Countdown to the Do Not Call List. Two months to go.

Last December, the CRTC began the 9 month gestation for Canada’s DNCL registry and yesterday, it issued it’s first teaser press release, reminding Canadians that they will be able to register to have their names removed from telemarketing call lists.

Except for a bunch of exceptions:

• Registered charities
• Newspapers
• Political parties (after all, politicians created this legislation!)
• Companies with which you have a relationship

There are other exempt calls allowed in the legislation that were not detailed in the press release.

For example, calls made on behalf of public opinion firms. That may explain why I have been getting calls recently from companies asking my opinion about carpet and duct cleaning; or wanting to know my views on Florida time-shares.

If you follow this blog, you know what I think the of the legislation. Fortunately, there is supposed to be a review of the “administration and operation” of the DNCL.

In a story for the morning Globe and Mail, the CRTC acknowledges that it would like to see stronger powers to add muscle to its enforcement of regulations.

The article suggests that the Commission will be looking for the government to give it the power to sanction companies, presumably with fines of a sufficient magnitude to serve as a meaningful deterrent, not simply a cost of doing business.

With increased relaxation of ex ante regulations, many would agree that the Commission needs to be able to act swiftly and effectively in policing an ex post regulatory environment.

In the wake of the release this week of a notice and letter examining emergency call handling, the government may be predisposed to look at providing such a solution.

California consumer protection law has intervened into early termination fees imposed by Sprint. Sprint had argued that a state court had no business deciding an issue that the company believed was better suited for federal authorities.

The FCC has been trying to move carriers to a system of termination fees that declines over the life of the contract. Most Canadian wireless carriers have fees that conform to such a model.

Still, the case is interesting in that it demonstrates the need for carriers to ensure that their processes and terms of service are consistent with state (or provincial?) consumer protection laws.

Technorati Tags:
California, consumer protection

On May 1, I wrote about a VoIP 9-1-1 service nightmare scenario.

Yesterday, the CRTC pronounced on the matter, issuing an information circular to remind “nomadic local VoIP service providers” of their emergency services obligations.

The interim solution that the Commission considered would provide benefits similar to basic 9-1-1 service for nomadic local VoIP service was described by the Commission at paragraph 60 of Telecom Decision 2005-21 as one that “routes 9-1-1 calls directly to a third-party call centre. There, agents answer the call, verbally determine the nature of the emergency and the location of the caller, and transfer the call to the appropriate PSAP or emergency services agency.”

The Commission noted that this solution, including the requirement to verbally determine a 9‑1‑1 caller’s location, was again described in Telecom Decision 2007-44.

What are the implications for Comwave, the service provider at the centre of the Calgary incident?

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Update [July 29, 9:50 am]
The CRTC sent a letter to Comwave coincident with its Information Circular yesterday. The letter finds that Comwave’s third-party call centre operator did not follow the proper procedures.

All service providers should take note.

A Videotron press release last week indicates that it has now surpassed the 1 million mark in high speed internet customers. The milestone represents about 60% of its cable TV subscriber base of 1.65M, half of which have subscribed to digital service.

Nice story about how the company is treating its millionth customer. The young mother will not only be receiving a year’s subscription to Videotron’s Quattro bundle, she will be appearing on an upcoming episode of Le Banquier – the Quebec version of Deal or No Deal with an opportunity to win $1M.

Videotron has been a global leader in the deployment of ultra-high speed cable modem access, having launched its TGV with speeds of up to 50 Mbps. The company has successfully tested even higher speeds on its network.

With more than 50,000 wireless customers already, Videotron is proving to be a formidable competitor to Bell, delivering an ARPU rich bundle to consumers in Quebec.