By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC is mandating that all service providers report the origin of nuisance or spam calls, rejecting a request by some smaller service providers to be spared from the new condition of service.
“The Commission considers that excluding specific types of TSPs could leave a loophole for nuisance calls to enter Canada through TSPs excluded from the traceback process,” the CRTC said in a decision Friday.
“Requiring all TSPs that provide voice telecommunications services to participate in the traceback process would enable Commission staff to respond to complaints from customers of any TSP” and “prevent a TSP from ignoring traceback requests when a response is needed for an investigation,” the CRTC added.
The regulator will require onboarding – that is, the process of establishing procedures to comply with the mandate – to begin only when the service providers get their first traceback request, as it acknowledged that some service providers may never get a traceback request or only get one later.
“To minimize the impact that onboarding may have on Bell Canada, Commission staff will provide assistance with the onboarding process to new participants, as well as administrative support when new participants are contacted with their first traceback request,” the regulator said in its decision.
It also requires a minimum call retention period of 10 calendar days; a weekly limit of 10 traceback requests; and that providers respond to a traceback request within two business days, provided there isn’t a good excuse for why they can’t meet that deadline.
The regulator had adopted most of the recommendations of a working group of its CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee (CISC) when it approved the rollout of the traceback process in August 2021, which requires the provider to keep a time-limited call log to trace the origin of nuisance calls that are in violation of telemarketing rules.
While the CRTC had previously said that the success of such an enforcement mechanism involves all providers, it deviated from the working group’s recommendation by making involvement voluntary.
The CRTC previously relied on two ways to get providers into the system: by having them proactively join or inviting them to join. Between December 2021 and February 2022, four providers joined the system after being invited by the commission. As such, it was having a hard time getting traction:
“The Commission notes that the voluntary onboarding process was not successful in bringing in many new TSPs in the ecosystem,” the regulator said in February 2024, when it asked the public if it should make participation in the system mandatory. “While all the large Canadian carriers are ongoing participants, the 13 participating TSPs only represent a small portion of all the providers that are offering voice services in Canada.”
Smaller internet service providers, including Cogeco, Eastlink, TBayTel and SSi, opposed the mandate, arguing that the voluntary model is sufficient and that mandatory participation would be inefficient, especially for those with low call volumes.
Cogeco, SSi and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre argued that such a mandate should exclude smaller providers because of the burden of such an undertaking. But the regulator said the workload for that would be “manageable,” involving locating a call record and completing and sending a form to the CRTC via email.
“Even small TSPs have reported no specific issues with this process, since they handle few calls in Canada, leading to few traceback requests,” the regulator said. “Considering that the work required depends on network size and call volume, most small TSPs will have less work than large TSPs.”
Rogers, Bell, Telus, Iristel, Quebecor, SaskTel and TekSavvy supported the mandate, with some suggesting that telecoms should get immunity from penalties when act in good faith but are unable to comply due to unforeseen circumstances.
“Participating TSPs that act in good faith would not need to be concerned about penalties,” the CRTC said in response. “The Commission would only consider penalties after following due process, and if a TSP showed a repeated failure to respond appropriately to traceback requests.”
The CRTC also said that it won’t require that service providers forward traceback requests to foreign providers because of the additional burden against the “low probability of timely responses.” If it is required, the CRTC said it would do it.
After intervenor requests, the regulator is also requesting that the CISC ensure onboarding is as “straightforward and efficient as possible” and to “explore automation options for traceback requests and reports its findings” to the commission by September 28.
