Post Tagged with: "crtc"

CRTC Mandates Wholesale Access for ISPs

The CRTC yesterday affirmed an earlier decision requiring incumbents to grant wholesale access to faster speeds to independent ISPs.  The government could still overrule the decision within the next 90 days.

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August 31, 2010 6 comments News

NDP Criticizes Google – Verizon Net Neutrality Deal

The NDP has published a release criticizing the Google – Verizon net neutrality deal, expressing concern about the side deal.  The deal treats wired and wireless services in a different manner, something the CRTC has rejected as part of its traffic management guidelines.

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August 13, 2010 2 comments News

Telecom Complaints Commissioner Remains a Relative Unknown

Hockey may be Canada’s national pastime, but my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes that complaining about the major telephone and cable companies sometimes seems like it ranks a close second.  Delayed Canadian launches of the latest phones, new caps on Internet bandwidth, increased monthly subscription fees, and the entry of additional marketplace competitors all regularly attract significant media attention as consumers focus on their monthly Internet and wireless bills far more intensely than most other products and services.

Notwithstanding the public interest, the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services toils in relative anonymity.  Established in 2007, the CCTS came as part of a deregulation bargain initiated by then-Industry Minister Maxime Bernier, who deregulated many local telephone markets and established an industry-funded telecom complaints commissioner.

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August 13, 2010 11 comments Columns

Telecom Complaints Commissioner Remains a Relative Unknown

Appeared in the Toronto Star on August 9, 2010 as Telecom Complaints Commissioner Remains a Relative Unknown Hockey may be Canada’s national pastime, but complaining about the major telephone and cable companies sometimes seems like it ranks a close second.  Delayed Canadian launches of the latest phones, new caps on […]

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August 9, 2010 Comments are Disabled Columns Archive

Digital TV Transition Could Lead to New Digital Divide

In just over one year, Canada is scheduled to complete the digital television transition, as stations switch from analog to digital broadcasts. While cable and satellite subscribers will not notice the change, over one million Canadians that rely on over-the-air signals will be affected.  Despite the experience in other countries that left many consumers without digital converter boxes staring at blank screens, my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) argues the Canadian government seems content to leave the switch to the private sector, implausibly claiming “industry-led solutions will ensure a smooth transition for consumers.”

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July 29, 2010 17 comments Columns