Tories pledge TV unbundling, more rural broadband, no paper billing fees

The Conservative government said it will reduce wireless roaming fees, enhance rural broadband accessibility and unbundle TV providers’ channel packages as part of a series of pledges to protect consumers. “When Canadians make decisions about how to spend their money, they must be assured of a voice, a choice, and fair treatment,” said Governor General David Johnston, who delivered the government's speech from the throne on Wednesday on behalf of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. “Although Canadians are among the most digitally connected in the world, we also pay some of the highest wireless rates in the developed world. As families know—especially families with teenagers—the monthly bills add up,” he said. As indicated in interviews over the weekend by Industry Minister James Moore, the Tory government said it “believes Canadian families should be able to choose the combination of television channels they want. It will require channels to be unbundled, while protecting Canadian jobs.” The government will also “take steps to reduce roaming costs on networks within Canada,” Johnston said, and end so-called “pay to pay” policies so that customers will not pay fees to receive paper bills instead of electronic bills. “Our Government will continue enhancing high-speed broadband networks for rural Canadians,” the throne speech added. The CRTC is expected to address some of the issues outlined in the speech, having identified them as possible areas for action. The broadcast and telecom regulator, in requests for information earlier this year, has asked companies for their roaming rates and fees and for information about charges for paper billing. The throne speech identified domestic roaming fees only, as opposed to international charges. The CRTC's new wireless code, released this year, puts a $100 cap on the amount that wireless providers can apply to a customer's bill for international roaming. The CRTC is also holding a consultation with the public starting Oct. 24 about television services, where the question of how to regulate pick-and-pay TV services will come up. The CRTC could mandate the unbundling of TV services and the government could make amendments to the Broadcasting Act. Broadcast consultant and former CRTC commissioner Michel Arpin told The Wire Report this week that TV unbundling would mean individual channel pricing would rise, with channels like TSN costing $9 or more. American research firm Needham & Company said in a report this summer that, if a pick-and-pay, or a la carte TV model was implemented in the United States, the industry's annual revenues of $150 billion US would be cut nearly in half, as advertising dried up and subscriptions for less popular channels fell. Actors' union ACTRA said in a release following the speech that it was pleased to see Harper's promise to protect Canadian jobs as the government implements TV unbundling, which is expected to cause many less popular specialty channels to bleed revenues and possibly close. ACTRA said it hopes the government will "work closely with the creative sector in their consultation and implementation" of the plan. Watchdog group the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting said in a release Wednesday that consumers will “feel pain in the pocketbook” if the government continues with plans to unbundle cable TV packages. Ian Morrison, the group’s spokesman, said in a statement that “any government serious about consumer protection would regulate cable prices.” The Canadian Cable Systems Alliance, an association of small cable companies and broadcast distributors, said in a release Wednesday that it supports more competition in the rural Internet and broadcast distribution markets. "As things stand, it isn't fair to Canadians who don't live in major urban areas. As available television and other communications options explode in the digital environment, the urban/rural divide is growing, not shrinking," Alyson Townsend, president of the CCSA, said in a release. "We look forward to working with the government as it develops policies and a regulatory climate that will increase the ability of small and medium sized cable, internet and telecom providers to provide better choice and more competitive rates to their customers, no matter where they live, " Townsend said. Among other consumer interest measures, such as expanding no-cost banking services and cracking down on predatory payday lenders, the Harper government said it will continue to focus on economic growth and federal spending. The speech from the throne said the government will “freeze the overall federal operating budget” and make further federal spending reductions as part of its pledge to balance the budget by 2015. —With reporting by Simon Doyle at sdoyle@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Tories pledge TV unbundling, more rural broadband, no paper billing fees

News | October 16, 2013

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Tories pledge TV unbundling, more rural broadband, no paper billing fees

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