OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Canada’s incumbent telcos won’t be allowed to boost everyone’s rates in order to cover off and eliminate reconnection fees for customers who move, the CRTC announced today.
As we reported last summer, Bell Canada, Bell Aliant and Telus applied to the Commission to make changes to the local telephone rates for residential customers. "The companies had proposed to eliminate the connection charges for new customers and existing customers who move in exchange for approval to increase rates for all residential customers, explains the release.
In their submissions, Bell Canada and Bell Aliant proposed to increase the monthly rates for each residential customer by $0.80, while TELUS proposed increases ranging from $0.58 to $1.
"We did not feel it was appropriate to approve a rate increase for all residential customers to compensate for the elimination of connection charges. The government’s recent direction on forbearance removed the CRTC’s restrictions over promotions and winbacks," said Richard French, the CRTC’s vice-chairman of telecommunications, in the release.
"Telephone companies are free to apply at any time to reduce or eliminate their connection charges, and the Commission will deal with their requests expeditiously."
