{"id":19958,"date":"2026-09-22T05:04:37","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T09:04:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=19958"},"modified":"2026-09-17T15:11:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T19:11:10","slug":"the-crtcs-regulatory-twilight-zone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=19958","title":{"rendered":"The CRTC’s regulatory twilight zone"},"content":{"rendered":"

I sonetimes think the CRTC’s regulatory twilight zone is situated in a place beyond that which is known to mere mortals. If you want to cross over into that disconnected world, join me as we examine the CRTC\u2019s latest consumer broadband directive, Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2026-238<\/a>, issued just under 2 weeks ago (September 10). “You are about to enter another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination.”<\/p>\n

As my friend and colleague Ted Woodhead pointed out in his recent blog post<\/a>, this policy decision raises several confusing issues for consumers and ISPs alike. Ted took aim at the Commission’s redefinition of “typical” internet speeds. While the CRTC originally flirted with defining “typical” as a speed delivered 95% of the time, they ultimately threw logic out the window and decided “typical” means a speed ISPs must deliver at all times. <\/p>\n

As Ted noted, transforming a “typical” expectation into an absolute, 100% guarantee defies basic network physics. <\/p>\n

But, as baffling as the “typical speed” semantic gymnastics are, that might not be the strangest part of the decision. For that, we’ll take a journey into that “wondrous land of imagination.” I refer to the new mandate requiring ISPs to publish all retail plan data on their websites in highly structured, machine-readable CSV spreadsheets. You’ve just crossed over into the Twilight Zone.<\/p>\n

The Commission decided that a more “dynamic marketplace” would emerge, if only ISPs were to publish all their Internet plan data in a machine-readable format. That way third-party developers could build automated comparison-shopping engines using the ISP provided data. While the CRTC did not explain why ISPs should help third parties make money off ISP labour, it did determine that the data must be provided in a standardized database format. And in doing so, the CRTC looked south for inspiration, explicitly pointing to the FCC\u2019s technical guidelines for broadband machine-readable files as its blueprint.<\/p>\n

There is just one glaring problem: The FCC already killed those exact rules<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A month earlier (August 13), the FCC took a hard look at its own broadband label experiment and realized that backend spreadsheet files were a costly compliance headache that nobody was using: <\/p>\n

We also conclude that the substantial compliance burdens imposed by this requirement are not justified by the minimal, if any, likely benefits for consumers. The current record offers a fuller description of the relevant compliance burdens than was available to the Commission in 2022. We also find insufficient evidence that the requirement is needed to facilitate transparency and consumer decision-making, as some commenters argue. \u2026And there is no record evidence that any third parties have used machine-readable label content to develop pro-consumer tools.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Real-world consumers don\u2019t shop via raw CSV data, and the expected wave of tech developers building comparison apps never materialized. So, the FCC sensibly chopped the requirement to reduce regulatory burden and costs.<\/p>\n

Yet, the CRTC eagerly copy and pasted the homework of a neighbor who had already thrown it in the trash.<\/p>\n

Adding another layer of unnecessary administrative nonsense, the CRTC acknowledged that US and Canadian plan metrics don’t align, so while the format for the data requirement that the FCC just eliminated will serve as a starting point, the Commission punted the final file layout to the CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee (CISC), giving them until September 2027 to “Canadianize” the already dead American technical specification. That’s right – a year from now.<\/p>\n

By the time Canadian carriers spend millions configuring their databases to output these complex backend files, the rules will be built on the skeleton of an obsolete framework that the US abandoned for being useless. You have entered another dimension. <\/p>\n

It is a classic case of regulatory FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) \u2014 except Canada is missing out on the actual lessons learned, preferring instead to import the administrative burdens our neighbors were smart enough to get rid of.<\/p>\n

Investors from around the world recently met in Canada and implored Canadian governments and regulators to make Canada an easier place to invest. I have written before<\/a> about those calling for “Ottawa to remove the obstacles that currently deter companies from investing in this country.”<\/p>\n

The CRTC continues to do the opposite, adding regulations that do little to help consumers and only increase the cost of doing business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I sonetimes think the CRTC’s regulatory twilight zone is situated in a place beyond that which is known to mere mortals. If you want to cross over into that disconnected world, join me as we examine the CRTC\u2019s latest consumer broadband directive, Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2026-238, issued just under 2 weeks ago (September 10). …<\/p>\n

The CRTC’s regulatory twilight zone<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","two_page_speed":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe CRTC's regulatory twilight zone • Telecom Trends<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I sonetimes think the CRTC's regulatory twilight zone is situated in a place beyond that which is known to mere mortals. 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