Ep. 25: The CRTC Decision on Competitive Internet Pricing: A Conversation with George Burger

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Ep. 25: The CRTC Decision on Competitive Internet Pricing: A Conversation with George Burger

Michael Geist

Oct 22, 2021

Last month, Canada’s telecom regulator, the CRTC, issued its final decision in a lengthy battle over the rates that independent Internet providers pay for wholesale access to the broadband networks run by big incumbents such as Bell and Rogers. The Commission slashed previous rates and made its decision retroactive, an approach that sparked anger and lawsuits from the incumbents who are now in Canadian courts seeking to overturn the ruling and stop it from taking effect. Meanwhile, several Canadian independent ISPs wasted no time in responding to the decision, dropping their consumer prices and neatly illustrating the impact of lower rates and more competition. George Burger, one of the founders of vMedia and a frequent commentator on Canadian telecom issues, joined me on the podcast to discuss the decision and the state of competition for Canadian Internet services.

The podcast can be downloaded here and is embedded below. Subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcast, Google Play, Spotify or the RSS feed. Updates on the podcast on Twitter at @Lawbytespod.

Show Notes:

Burger, Big telcos have no business howling over CRTC decision that encourages fair internet prices
CRTC promotes competition for broadband Internet services by setting lower wholesale rates

Credits:

CBC News, Internet Price Hikes Coming for Canadians
The Lang & O’Leary Exchange – Usage Based Billing
CBC News, Bell to Cut 200,000 Customers From Internet Expansion After CRTC Decision
CityNews Toronto, NDP Promising to Put Cap on Cellphone, Internet Bills

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Law Bytes

In recent years the intersection between law, technology, and policy has exploded as digital policy has become a mainstream concern in Canada and around the world. This podcast explores digital policies in conversations with people studying the legal and policy challenges, set the rules, or are experts in the field. It provides a Canadian perspective, but since the internet is global, examining international developments and Canada’s role in shaping global digital policy is be an important part of the story.

Lawbytes is hosted by Michael Geist, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law and where he is a member of the Centre for Law, Technology and Society.

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