures for Canadians who suddenly shifted...

Monsef tight-lipped on rural broadband funding announcement

telecom | 06/05/2020 5:01 pm EDT

Rural Economic Development Minister Maryam Monsef says “precise...

CRTC rejects request to hold contact-tracing inquiry

telecom | 05/13/2020 4:09 pm EDT

The CRTC has rejected a Public Interest Advocacy Centre request that it look into the involvement of...

PIAC calls for providers to detail COVID-19 tracing involvement

telecom | 05/04/2020 6:14 pm EDT

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre is asking for all Canadian...

Cogeco to bring back overage fees as of May 1

telecom | 04/30/2020 2:10 pm EDT

Cogeco  Inc. will again start charging overage fees to its home internet customers who exceed their data limits as of Friday, with the company instead focusing on other measures it considers to “be more essential” to its customers.  It’s the first internet service provider to confirm its suspension of data overage charges will end.  A Cogeco spokesperson told The Wire Report that its suspension of data overage charges — introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic on Mar. 20 — would end on Thursday as it prioritized other temporary measures. “We have decided to focus...

Consider cost applications on Accessibility Canada Act regulations, CRTC urged

Media | 04/16/2020 4:58 pm EDT

The CRTC is under criticism for saying it may not award costs to groups who participate in a public consultation on regulations under the Accessibility Canada Act, with stakeholder groups arguing such...

CNOC calls for gov’t funding to keep Canadians connected

telecom | 04/07/2020 5:40 pm EDT

The federal government should guarantee internet service providers payments...

STIR/SHAKEN may create a ‘two-tiered’ wireless system: ISCC

telecom | 03/12/2020 6:03 pm EDT

OTTAWA — The CRTC's efforts to work with telecom companies to implement a...

Telus savages gov’t price directive, others more circumspect

telecom | 03/06/2020 5:30 pm EST

Analysts have provided nuanced reactions to the government’s plan to...

Fibre wire access scheme already exists, PIAC argues

telecom | 02/12/2020 5:46 pm EST

CloudWifi Inc.’s application for small internet service providers to be able to access fibre...

Election 2019: watch for price caps, Netflix regs, Huawei ban

Media | 09/10/2019 12:03 pm EDT

Even before the federal election campaign officially kicked off, telecom...

Internet code will indirectly tackle poor sales practices, CRTC chairman says

telecom | 07/31/2019 11:01 am EDT

CRTC chairman Ian Scott said the new internet code will address many of the...

CRTC asks for info on device financing plans

telecom | 07/17/2019 12:17 pm EDT

The CRTC has asked the country’s wireless providers for information about new device financing plans that have appeared on the market in the last few weeks. In a letter signed by CRTC chief of consumer, research and...

Telus plans could also ‘interfere’ with customer churn: PIAC

telecom | 07/12/2019 4:42 pm EDT

The same week that concerns were raised about new device financing plans from Rogers Communications Inc. potentially running afoul of the Wireless Code, John Lawford,...

Rogers’ financing plans ‘might be seen as a problem’: CCTS

telecom | 07/10/2019 6:23 pm EDT

The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) said...

Ultimate impact of new ‘unlimited’ plans unclear: industry-watchers

telecom | 06/13/2019 6:29 pm EDT

As BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. reacted to Rogers Communications Inc.’s offer of a new wireless data plan with no data overage charges, analysts and experts had difficulty predicting how the new plans...

NDP intros affordable telecom plan

telecom | 06/10/2019 6:03 pm EDT

The New Democratic Party has unveiled Monday a plan to make telecommunications services more affordable,...

CRTC denies PIAC clarity on phone unlocking

telecom | 05/23/2019 6:00 pm EDT

The CRTC has denied a request by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) to state that CRTC policy...

‘Competition’ definition key to impact of new CRTC directive: experts

telecom | 02/27/2019 6:08 pm EST

The new policy direction for the CRTC announced by the federal government Tuesday is a blunt message to the regulator to make some changes, but the extent to which it will...

Onus is on telecoms to fix misleading sales practices: CRTC chairman

telecom | 02/20/2019 11:00 am EST

Canada’s telecommunications industry suffers from an “unacceptable...

Stick to hexagons for broadband fund, PIAC and telecoms tell CRTC

telecom | 02/13/2019 3:07 pm EST

An application to relax eligibility requirements for the CRTC’s...

Growing CRTC cost awards delays ‘problem for everybody’

Media | 12/18/2018 7:44 pm EST

Increases in how long the CRTC takes to pay public interest groups to...

More consumer groups say they won’t participate in CRTC internet code proceeding

telecom | 11/30/2018 3:59 pm EST

The list of consumer groups that say they won’t take part in the CRTC’s...

PIAC says CRTC ‘railroading’ internet code, boycotts proceedings

Media | 11/23/2018 2:33 pm EST

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre says it is boycotting the CRTC’s internet code proceedings, a move that comes after the regulator denied an application by consumer groups for a time-extension on...

Consumer groups warn MPs against site-blocking pitches

Media | 11/06/2018 1:55 pm EST

OTTAWA — Consumer advocacy groups are cautioning MPs against proposals that would make site-blocking in Canada easier, after a push for those anti-piracy policies failed at the CRTC failed last...

Comms acts review panel urges ‘practical’ submissions

Media | 11/01/2018 7:11 pm EDT

OTTAWA — Members of the panel tasked with providing recommendations to...

Consumer, seniors groups ask for telecom sales code of conduct

Media | 10/23/2018 6:24 pm EDT

GATINEAU — Consumer protection and seniors advocacy groups told the CRTC...

Small ISPs ‘optimistic’ about CRTC broadband fund

telecom | 09/28/2018 4:58 pm EDT

A CRTC decision outlining how its $750 million fund for rural broadband will be administered “looks quite encouraging,” according to the president of the Canadian Network Operators’ Consortium (CNOC). Matt Stein said in a phone interview the “process they’ve laid out stands out to introduce a lot of great options for some Canadians who don’t have a lot of options today.” The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) was more critical, with executive director John Lawford saying that the “comparative selection” approach the CRTC opted for isn’t necessarily simpler than...

Current witness protections sufficient in sales tactics inquiry: CRTC

telecom | 07/30/2018 5:12 pm EDT

The CRTC has declined a request from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) to offer protection against litigation to current and former employees who offer submissions to the regulator’s...

Court nixing Que. site-blocking ‘helpful’ against FairPlay: advocates

Media | 07/24/2018 5:59 pm EDT

The Quebec Superior Court has ruled against a plan by the Quebec government...

Freedom launches its own low-cost data plans

telecom | 07/19/2018 4:32 pm EDT

Shaw Communications Inc. has launched low-cost wireless data plans that trump offers proposed by its competitors to the CRTC, after the telecoms told the regulator that it should accept no substitutes what they proposed. The...

Industry should know Canadians concerned about sales practices: Bains

telecom | 06/14/2018 1:35 pm EDT

OTTAWA  — Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains said Thursday afternoon that...

Bains says spectrum auction dates to give industry predictability

telecom | 06/06/2018 6:51 pm EDT

TORONTO — Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains announced Wednesday the timing of the next three spectrum auctions — including the much talked-about 3.5 GHz — as well as a...

CRTC calls for ISPs to pay for CanCon, ‘equitable’ OTT contributions

Media | 05/31/2018 11:18 am EDT

GATINEAU — The CRTC is recommending the government undertake a bevy of...

FairPlay meeting with legal staff, not commissioners: CRTC

Media | 05/17/2018 6:57 pm EDT

An anti-internet piracy coalition did not end up meeting with CRTC...

Big three unveil low-cost, data only plans to criticism

telecom | 04/25/2018 6:08 pm EDT

Canada’s big three wireless carriers have responded to the CRTC’s...

CRTC abdicating responsibility by declining sales practices inquiry: PIAC

telecom | 02/14/2018 11:14 am EST

The CRTC has told the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) that Canadians have other outlets for complaints about telecom sales practices in response to a request from the consumer group to open an...

BPF registers to lobby amidst consumer group funding concerns

Media | 12/14/2017 2:25 pm EST

A few months after the emergence of a proposal asking the CRTC to shift...

PIAC still over $100K short of Feb. goal despite costs awards

telecom | 12/04/2017 12:34 pm EST

With under a month left in its donation drive and three recent cost awards,...

PIAC awarded costs from VOIS proceedings

telecom | 11/13/2017 4:59 pm EST

The CRTC has ordered VOIS Inc. to pay the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) a little over one thousand dollars for work done that eventually led to a non-compliance ruling against the Alberta-based telecom. The costs were...

CRTC cost award delays could lead to PIAC shutdown, group says

Media | 11/10/2017 5:24 pm EST

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) is in danger of having to close...

Ian Scott ‘collegial’ choice for new CRTC chair: former colleagues

Media | 07/18/2017 11:49 am EDT

The choice of Ian Scott as the new chairman of the CRTC was greeted positively by former colleagues who praised his experience and collegial style Tuesday, but his background...

Blais evokes praise, criticism as he leaves CRTC

Media | 06/19/2017 5:36 pm EDT

Now that former chairman Jean-Pierre Blais has departed the CRTC after five years at the helm, he leaves...

Bains tells CRTC to reconsider MVNO rules

telecom | 06/05/2017 1:51 pm EDT

TORONTO — Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains is directing the CRTC to reconsider a March decision in...

Alt TV managed service, doesn’t violate CRTC rules: Cope

Media | 05/15/2017 5:45 pm EDT

MONTREAL — BCE Inc. has launched a new TV product hoping to appeal to a segment of the market that’s less likely to subscribe to...

CRTC effectively bans most zero-rating in differential pricing decision

Media | 04/20/2017 8:04 pm EDT

As the CRTC banned most forms of differential pricing practices Thursday — including declaring that telecoms can’t pick and chose Internet content to zero-rate and...

Consumer advocates request basic services rejig for affordability fund

telecom | 04/06/2017 5:32 pm EDT

A trio of consumer advocacy groups are asking the CRTC to revise December’s basic telecom services decision, stating in a review-and-vary application filed Wednesday that the regulator should have included a tool by which to fund making telecom services affordable for low-income households. The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), the National Pensioners Federation (NPF) and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) Canada are requesting a revised...

Mixed reaction to budget viewed as long on potential, short on details

Media | 03/23/2017 9:37 pm EDT

For all the focus on the digital economy, there was little in Wednesday’s budget for digital content creators, broadband infrastructure enthusiasts or fans of long-term planning, according to...

Canada should consider ‘right to be forgotten’: former privacy commish

Media | 02/15/2017 9:32 pm EST

OTTAWA — Privacy experts raised the idea of a Canadian “right to be forgotten” in front of a House of Commons committee studying the Personal Information Protection and Electronic...

Bell-MTS deal receives final approval, includes Xplornet in ‘surprise twist’

Media | 02/15/2017 3:07 pm EST

The introduction of Xplornet Communications Inc. into Manitoba’s wireless market was a “surprise twist” to the story of BCE Inc.’s $3.9-billion acquisition...

Eliminate locked phones in Canada, Freedom Mobile tells CRTC

telecom | 02/08/2017 10:05 pm EST

In a departure from the positions of its fellow wireless providers, Shaw Communications Inc.’s Freedom Mobile suggested Wednesday the CRTC should forbid carriers from charging...

Wireless code hasn’t had expected effect on churn: PIAC

telecom | 02/06/2017 11:59 pm EST

GATINEAU, QUE. — The Wireless Code has been a positive development for consumers in the three years since its implementation, consumer groups said on the first day of the CRTC's hearing on...

Rural broadband program aims to bring 300 communities up to speed

telecom | 12/15/2016 10:01 pm EST

WAKEFIELD, Que. — The federal government’s new rural broadband program will focus on making high-speed connections, as opposed to simply forging Internet connections for rural and remote...

Pick-and-pay still has many ‘pitfalls’ for consumers: PIAC

Media | 12/01/2016 10:24 pm EST

As the CRTC’s rules requiring all TV providers to allow customers to sign up for channels individually came into effect Thursday, the regulator emphasized that consumers have to take...

Skinny basic best practices not enough to ‘scare’ BDUs: PIAC

Media | 11/21/2016 9:50 pm EST

The best practices for TV service providers offering skinny-basic cable packages announced by the CRTC Monday don’t amount to much more than lip service, with no real consequences for...

No proven harm from differential pricing: Bell

Media | 11/01/2016 9:41 pm EDT

GATINEAU — The CRTC shouldn’t take the non-participation in this week’s hearing by content providers who might eventually benefit from zero-rating and other differential pricing practices as non-interest, a five-commissioner panel studying the issue heard Tuesday. The remarks were made by Blair Levin, an advisor to Facebook Inc., during his appearance before the panel. He was speaking in response to a comment from chairman Jean-Pierre Blais over whether the CRTC should be inferring anything from what Blais called the “non-participation or the reluctant...

Rogers intros wireless data controls ahead of Wireless Code review

telecom | 10/06/2016 10:38 pm EDT

TORONTO — Rogers Communications Inc. CEO Guy Laurence said Thursday the company will eliminate an “irritant” among its customers by giving them the ability to manage...

PIAC says customers need better skinny basic info

Media | 09/08/2016 9:12 pm EDT

GATINEAU — On the final day of a two-day hearing, consumer groups told a CRTC panel that the regulator should set standards for how companies present information about their skinny-basic packages, while CRTC commissioner...

Canada outranks peers in wireless prices: report

telecom | 08/11/2016 9:02 pm EDT

Canadians continue to pay among the highest prices internationally for wireless and broadband Internet services, according to a new report comparing telecom service prices released Thursday by the CRTC. The ninth annual...

CRTC launches review of zero-rating, sponsored data

Media | 05/18/2016 9:32 pm EDT

Net neutrality advocates welcomed the CRTC’s launch of a new consultation on “differential pricing practices” for both wireline and wireless data plans Wednesday, a process that will see a public hearing kick off...

CRTC to launch consultation on skinny basic rollout

Media | 05/13/2016 7:19 pm EDT

The CRTC will issue a notice of consultation on how telecom companies carried out its skinny basic TV package rules later this month. Spokeswoman Patricia Valladao said in an email Friday the commission had asked TV providers, as part of a broadcast licence review process launched last month, to answer a number of questions about skinny basic. The CRTC will launch a consultation on those responses before the end of May, she confirmed. In an appendix to a call for licence renewal applications on April 21, the CRTC asked TV providers about their offers of mandatory basic packages...

Small ISPs laud government denial of Bell’s FTTH appeal

telecom | 05/11/2016 1:23 pm EDT

Independent Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and advocacy groups said Wednesday they’re encouraged by the federal government’s rejection of BCE Inc.’s appeal of the CRTC...

Experts say approval of Bell’s MTS acquisition likely

telecom | 05/02/2016 2:12 pm EDT

BCE Inc. announced Monday morning that it will purchase Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. in a $3.9 billion transaction that, if approved, will see the number of players in Manitoba’s telecom...

Customers say skinny basic not worthwhile: study

Media | 04/15/2016 4:57 pm EDT

More than 66,000 Canadians have signed up for a skinny-basic TV package since its rollout on March 1, according to the CRTC. In a Friday press release, the regulator said a third of those who signed up also took...

Advocacy groups ask CRTC for subsidies, to ‘champion’ Internet access

telecom | 04/14/2016 8:02 pm EDT

GATINEAU, Que. — CRTC commissioners drilled into what should constitute a need versus a want when it comes to access to broadband Internet Thursday, during the fourth day of a three-week hearing...

Rogers program raises pre-hearing questions about affordability

telecom | 04/07/2016 9:33 pm EDT

OTTAWA — Other major Internet service providers may be compelled to follow in the footsteps of Rogers Communications Inc. and offer cheap Internet packages for low-income earners, according to...

Relevance trumps affordability in reasons to forgo Internet: Ipsos

telecom | 12/11/2015 8:54 pm EST

Newly released survey results show that almost 10 per cent of Canadians still do not have Internet access at home, and more people cite its relevance to their personal lives than affordability as a...

CCTS asks CRTC to keep membership mandatory for telecoms

telecom | 11/03/2015 9:45 pm EST

Representatives from the Commission for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) told the CRTC Tuesday that making telecom companies' participation in the CCTS voluntary would affect the...

Net-neutrality advocates cry foul over Videotron music service

Media | 08/27/2015 8:15 pm EDT

MONTREAL — Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron is giving itself an undue preference with a new service that allows its mobile customers to listen to music streaming without it counting against their...

As OTA leaves 600 MHz, stations set for ‘difficult transition’: expert

Media | 08/18/2015 8:34 pm EDT

Industry Canada will repurpose the 600 MHz spectrum band for mobile use and collaborate with the United States on the move, which means at least some over-the-air (OTA) television stations will have to find new frequencies if they want to continue broadcasting. One question is how many of those stations will actually make the switch, Gregory Taylor, an assistant professor of mass communications at the University of Calgary, said in a phone interview. “One of the things we’ll have...

PIAC re-launches undue-preference complaint against Shomi

Media | 04/27/2015 11:08 pm EDT

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) has re-launched an undue-preference complaint against Rogers Communications Inc.'s and Shaw Communications Inc.’s Shomi streaming service,...

PIAC, seniors group denied costs in CRTC proceeding

Media | 04/23/2015 4:31 pm EDT

The CRTC has denied an application by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and the Council of Senior Citizens' Organizations of British Columbia for reimbursement of about $13,500 for their participation in a complaint...

Bell to make targeted ad program ‘opt-in,’ PIAC still fighting it

Media | 04/13/2015 9:00 pm EDT

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre said it will not drop a CRTC complaint against BCE Inc.’s targeted ad program, despite the company’s plans to re-launch the program according to...

Bell looks to avoid legal showdown with privacy commish

telecom | 04/07/2015 8:30 pm EDT

Faced with a possible legal fight against another agency of the federal government, BCE Inc. on Tuesday backed down after the Office of the Privacy Commissioner said the company refused to require...

PIAC calls for affordability standards in telecom

telecom | 03/23/2015 7:14 pm EDT

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) released a report on Monday that calls on Canada to legislate the requirement that all Canadians have access to "affordable" telecommunications services. PIAC said in its report that affordability should be defined in such a way that people can afford telecommunications without having to give up other essentials, such as heat or food. The document added that any such requirements should respect "consumer control of expenses and choice of services, to the maximum extent possible." The organization said affordable...

Rogers includes NHL streaming, Shomi with new Internet packages

telecom | 03/04/2015 9:50 pm EST

On Wednesday Rogers Communications Inc. announced a new brand of broadband Internet, Ignite, that comes bundled with subscriptions to two of Rogers' online video-streaming services. The company...

CRTC suspends proceeding against Shomi, CraveTV

Media | 02/20/2015 9:27 pm EST

The CRTC has suspended the proceeding initiated the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and Consumers' Association of Canada (CAC) against video-streaming services CraveTV and Shomi. CRTC dispute resolution manager Tandy...

Bell asks CRTC to dismiss PIAC’s CraveTV complaint

Media | 02/13/2015 8:10 pm EST

BCE Inc. is asking the CRTC to dismiss a “frivolous and vexatious” Feb. 6 complaint from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) against the company’s CraveTV service, arguing that the case has no chance of...

Shomi, CraveTV could be pulled if PIAC challenge succeeds: analyst

Media | 02/06/2015 10:02 pm EST

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) on Friday asked the CRTC to prohibit Rogers Communications Inc., Shaw Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. from restricting the availability of their streaming...

Mobile-TV ruling could be harbinger of streaming regulation: Klass

Media | 01/29/2015 9:53 pm EST

The CRTC’s ruling on Thursday that BCE Inc. and Quebecor Inc.-owned Videotron can no longer exempt their mobile-TV services from data charges could have implications for the regulation of...

Budget bill gives CRTC sharper teeth

telecom | 11/10/2014 7:36 pm EST

New legislation proposed by the federal government will expand the powers of the CRTC, giving it the ability to fine offenders, share information with the Competition Bureau and exert control over companies that operate telecom...

Bell top payer, PIAC top recipient of CRTC cost awards so far in 2014

telecom | 09/12/2014 2:31 pm EDT

The CRTC this year has ordered telecommunications companies to pay more than $230,000 to various organizations participating in different telecommunications proceedings, of which BCE Inc. and its...

PIAC says up to $600M annually at stake in paper-billing issue

telecom | 07/23/2014 9:06 pm EDT

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) says up to $600 million a year is at stake as the CRTC gets set to meet with telecommunications companies to discuss the practice of charging customers to...

Has the time come to make broadband a basic service?

telecom | 06/18/2014 7:27 pm EDT

As the CRTC is set to reconsider what constitutes a basic telecommunications service, some voices are saying that it’s about time to include broadband Internet in that definition. Under current rules, basic service includes a telephone line “with capability to connect via low-speed data transmission to the Internet at local rates,” according to the commission’s website — a definition set in 1999 that includes services such as “Touch-Tone dialing” and “a copy of a current local telephone directory.” “We think it’s long since...