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Canadians no longer have to give 30 days’ notice to cancel TV, Internet or phone service: CRTC
Wednesday November 12th 2014Canadians will no longer have to give 30 days notice to cancel their television, Internet or telephone services, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission announced Thursday.
Speaking in Vancouver, commission chair Jean-Pierre Blais said that is only the regulatory agency’s first decision stemming from its Let’s Talk TV, a public hearing launched last September on the future of television in Canada. He suggested any other decisions are months away.
“As for other decisions on the Let’s Talk TV proceeding, you will have to wait,” Blais told a Vancouver Board of Trade lunch. “There are numerous interrelated issues that require a few more months of thoughtful consideration.”
The CRTC’s ban on the cancellation notice for television service providers as well as for Internet and telephone service providers comes into effect Jan. 23.
Blais said requiring customers to give 30 days notice when they cancel makes it difficult to switch providers.
“Anyone tempted to switch to another company to take advantage of a better deal had a disincentive to do so, because they risked having to pay both providers for the same service for a month,” he said.
“This is a clear obstacle to healthy competition.”
In his speech, Blais made it clear that the commission isn’t prepared to listen to critics and pundits who have created new technological “death stars to scare the regulator into action or inaction.”
Despite concerns from conventional TV providers about the inroads of such over-the-top services such as Netflix, Blais suggested cord-cutting isn’t as prevalent as some would believe.
“Let me bust a few myths,” he said. “Yes, some companies are losing subscribers. This is not a threat, this is precisely what one would expect in a competitive marketplace.”
According to the CRTC’s most recent data, the total number of subscribers to cable, satellite and Internet Protocol Television has gone down by 7,600 across Canada, a decrease of 0.1 per cent in a year, Blais said.
“And despite the mountain of media stories about Netflix and Shomi and HBO Online and CBC Online and Bell’s project Latte, let’s not lose sight of the fact that about 60 per cent of Canadians do not stream TV programming,” he said. “Canadians still watch on average 28 hours of traditional TV a week.”
If Netflix critics were hoping for any kind of decision on that over-the-top service, they may be disappointed.
“There is one thing I can share,” Blais said of the commission’s upcoming deliberations following the Let’s Talk TV submissions. “Regulating Netflix is the least of our concerns.
“Whether we choose to attack these disruptive services or learn from their success will be our regulatory decision to make, and ours alone.”
Beyond Let’s Talk TV, Blais said, the CRTC is “tackling one of the most ambitious regulatory agendas in over two decades.”
The commission recently concluded a public hearing on wholesale mobile wireless services, which examined such issues as roaming and tower sharing among wireless providers. And on Nov. 24, it will began a hearing on wholesale telecommunications services, looking at wholesale arrangements between companies for wireless services.
“Large companies have been making significant investments in their networks to bring fibre right to your front door,” Blais said. “This enables them to offer faster Internet services, Internet Protocol television services and other services, both residential and business.
“One of the big questions we will be asked during this hearing is whether independent Internet service providers should have access to the large companies’ fibre-to-the-premises facilities.”
Blais said his view of the future is, “the sky is not falling.”
“But that doesn’t mean there aren’t dark clouds in the horizon,” he said. “ … We still have time to get it right, to adapt to change.”
Source: Vancouver Sun
Headline, Industry News
Canadians no longer have to give 30 days’ notice to cancel TV, Internet or phone service: CRTC
Wednesday November 12th 2014Canadians will no longer have to give 30 days notice to cancel their television, Internet or telephone services, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission announced Thursday.
Speaking in Vancouver, commission chair Jean-Pierre Blais said that is only the regulatory agency’s first decision stemming from its Let’s Talk TV, a public hearing launched last September on the future of television in Canada. He suggested any other decisions are months away.
“As for other decisions on the Let’s Talk TV proceeding, you will have to wait,” Blais told a Vancouver Board of Trade lunch. “There are numerous interrelated issues that require a few more months of thoughtful consideration.”
The CRTC’s ban on the cancellation notice for television service providers as well as for Internet and telephone service providers comes into effect Jan. 23.
Blais said requiring customers to give 30 days notice when they cancel makes it difficult to switch providers.
“Anyone tempted to switch to another company to take advantage of a better deal had a disincentive to do so, because they risked having to pay both providers for the same service for a month,” he said.
“This is a clear obstacle to healthy competition.”
In his speech, Blais made it clear that the commission isn’t prepared to listen to critics and pundits who have created new technological “death stars to scare the regulator into action or inaction.”
Despite concerns from conventional TV providers about the inroads of such over-the-top services such as Netflix, Blais suggested cord-cutting isn’t as prevalent as some would believe.
“Let me bust a few myths,” he said. “Yes, some companies are losing subscribers. This is not a threat, this is precisely what one would expect in a competitive marketplace.”
According to the CRTC’s most recent data, the total number of subscribers to cable, satellite and Internet Protocol Television has gone down by 7,600 across Canada, a decrease of 0.1 per cent in a year, Blais said.
“And despite the mountain of media stories about Netflix and Shomi and HBO Online and CBC Online and Bell’s project Latte, let’s not lose sight of the fact that about 60 per cent of Canadians do not stream TV programming,” he said. “Canadians still watch on average 28 hours of traditional TV a week.”
If Netflix critics were hoping for any kind of decision on that over-the-top service, they may be disappointed.
“There is one thing I can share,” Blais said of the commission’s upcoming deliberations following the Let’s Talk TV submissions. “Regulating Netflix is the least of our concerns.
“Whether we choose to attack these disruptive services or learn from their success will be our regulatory decision to make, and ours alone.”
Beyond Let’s Talk TV, Blais said, the CRTC is “tackling one of the most ambitious regulatory agendas in over two decades.”
The commission recently concluded a public hearing on wholesale mobile wireless services, which examined such issues as roaming and tower sharing among wireless providers. And on Nov. 24, it will began a hearing on wholesale telecommunications services, looking at wholesale arrangements between companies for wireless services.
“Large companies have been making significant investments in their networks to bring fibre right to your front door,” Blais said. “This enables them to offer faster Internet services, Internet Protocol television services and other services, both residential and business.
“One of the big questions we will be asked during this hearing is whether independent Internet service providers should have access to the large companies’ fibre-to-the-premises facilities.”
Blais said his view of the future is, “the sky is not falling.”
“But that doesn’t mean there aren’t dark clouds in the horizon,” he said. “ … We still have time to get it right, to adapt to change.”
Source: Vancouver Sun
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Headline, Industry News
Canadians no longer have to give 30 days’ notice to cancel TV, Internet or phone service: CRTC
Wednesday November 12th 2014Canadians will no longer have to give 30 days notice to cancel their television, Internet or telephone services, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission announced Thursday.
Speaking in Vancouver, commission chair Jean-Pierre Blais said that is only the regulatory agency’s first decision stemming from its Let’s Talk TV, a public hearing launched last September on the future of television in Canada. He suggested any other decisions are months away.
“As for other decisions on the Let’s Talk TV proceeding, you will have to wait,” Blais told a Vancouver Board of Trade lunch. “There are numerous interrelated issues that require a few more months of thoughtful consideration.”
The CRTC’s ban on the cancellation notice for television service providers as well as for Internet and telephone service providers comes into effect Jan. 23.
Blais said requiring customers to give 30 days notice when they cancel makes it difficult to switch providers.
“Anyone tempted to switch to another company to take advantage of a better deal had a disincentive to do so, because they risked having to pay both providers for the same service for a month,” he said.
“This is a clear obstacle to healthy competition.”
In his speech, Blais made it clear that the commission isn’t prepared to listen to critics and pundits who have created new technological “death stars to scare the regulator into action or inaction.”
Despite concerns from conventional TV providers about the inroads of such over-the-top services such as Netflix, Blais suggested cord-cutting isn’t as prevalent as some would believe.
“Let me bust a few myths,” he said. “Yes, some companies are losing subscribers. This is not a threat, this is precisely what one would expect in a competitive marketplace.”
According to the CRTC’s most recent data, the total number of subscribers to cable, satellite and Internet Protocol Television has gone down by 7,600 across Canada, a decrease of 0.1 per cent in a year, Blais said.
“And despite the mountain of media stories about Netflix and Shomi and HBO Online and CBC Online and Bell’s project Latte, let’s not lose sight of the fact that about 60 per cent of Canadians do not stream TV programming,” he said. “Canadians still watch on average 28 hours of traditional TV a week.”
If Netflix critics were hoping for any kind of decision on that over-the-top service, they may be disappointed.
“There is one thing I can share,” Blais said of the commission’s upcoming deliberations following the Let’s Talk TV submissions. “Regulating Netflix is the least of our concerns.
“Whether we choose to attack these disruptive services or learn from their success will be our regulatory decision to make, and ours alone.”
Beyond Let’s Talk TV, Blais said, the CRTC is “tackling one of the most ambitious regulatory agendas in over two decades.”
The commission recently concluded a public hearing on wholesale mobile wireless services, which examined such issues as roaming and tower sharing among wireless providers. And on Nov. 24, it will began a hearing on wholesale telecommunications services, looking at wholesale arrangements between companies for wireless services.
“Large companies have been making significant investments in their networks to bring fibre right to your front door,” Blais said. “This enables them to offer faster Internet services, Internet Protocol television services and other services, both residential and business.
“One of the big questions we will be asked during this hearing is whether independent Internet service providers should have access to the large companies’ fibre-to-the-premises facilities.”
Blais said his view of the future is, “the sky is not falling.”
“But that doesn’t mean there aren’t dark clouds in the horizon,” he said. “ … We still have time to get it right, to adapt to change.”
Source: Vancouver Sun
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