THIS MONTH’S CRTC DECISION TO regulate wholesale wireless roaming rates is just the latest in a long line of seminal processes and decisions which have come under the tenure of chairman Jean-Pierre Blais.
Just about 60% the way through his five-year term, Blais has had to digest major developments in the industry, technology, and political environment—which is pushing for more competition and consumer rights – while dealing with an often-cranky TV and telecom executives trying to steer their ships through the same choppy waters.
Here are many of the key CRTC developments since Blais, a lawyer and lifelong bureaucrat, was named the permanent replacement for Konrad von Finckenstein on June 8, 2012. Try to remember the massive amount of preparatory work that goes into all of this prior to hearings and decisions.
July 18, 2012 The CRTC announces it’s scrapping the controversial Local Programming Improvement Fund, effective August 31, 2014.
October 18, 2012 In the first big decision in Blais’ tenure, the CRTC denies Bell Canada’s $3.2-billion blockbuster proposal to buy Astral Media. Apoplectic, Bell then appeals to the federal cabinet to intervene, which it did not.
December 13, 2012 The Supreme Court of Canada effectively ends the decades-long fee-for-carriage debate in a 5-4 ruling that the CRTC doesn’t have jurisdiction to allow conventional TV broadcasters to negotiate a wholesale fee with carriers.
March 6, 2013 Bell reapplies to the CRTC to take over Astral.
May 28, 2013 The CRTC renews CBC/Radio-Canada’s licence and allows limited advertising on CBC Radio 2 and Espace Musique for three years, although vice-chair of broadcasting, Tom Pentefountas, issues a dissenting opinion, saying that ads would hurt the “distinct” nature of those public services. Instead of pulling in an expected $11 million in ad revenues in the first year, CBC Radio 2 goes on to lose $13 million.
June 3, 2013 After a five-day hearing in February 2013, the wireless code of conduct is set for wireless providers. Three-year mobile contracts are effectively banned. The CRTC caps data overage and international roaming charges to avoid consumer “bill shock.”
June 27, 2013 After attaching 13 conditions to the sale, including a $246.9-million benefits package, the CRTC approves BCE’s second application for the purchase of Astral. Bell Media later sells several radio stations to various broadcasters, including the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, Newcap Radio, and Corus Entertainment.
August 8, 2013 Three new TV services win mandatory cable and satellite carriage; Sun News isn’t one of them. It would go black in February 2015, despite the Commission’s later changes (December 19) to the specialty news category which forced all carriers to offer all Canadian news channels in their top news packages.
December 18, 2013 The federal government announces it will amend the Telecommunications Act to cap domestic wholesale wireless roaming rates to benefit new wireless entrants and ultimately consumers. The decision later plays a large role in the Commission’s September 2014 hearing into wholesale wireless rates.
June 25, 2014 The CRTC’s do-not-call list, with 12 million numbers signed up to block telemarketing calls, is made permanent.
September 8, 2014 The Commission starts a two-week hearing as part of what would be its 18-month television policy review, called Let’s Talk TV. It’s the final portion of the public process which began almost 12 months prior with the CRTC’s comprehensive Conversation with Canadians about our TV system.
In a seminal moment, on September 19, Blais goes head to head with Netflix lawyer Corie Wright. Netflix’s testimony (along with Google’s) would be struck from the record for refusing to provide Canadian subscriber information in confidence.
September 25, 2014 Canadians’ cord-cutting continues as the CRTC’s 2014 Communications Monitoring Report shows that the number of residential phone lines fell by 6%, from 12.0 million in 2012 to 11.2 million in 2013 as people swap wired for wireless.
September 29, 2014 The CRTC begins a public hearing into the domestic wholesale wireless market, with new entrants (and potential new entrants) pleading the with the Commission to regulate what incumbent telcos charge for wholesale network access. They get their wish when the CRTC announces its decision on May 5, 2015.
November 25, 2014 Because the fall just wasn’t full enough(!), the Commission kicks off its public hearing into whether to regulate wholesale fibre access for third-party broadband providers. That decision is expected before the end of June.
December 17, 2014 The CRTC is finally given the power to issue monetary penalties against companies that violate the Telecommunications Act and related CRTC decisions or regulations.
January 29, 2015 In its second decision resulting from the Let’s Talk TV proceeding, the CRTC announces that any over-the-air broadcaster that shuts down their OTA transmitter will lose certain privileges, such as mandatory basic carriage and simultaneous substitution. In a speech in London, Ontario, Blais says that simsub is here to stay, except for future Super Bowls. Bell appeals the Super Bowl simsub ban to the Federal Court on February 24.
February 27, 2015 Payphones are given a lifeline with a CRTC proposal that telcos notify affected communities before removing the last public payphone.
March 12, 2015 The Commission issues another Let’s Talk TV decision that changes the rules of the game on many fronts. It wipes out the years-old genre protection rules (calling it a “regulatory burden”), reduces Cancon quotas, and axes the requirement that broadcasters adhere to the CMPA’s Terms of Trade agreement. The decision also creates a hybrid video-on-demand system.
March 19, 2015 The CRTC issues yet another watershed Let’s Talk TV decision, forcing BDUs to offer a skinny basic package by March 2016. The Commission is unusually prescriptive in capping the entry-level package at $25 a month, not including set-top boxes. Distributors must also offer pick-and-pay and small bundles for discretionary services.
March 26, 2015 In its final decision stemming from the Let’s Talk TV review, the CRTC unveiled a proposed code of conduct for TV viewers to complain to service providers. That code – as well as a Canadian TV discoverability summit – will be addressed in additional public forums this fall.
(Ed note: The communications plan, breaking up announcements in this way was brilliant, given that it earned Blais and the CRTC headlines over many months. In the past, the Commission would release new, complicated, policies in one huge document, earning it headlines for a few days instead.)
April 9, 2015 The CRTC launches a review of basic telecommunications services to determine what areas are being underserved, including with Internet speeds. The industry is thinking this proceeding will determine whether or not broadband will be considered part of the required basic service. The Commission also launches a public consultation on satellite services, including Telesat’s “market dominance.”
May 5, 2015 In a decision that surprised no one and is designed to help new wireless entrants, the CRTC announces that it will regulate wholesale roaming rates for the incumbent wireless providers. The Commission says the Big Three telcos (Bell, Rogers, and Telus) have “market power” that does not protect users and that building out a national network without wholesale roaming isn’t economically feasible.
And to think there's (at least) two more years left in his mandate… Whew!
