TELECOM DEREG: New consumer agency must be created quickly, says von Finckenstein

MONTEBELLO, Que. – Canada's telecom industry must move swiftly to create the new consumer protection agency the federal government has called for or face the prospect of new legislation governing how the companies deal with miffed customers. In a speech Wednesday at the 2007 Telecommunications Invitational Forum (read: no media) in Montebello, CRTC Chairman Konrad von Finckenstein told delegates that he wants to see the industry establish this new consumer agency so that it’s up and running when Canada's incumbent telcos are forborne from regulation, which is likely to begin happening late this fall. Part of the federal government's policy...