By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC on Thursday ordered internet service providers (ISPs) to establish, within six months, the “typical” download and upload speeds their customers can expect to get in their area at pre-sale and then ensure they can deliver on them.
The only reprieve to that is during peak period – established by the commission as between 7 pm at 11 pm local time – inside of which the CRTC acknowledges that there can be significant congestion that will impact speeds.
“Accordingly, for compliance and enforcement purposes, the Commission considers that 100% of the typical download and upload speeds must be delivered to customers at all times outside of peak periods, and at least 95% of the typical download and upload speeds must be delivered to customers during peak periods,” it said in a decision, which amends the Internet Code.
The new rules, which do away with language like “up to” and “maximum” that didn’t provide clarity on expected speed, will apply to all service providers subject to said code.
The CRTC said it was concerned about using statistical terms like “mean” or “average” for speeds, which it said would not give consumers a “clear understanding” of what they were getting and would require measurements to be taken that would incur labour and network costs for ISPs.
“Instead, the Commission is of the view that a simpler, threshold-based definition, where the typical speed is the speed ISPs must deliver to customers at all times, would be easier to understand and enforce.
“In other words, the typical speed is a firm commitment from ISPs on a realistic speed customers should expect to experience. Since ISPs have the best understanding of their networks and their performance capabilities, they would have the flexibility to decide on the speeds to offer prospective customers during pre-sale and would then be held accountable to those agreed-upon speeds.”
Thursday’s decision follows a consultation that was prompted by an amendment to the Telecommunications Act by a private member’s bill, which received royal assent in the summer of 2024, that proposed to amend the law to require ISPs to provide Canadians with the “typical” download and upload speeds that customers should expect during peak periods. Large ISPs warned about prescriptive rules on such disclosure.
“The Commission is of the view that once consumers sign up for an Internet service, they should be able to use publicly available tools, such as software-based Internet speed tests, to easily assess whether the speeds they are getting are reasonably close to what they were sold.”
In a dispute, the CRTC said the onus will be on the ISP to demonstrate that it is delivering what it committed to. Otherwise, the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television services (CCTS), the complaints watchdog, is available for customers to address quality-of-service issues.
The CRTC will also require that ISPs inform customers of latency – the time it takes data to travel back and forth, with higher latency meaning greater lag – which the companies generally opposed due to complexity that could lead to confusion.
The interim latency ranges to be reported are less than 50 milliseconds, between 51 ms and 150 ms, or 151 ms and above. ISPs will be required to use the same methodology they use for download and upload speeds for this metric. In the meantime, the CRTC is directing that its interconnection steering committee (CISC) determine the appropriate ranges to be used and report back to the commission by September 10, 2027.
The CRTC is also requiring that ISPs improve pricing clarity, including by displaying the full price of plans after discounts end with “equal or greater prominence compared to discounted prices in pre-sale offers,” as well as prominently disclose additional necessary equipment rental fees in these same offers.
The information won’t need to be displayed in a standardized format, such as that established by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which ordered a label similar to that on food packaging. ISPs reasoned in their opposition to a standardized label that the effectiveness of the FCC label was uncertain.
“The Commission is of the view that it is not necessary for this information to be displayed in a standardized label as long as it is provided to consumers in a clear and prominent way,” the CRTC said.
CRTC example of info that will be required
Otherwise, the CRTC is not requiring the disclosure of the type of technology consumers are getting (cable vs fixed wireless, for example) or jitter and packet loss metrics that it said could confuse customers.
The new rules will come into effect on March 10, 2027.
Thursday’s decision is part of a series to strengthen the internet and wireless codes by enhancing transparency and making it easier for consumers to cancel contracts and switch providers.
