Eatrides says internet ‘nutrition’ label possibly on menu
By Ahmad Hathout
The head of the CRTC said Monday that the regulator will be launching public consultations “in the weeks ahead” related to ease of contract cancellation and more transparent information on telecom plans, including a broadband label already in force in the United States.
“In the weeks ahead, we will also be launching public consultations to ensure that Canadians have the information and flexibility they need when choosing or switching cellphone and Internet plans,” Vicky Eatrides said at the Canadian Chapter of the International Institute of Communications.
That will include “seeking views on requiring service providers to give Canadians the option of cancelling a contract or modifying a plan without having to speak to a customer service representative.”
The CRTC has, over the years, introduced wireless and internet codes that, among things like making contracts easier to understand, forced internet and wireless service providers to make it easier to switch carriers, either by capping the contract length or eliminating the cancellation fee.
Earlier this month, the commission asked the big three telecoms to outline the “concrete steps” they are taking to address what it found to be unacceptably high international roaming charges and less choice than their peers in other countries, due two weeks from Monday.
“We found that roaming fees for Canadian travelers are often inflexible, causing consumers to pay a flat fee of $10 to $16 per day regardless of how much they use their cellphone,” Eatrides said of international roaming rates Monday.
The CRTC will launch a formal public proceeding if “sufficient progress is not made,” Eatrides said.
That same day, the CRTC also moved to deregulate domestic roaming negotiations by leaving it to the carriers to discuss rates. The regulator – which would act as the final arbiter if negotiations don’t work – said this will speed up getting affordable rates to Canadians.
The regulator cited the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) framework as an example of how commercial negotiations have sped up the process.
“Without our [final offer arbitration] process, these benefits could be delayed for years,” Eatrides said Monday. “We recognize the urgency in bringing them to Canadians, and that is why we have acted quickly to work through these important decisions.”
Eatrides also said the commission will be seeking comments on whether to mandate internet labels.
“I mean the types of nutrition labels that we see on food products — we would like to see something similar for Internet service,” Eatrides said. “But instead of information on serving size and calories, these labels would show information like price and download speeds, to help consumers easily compare plans.”
The labels would follow in the footsteps of the Federal Communications Commission, which has mandated since April and by congressional legislation such labels on ISPs. Those American labels would include such things as speed and latency.
The regulator said Monday that its upcoming action items will include issuing “timely and clear decisions,” including addressing “the historical backlog of Part 1 applications and post new ones as they are received; and inform Broadband Fund applicants of the status of their application once a decision has been made.”
