CRTC relieves some cablecos of certain VoIP obligations

GATINEAU – The CRTC is relieving some cablecos of certain regulatory obligations regarding their local voice over Internet protocol services, but only in cases of “hardship” for small carriers. The now-defunct Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association had asked the commission to relieve certain competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) from several requirements. In 2005, the commission determined that local VoIP services would be regulated as local exchange services. The relief is being granted to Group 2 CLECs (non-dominant Canadian carriers offering local VoIP services through a reseller) with fewer than 10,000 subscribers. These “small CLECs” will not have to meet and file...