By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Canadian Heritage and Innovation Canada are emphasizing the speed at which the CRTC makes decisions in a mandate letter to new head of the regulator, Vicky Eatrides.
“There is a perception that the CRTC is taking too long to make decisions,” the Monday letter said. “CRTC regulatory decisions are essential to creating a stable, competitive, and innovative business environment.
“Undue delays create uncertainty and potentially impact investment decisions and service offerings for Canadians,” the letter added. “As the pace of technological change continues unabated, timely decision making will only be more critical in responding to the needs and expectations of society and industry.”
The CRTC releases hundreds of decisions and notices a year. But on some decisions, including on the 2021 wholesale access rates and the most recent terms and conditions for the MVNO regime, industry players had complained about the slowness with which the regulator moved to release them.
Cogeco said last year that the CRTC was moving too slow before it released the MVNO terms and conditions, which was integral to its decision to enter the wireless market.
On the wholesale access market, third party internet service providers complained about the delay in the CRTC releasing its decision on how much they will have pay to access the incumbent networks before the regulator decided to scrap its proposed lower rates from 2019.
During the period leading up to the 2021 wholesale decision, independent ISPs made a number of decisions – including acquisitions – in anticipation of the decision that turned out not in their favour. Some independent ISPs have agreed to be acquired by the larger players since, including Bell buying Distributel, which had acquired Primus before the rates decision.
Eatrides and her predecessor, Ian Scott, have acknowledged that the wholesale regime is not working as intended, and the commission is currently working on a framework to bring down broadband prices.
The letter noted the looming new policy direction to the CRTC that ISED has proposed and for which it has fielded comments. The direction includes an emphasis on setting a proper wholesale rate regime.
“The CRTC has played a critical role in advancing competition, and its framework for wholesale access represents a core stream of ongoing work,” the letter said. “Wholesale access is a proven regulatory tool for enabling retail competition in the Internet service market, and the CRTC can ensure that this tool is used, supervised, and adjusted effectively and in a timely manner.”
The letter also said the CRTC can get involved in the Telecommunications Reliability Agenda to improve reliability and resiliency of telecommunications networks. In light of last summer’s Rogers network outage, ISED has gotten the telecommunications companies to agree to formal agreements in which they would back each other in the event of a network failure.
Former CRTC chair Scott alluded to a possible proceeding at the commission on the matter, which executives at the large companies argued was not needed.
The letter also indicated that the federal government expects the CRTC to respect the Charter if Parliament adopts bill C-11, which would empower the regulator to bring streaming platforms to contribute to the Canadian broadcasting ecosystem.
“The policy debate around the Online Streaming Act raised a key concern amongst parliamentarians regarding freedom of expression as they look for assurance that the Bill cannot be used to stifle what Canadians say online,” the letter said.
“The Broadcasting Act is fundamentally about promoting cultural expression, not hindering it,” it added. “For decades, the Act has ensured re-investment into local content creation, support for creators and the sustainability of creative industries in Canada.”
