The CRTC is bent on regulating VoIP offerings by the Canadian incumbents, whether it needs to or not.
In its Decision today, a number of glaring inconsistencies continue to emerge from the way VoIP is regulated in Canada.
From the beginning, the CRTC has taken the position that it is regulating VoIP because VoIP is a new technology for an old service. Since local phone service is regulated, VoIP-based local service will be regulated. If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck…
New services shouldn’t have to match plain old phone service in order to fit a regulatory model. Unless the telcos are forcing people to give up their old services, phone companies should be able to offer new services that they think will sell – not be forced to perform contortions in order to artificially fulfill objectives for which the new service was never designed.
By this logic, iPods would need to be modified to play vinyl records (kids – ask your parents about those black dinner plate sized things in the basement). Digital Satellite Radio would need to conform exactly to the same regulations as AM and FM.
In today’s decision, the CRTC acknowledges that Bell’s access independent VoIP service doesn’t really quack the same or waddle the same as plain old phone service. For some reason, they are refusing to acknowledge that access independent VoIP might really be some other kind of bird.