Senate committee takes up study of internet service quality bill

The Senate Committee on Transport and Communications began its study of Bill C-288 on Tuesday, which would amend the Telecommunications Act to require telecom carriers to be more transparent about their broadband services. The private member’s bill, sponsored by Manitoba Conservative MP Dan Mazier, was unanimously passed by the House of Commons a year ago. He was the first witness for the Senate hearing. Mazier pointed out that often internet service providers (ISPs) advertise maximum speeds they are unable to deliver in practice. He argues that this leads consumers to believe that their service is better than it truly is. “Many Canadians, especially those living in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities, don’t feel they are receiving the internet quality they are paying for,” he told the half-dozen senators. “The speeds that customers see when they purchase an internet speed are not guaranteed speeds and they’re rarely minimum speeds or average speeds.” While there have been policy directives from the government to the CRTC about internet policy, the matter is too important to be ignored by legislators, Mazier stated. Policy directives have not been codified into law, an oversight his bill will change, he remarked. But with clear direction, the commission can do its work. The question of accurate internet speeds has been subject to regulation in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, the MP noted. Under questioning from Progressive Senators Group member Andrew Cardozo, a former CRTC commissioner, Mazier drew an analogy about paying more for less from ISPs. “Offering theoretical or up-to speeds, that’s like going to a gas station, wanting 50 litres of gas, getting 10 litres, then paying for 50,” he said. “There’s no other industry in Canada that sells their goods like that.” During the second hour of the proceeding, other witnesses appeared before the panel to back the bill. Some had previously endorsed the legislation when it was before the House of Commons. The CRTC’s Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services (CCTS) had two assistant commissioners show up to testify. Josée Thibault is responsible for operations and business services. She told the senators that complaints about speeds are prevalent at the CCTS. “Internet is the second-most complained about service and complaints about insufficient internet speeds fall within our mandate,” she explained. “We track these speed complaints under a category we call quality of service.” Consumers complain about slow speeds and outages. They often do not know about maximum speeds and how they are not offered universally. Her colleague Janet Lo is assistant commissioner for legal, regulatory and stakeholder affairs. She said users are not always told about the packages they buy. “When investigating our complaint, we also consider what disclosure was made to the customer about speed guarantees or performance expectations when they subscribed to the service,” she noted. Oftentimes, the CCTS can negotiate a lower-tiered package for the client and in some cases even get a refund from the ISP, she pointed out. Matt Hatfield, executive director of OpenMedia, said Mazier’s bill is just the opening salvo of what is needed. “OpenMedia urges you to speedily pass bill C-288. Making truthful reporting of internet speeds a legal obligation is common sense legislation that will benefit every Canadian,” he stated. But this legislation should be a starting point not an endpoint when it comes to policing the ISPs, he noted. Merely passing C-288 would treat the symptom, not the problem. The core problem is that telecom services in Canada is effectively an oligopoly, he said. Consumers are fed up with that. Hatfield cited a 2022 survey which found that telecommunications was the sector with the most negative opinion among the public. A Toronto telecom consultant also praised the bill. Reza Rajabiun was appearing as an individual, just as he had at the House of Commons Industry Committee last year. “Variation and uncertainty about internet service quality negatively affects the user experience and access to vital services and applications,” he asserted. “Reliable internet access has become even more essential during the COVID pandemic.” Communities outside the large urban centres need this legislation, he stated. While it does not go as far as American or European regulations, it is a step in the right direction. – Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca

Senate committee takes up study of internet service quality bill

News | April 30, 2024

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Senate committee takes up study of internet service quality bill

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