CRTC, VOIP and the Government of Canada
I have just finished the final revisions to my paper which is critical of the Government of Canada's decision to overule the CRTC and deregulate the Voice Over IP indstry in Canada. I have posted a
pdf version, an
opendocument version, and an
html versions available.
I also sent an editorial on the topic to the Free Press :
The Conservative government of Canada has shown it's true colours recently when it announced that it would overrule a decision made by
the CRTC to regulate the voice over IP telephone industry. The CRTC is
vested with the authority to regulate and supervise all aspects of the
Canadian broadcasting system, as well as to regulate telecommunications,
common carriers and service providers that come under federal
jurisdiction. The CRTC wanted to regulate the industry to ensure that
big telecoms such as Bell Canada would not offer voice over IP services
under cost. This move by the Conservative government will make it
difficult for small companies offering voice over IP services to
compete in an environment where big telecoms purposefully offer the
same services for less than they can be offered. This will choke out
these small businesses and the big telecoms will continue to milk
consumers to sustain their inflated profit margins. The conservatives
have once again shown that they cater to the interests of their big
corporate friends at the expense of ordinary Canadians and the small
businesses that make our economy great.
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