Insiders expecting ‘busy as hell’ summer on the regulatory front

Industry insiders say they’re busier than ever as they face something of a hectic summer on the regulatory front. “There's no down time in the regulatory agenda anymore. It never stops,” Michael Hennessy, senior vice-president of regulatory and government affairs at Telus Corp., said in an interview. “I'm busy as hell.” Broadcasting and telecom industry insiders say that, although the summer at one time indicated a bit of a break, in June and July alone this year, they have been faced with a CBC licence renewal proceeding, hearings on vertical integration, a CRTC consultation on over-the-top services, and a hearing to review the CRTC's wholesale usage-based billing policy. Hearings can generate a significant amount of work for companies, which prepare submissions, collect evidence to support their arguments, and conduct rehearsals before going before the commissioners. The CRTC also opened a new consultation Thursday on draft regulations to help implement the Conservative government's anti-spam legislation. The deadline for comments is Aug. 29. The CRTC wrapped up a signifiant set of vertical integration hearings on June 30. “It seems every year gets busier. There is no such thing as summer any more,” Hennessy said. “We've found that you jump from one hearing to another and it's hard to stay on top of everything.” John Lawford, counsel at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre added in an email: “ hearings used to be rare, but now they are standard. It makes navigating the summer with vacations trickier than it used to be. ” To the quiet grumbling of the industry, the CRTC has scheduled a high-profile proceeding in July to review its wholesale usage-based billing policy. The hearing is scheduled to start July 11 and could run a week or longer. Last summer, the industry was busy with the Conservative government's consultations on a digital economy strategy and foreign ownership in telecom. Ian Morrison, spokesman for watchdog group the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, said the CBC’s licence renewal proceeding will be a major one. But he expressed concern about the timing. “It’s the first time in 12 years that they have opened public comment about the CBC’s role, mandate, and future priorities,” Morrison said in an interview. “So they put it out on the 17th of June and they said the deadline for comments is the 18th of July. That would be fine if the people they wanted to comment were lawyers and all being paid by the hour. But they’re asking for comments from the Canadian public and people are customarily on holidays in July.” Morrison said the proceedings are a lot of work for any applicant. For a group like the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, time and funds are spent on research and rehearsals to ensure the group is ready and informed. “If you just took all of our CRTC submissions over the last few years, some of them are obviously a lot of work,” Morrison said. “They involve having data, research, and things like that. So it’s a major investment, but we don’t complain. We appreciate the privilege of having an opportunity to speak.” news@thewirereport.ca

Insiders expecting ‘busy as hell’ summer on the regulatory front

Broadcast | June 30, 2011

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