Canada’s Competition Bureau has announced its intention to study the country’s broadband sector to determine if there are ways to improve competition.
According to a May 10th, 2018 media release, the Competition Bureau’s study will investigate whether changes to regulations could lead to more service options, as well as reduce barriers of access to service.
“There are few products more vital to Canada’s economic future than broadband,” said John Pecman, commissioner of competition, in the same May 10th media release. “We want to shine a light on potential competitive issues in a sector at the heart of our daily lives.”
The market study will address four specific themes: broadband service deployment, consumer reactions to competition, the impact of existing regulation, and the lessons that can be gleaned from other countries and their broadband regulations.
Unsavoury telecom sales practices
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) denied a request by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) to investigate unsavoury telecom sales practices in the wake of reports about misbehaviour on the part of Bell and Rogers.
The PIAC’s goal was to encourage the CRTC to investigate competition in Canada’s telecom sector, though the CRTC ultimately said that any complaints about telecom issues should be directed to the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services (CCTS).
While today’s Competition Bureau study announcement doesn’t explicitly mention unsavoury telecom sales practices, the study’s goal of investigating competition in Canada’s broadband sector is a sign that the federal government has its eye on telecom issues raised by Canadians.
Source: Competition Bureau
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