CRTC to Regulate Cell?

[jon]

CRTC considers regulating wireless
Report on future of industry called 'policy manifesto'
By Jamie Sturgeon, Financial Post
February 11, 2010

The national telecommunications watchdog said yesterday it may begin regulating the wireless sector in a rare report being called a new "policy manifesto" for the future of the industry. Yet some of the sector's biggest players such as Telus Corp. and Rogers Communications Inc. say the report signals an entrenchment of outdated rules.

Others said the paper's release hinted at a power play by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission designed to assert its authority against counterparts in the federal government.

"Over time, the commission's hands-off approach to wireless may come under pressure as it becomes a more important platform tool," said the paper, entitled Navigating Convergence: Charting Canadian Communications Change and Regulatory Implications.

It means wireless providers like Telus and Rogers would become the targets of greater scrutiny while perhaps being forced to pay more into subsidy schemes to support things like domestic content.

"[The CRTC says] someday down the road people may watch TV on wireless devices and therefore it may be very important that we regulate it to make sure they can't unless it's the TV we want them to watch," said Michael Hennessy, vice-president of regulatory affairs at Vancouverbased Telus.

"The document is astonishing."

The CRTC decided in 1994 not to regulate wireless services. That decision is set to be revisited in the fall, though, as more users access content on devices like the BlackBerry.

The policy paper also reviewed broader trends across the broadcast and communications industries. Mr. Hennessy said the "policy manifesto" was the first of its kind from the regulator in that it precedes, not follows, major hearings.

Some suggested the commission is attempting to apply old broadcasting rules, where competition and content choice was limited, onto a wireless and Internet marketplace where a multitude of players compete.

"I think we're heading into an era where more things will be taken care of by the market," said Ken Engelhart, senior vice-president of regulatory affairs at Rogers.

"In a big picture sense, they see a bigger role for the regulator."

The report's release may reflect a wish at the CRTC to reassert its authority over the direction of policy. The federal government has overruled the regulator on decisions relating to foreign-ownership and price competition in recent years.

The latest example was in December when Industry Minister Tony Clement overturned its decision to bar new wireless carrier Globalive Wireless Management Corp. from launching. Now, Mr. Clement's department, Industry Canada, as well as Heritage Canada, are said to be crafting their own digital communications policy vision. More than one observer close to proceedings in Ottawa suggested yesterday's report was a shot across the government's bow.

"What the commission has done here really ... is attempted to co-opt the role of the government in setting policy," one said.

[jon]

Obviously, based on the CRTC's attempt to stop Yak from running its own cellular bandwidth, the CRTC has always had the authority to determine who is "Canadian enough" to run a cell phone company in Canada. Even if they were overruled by the federal government in that particular case.

But, this could regulate the content carried by cell phone providers. It is not likely that the CRTC will require their approval for cell phone rate plans as such, as the CRTC got out of that with land line phone companies years ago.

If this actually happens, then I'll be waiting for the other shop to drop: regulation of content provided by Canadian Internet providers. But that will generate cries of "Censorship" from a lot of quarters.

Thinking of the two together, I wonder where wireless Internet will fit, from the CRTC's regulatory perspective.

[Howaboutthat]

Thinking of the two together, I wonder where wireless Internet will fit, from the CRTC's regulatory perspective.

Shhhhhhh! They don't know about wi-fi yet! (Let's try again.... a rhetorical statement)