Michael Geist

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Rogers Astroturf Lobby Campaign on Spectrum Foreshadows Battle over Wireless Broadband Competition

The Rogers astroturf lobby campaign against a spectrum set-aside, which sneakily uses people interested in a notification on when LTE may be available in their market, foreshadows a major battle over the rules on the 2012 spectrum auction. Much like the 2007 battle over the AWS auction, the incumbents will argue that the market is already sufficiently competitive and that any set-aside will unfairly advantage new entrants. The 2007 battle included submissions from Rogers and Bell that insisted that Canada was already “extremely competitive” and that consumer prices for wireless services very low. For example, Rogers argued:

Canadian consumers are very satisfied with their choice of Canadian providers, pricing plans and technology options. Consumers are the first to object in the face of poor competition among service providers, yet surveys indicate the exact opposite sentiment.

The company added that “contrary to many statistics that are used and quoted irresponsibly, Canadian consumers fair very well when compared to other countries. Canadian carriers offer
some of the most competitive rates in the world.”

The government rightly rejected the incumbent arguments and established a set-aside that led to new entrants such as Wind Mobile and Mobilicity.

September 26, 2011 — 5 comments — News

CIRA Election: Time To Vote

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority, which manages the dot-ca domain, is holding its annual board election until September 28th. This year there are four spots up for grabs – three from candidates nominated by the nominating committee and one from the membership nominated field. There are some great candidates including […]

September 26, 2011 — Comments are Disabled — News

Rogers Launches Advocacy Campaign on Spectrum Auction

Rogers has launched a new public advocacy campaign on the forthcoming spectrum auction. Linking the roll-out of its LTE to the auction, Rogers warns that set-asides for new entrants “would be a recipe for leaving Canada behind the rest of the world, stalling Canadian innovation and limiting who can access […]

September 23, 2011 — 19 comments — News

CRTC Updates Internet Traffic Management Practices Guidelines

Earlier this year, I launched an access-to-information request with the CRTC requesting all records related to net neutrality complaints filed under the Commission’s 2009 Internet traffic management practices decision. The result was a post titled Canada’s Net Neutrality Enforcement Failure, which listed dozens of complaints and a discouraging lack of CRTC investigation into them. The post concluded:

After more than 30 investigations in nearly two years, it is clear improvements are needed. At a minimum, the CRTC should be publishing all public complaints and resolutions so that the issues obtain a public airing. Moreover, the system needs penalties for violations as well as pro-active audits to ensure Internet providers are compliant with their obligations. Without change, the CRTC’s net neutrality rules offer little protection for Canadian Internet users.

Yesterday the CRTC took a first step in this direction by releasing new guidelines for responding to complaints and enforcing the rules. The best aspect of the ruling is a commitment to publish quarterly reports featuring a summary of the number and types of complaints it has received, including the number of active and resolved complaints. Moreover, any findings of non-compliance will be published on the Commission’s website and will include the ISP’s name and the nature of the complaint. The move toward greater transparency is welcome and an important step in pressuring ISPs to comply with the guidelines. The new guidelines also establish a strict timeline for responses by complainants and ISPs, which should help avoid Xplorenet-type situations that dragged on for months before the ISP addressed complaints over its traffic management practices.

September 23, 2011 — 6 comments — News

Can We Please Focus on the Real Lawful Access?

Lawful access, the government’s planned legislation on Internet surveillance, has generated considerable attention over the past few days as the government decided against including it in its first omnibus crime bill. That decision generated media coverage, claims that the government backed down in the face of a 70,000 signature online petition, and a debate in the House of Commons in which Public Safety Minister Vic Toews stated that warrantless online wiretapping is not planned. While I recognize these developments feel like a cause for celebration, I fear there is a major problem developing as too much of this discussion doesn’t actually involve the real lawful access.

First, the omission of lawful access from Bill C-10 does not mean lawful access is dead or defeated. It is only delayed as Justice officials have indicated that the government is “committed to reintroducing” the lawful access measures. In fact, yesterday Toews confirmed again “the legislation will come.” The exclusion from the omnibus crime bill is definitely a step in the right direction – it should allow for the committee hearings that have never happened despite several attempts to pass lawful access – but lawful access will still be introduced and presumably passed at some point in the future.

Second, the debate has unfortunately veered into concerns over lawful access that don’t reflect reality.

September 22, 2011 — 26 comments — News