Some people who represent various disabled communities may be cheering a CRTC decision that maintains a 50% discount for hearing impaired and speech impaired teletypewriter phone users. It is a hollow victory for the hearing and speech impaired. Further, it is disappointing that the CRTC missed an opportunity to take a stand on system access fees.
I suspect that their stakeholders can find a better deal. After all, basic rates remain in the order of 40-50 cents per minute (rounded up to the next minute). Yep, these are still mileage sensitive relics from days of old. For the purposes of pure nostalgia (and to educate our kids about the good old days) here is the ‘inside Canada’, inter-provincial rate table for Manitoba based customers:
| Rate Distance (Miles) | Rate Per Minute or Fraction |
| 0 – 8 | $0.13 |
| 9 – 20 | 0.13 |
| 21 – 36 | 0.29 |
| 37 – 56 | 0.35 |
| 57 – 80 | 0.40 |
| 81 – 110 | 0.42 |
| 111 – 144 | 0.43 |
| 145 – 180 | 0.44 |
| 181 – 228 | 0.45 |
| 229 – 290 | 0.46 |
| 291 – 400 | 0.47 |
| 401 – 680 | 0.48 |
| 681 – 1200 | 0.49 |
| 1201 – 1675 | 0.50 |
| Over 1675 | 0.51 |
So the CRTC says that the hearing impaired can get 50% discounts off rates that are 10 times higher than market prices.
Try dial-around on YAK or Telehop and pay 4 cents to most places on the planet that Canadians call. Telehop will give you 15 minutes for a quarter for those countries. But we will allow the hearing and speech impaired access to rates that are only 5 times higher than what people should be paying.
Bell and TELUS supported the 50% discount but wanted the program extended to all competitors:
Bell Canada indicated that it would not be opposed to retaining the 50 percent discount for TTY users. Bell Canada submitted that, to be made compliant with the principles of symmetry and competitive neutrality, the 50 percent discount must apply to any telecommunications service provider offering or providing toll services within the company’s operating territory. TCC also supported this view.
The CRTC rejected imposing the obligation on the competitive industry, hopefully recognizing that market prices are already well below the manufacturer’s suggested retail price.
Ho-hum. Would it have been a political hand grenade for the CRTC to have said ‘go shopping’?
50% off. What a deal!
The CRTC failed to address a substantive concern raised by PIAC and endorsed by YAK: will consumers be protected from the phone companies introducing mandatory system access fees. Until now, basic rate subscribers could avoid the cash grab from these official-sounding fees by refusing to accept a toll plan.
the Commission is of the view that there is a variety of cost-efficient alternatives available to consumers who do not wish to subscribe to a toll plan, including various dial-around services, prepaid calling cards, and toll plans of competitive long distance service providers. In many cases, these toll services are offered at lower rates than are available under the ILECs’ toll plans and some do not have subscription or network access charges.
So, when the phone companies add on a universal $4.95, or $7.95 or $10.95 toll network access fee, how do customers avoid the rip-off? Will the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services be empowered to deal with system access fees?
How will we dial around that?
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CRTC, Bell, TELUS, Yak, Telehop, PIAC, system access fee