Lowering cell phone & internet costs

While the progress we have made and witnessed to date on lowering prices is encouraging, more needs to be done. Canadians still pay too much for their Internet and cellphone services.

I am a vocal advocate for increased competition and lower prices in Canada’s telecommunications sector. I believe Canadians are best served by a competitive marketplace with a wide range of choices and low consumer costs.

To that end, last week our government proposed a new policy direction that requires the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to put in place new rules to improve competition and support consumers, which will lead to lower prices and better telecommunications services for Canadians.

This new policy direction will:

• enhance wholesale Internet access and competition by:

  • directing the CRTC to ensure that wholesale Internet access is available evenly across the market, including on fibre-to-the-home networks.

  • requiring large companies to make the speeds that Canadians are demanding available to competitors.

• increase mobile wireless competition by:

  • directing the CRTC to improve its hybrid mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) model as necessary. (The government is prepared to move to a full MVNO model, if needed, to support competition in the sector.)

• improve consumer rights by:

  • requiring new measures to address unacceptable sales practices and improve transparency and clarity of service pricing, making it easier and more affordable for consumers to change or cancel services.

  • requiring service providers to implement mandatory broadband testing so Canadians will know that the service they’re getting is what they’re paying for

• speed up new infrastructure for universal access by:

  • directing the CRTC to improve access to telephone poles and similar infrastructure so service providers can deploy new services more quickly.

• build better regulations to better support Canadian consumers

Read the full summary here.

As well, the new direction would require the CRTC to improve support for service providers that want to offer Internet and mobile services at lower prices to Canadians. It will also require the CRTC to support a wholesale Internet regime that is sustainable, effective and fair, because wholesale broadband is a proven regulatory tool for increasing retail competition in the Internet service market.

Decreasing consumer telecom costs for my constituents is a priority of mine. To that end, please keep in touch and continue to share your concerns about telecom prices with me.