CRTC seeks to apply payphone safeguards to non-carriers

OTTAWA – The CRTC has kicked off a show cause proceeding to examine why its consumer safeguards for Canada’s public payphones should not directly apply to competitive payphone service providers (CPSPs).The safeguards, announced last December, are designed to ensure that Canadians are properly informed about the rates and surcharges associated with making non-cash calls over a payphone. While incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) were directed to make this information available to consumers, the Commission did not, until recently, have the authority to directly impose these conditions on non-carriers, that is, providers other than Canadian carriers that include CPSPs.“In the Commission’s preliminary view,...