Listen up: the CRTC wants to hear from you about internet

What digital telecom services will your children get in the future? The CRTC wants you tell them about what you need now and in the future, to help them decide on an updated policy that sets out minimum standards for basic internet and other services. (PHOTO COURTESY OF TAMAANI)

Canada’s telecommunications watchdog, the CRTC, wants to hear from all Canadians — including people who live in Nunavut and Nunavik — about what they want from their telecom system, especially broadband internet.

“Wherever you live in Canada, from St. John’s to Prince Rupert to Moose Jaw to Iqaluit, we want to hear from you,” Jean-Pierre Blais, the chair and CEO of the CRTC, said in a news release.

The CRTC announced the first phase of its public outreach effort this past April.

It’s related to a public hearing that will start April 11, 2016, in Gatineau, Que. that will look at how the CRTC should update its definition of “basic telecommunication service.”

That’s important — because the CRTC’s current policy hasn’t changed since 1999.

The old 1999 policy defines “basic service” as a landline phone, a low-speed connection to the internet, a printed phone book and access to long distance and other landline-based services.

But the accelerating digital revolution of the past 15 years has made landline phones irrelevant to many Canadians, for whom high speed internet is an increasingly important priority.

At the same time, many Canadians now use smartphones and tablets on high-speed wireless networks for work, personal communication and entertainment.

To take all those changes into account within a new policy, the CRTC is now asking these questions in the second phase of its public outreach:

• What telecommunications services do Canadians consider necessary to participate in the digital economy?

• Which services do Canadians rely on the most to communicate?

• Should the prices for telecommunications services in Canada be similar between urban and non-urban areas?

• What upload and download speeds for broadband Internet service would meet Canadians’ needs?

If the CRTC updates and changes its policy, telecom providers could be forced to improve the services they provide to underserved regions like Nunavut and Nunavut.

To that end, the CRTC is inviting people to fill out an online questionnaire that’s available here.

Also, Canadians can send comments to the CRTC and request a chance to appear at the public hearing by using this online form.

The CRTC is putting special emphasis on regions like Nunavut and Nunavik that don’t have adequate service.

“As we look to the future of Canada’s telecommunications needs, we are interested in hearing the views of Canadians from across the country, and especially those who do not have access to the technology they need in this digital era,” Blais said.

The CRTC will hold focus groups in small communities across Canada where a large percentage of the population is underserved or even unserved by modern telecommunications.

Canadians can also send their comments by mail to the CRTC at this address:

Secretary General,
CRTC,
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A ON2

And those Canadians who can’t gain access to the questionnaire online may call 1-877-249-2782 to fill it out over the phone with an agent or request a paper copy.

Canadians may also send a fax to (819) 994-0218 to request a copy to complete and return to the CRTC.