CRTC grants telecoms exemption from wireless and SMS fees for CNAC

The CRTC has decided that wireless data and short message service (SMS) revenues should not be considered when determining what telecoms should pay for the Canadian Numbering Administration Consortium (CNAC), more than a year after the regulator’s staff initially found wireless data should count. BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc., and Telus Corp. had argued that wireless and SMS should not be included in calculating how to support CNAC. The commission agreed in its latest decision released Monday, March 31, noting that such services do not use the publicly switched telephone network (PSTN). Only services delivered via PSTN are taken into consideration when funding CNAC. CNAC, regulated by the CRTC, oversees Canada’s telecommunication numbering resources. It selects and funds the Canadian Numbering Administrator (CNA) and covers the Canadian portion of North American Numbering Plan Administration costs, which are funded by Canadian telecommunication service providers (TSPs). The term “telecommunications services” is used by TSPs to determine their annual contributions toward CNAC’s operations. They are defined by the administrator’s Unanimous Shareholders Agreement as “services which are provided over the PSTN by eligible persons and which utilize numbering resources….” In a July 2023 letter to CNAC, CRTC staff maintained that wireless data does indeed fall within the scope of telephony and should be factored into the contribution determination, because it uses numbering resources. Bell sought clarification on the matter in January 2024, arguing the overall process was wrongly assuming wireless data and SMS use the PSTN. CNAC told the regulator in 2024 that some large wireless service providers, who were not identified in the decision, think of wireless data services as internet services, not telecom services. The consortium asked the CRTC for guidance on how to proceed in calculating contributions. Rogers and Telus backed Bell’s arguments while Quebecor Inc. took the opposite view, saying that since TSPs assign telephone numbers to users of wireless data and SMS, the services should be included in the assessment. Quebecor conceded that Bell uses IP interconnections, not the PSTN. CNAC had argued that voice, data, and SMS are not split into separate charges on a consumer’s monthly bill and that wireless data and SMS are not specifically excluded from the agreed-upon definition of telecom services. Mobile services are conducted from the cell tower to the device through the PSTN, CNAC asserted. Following the March 31 decision, the CRTC directs companies to refile their 2023 revenue reporting worksheets for the 2022 revenue year, allowing for the change in wireless data and SMS status. It denied Bell’s request to be granted rebates for overages it believes it paid in 2022 for the 2021 revenue year. ppark@thewirereport.ca With files from phalentm@thewirereport.ca and The Wire Report’s archives

CRTC grants telecoms exemption from wireless and SMS fees for CNAC

Regulatory |
By Paul Park
| March 31, 2025

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CRTC grants telecoms exemption from wireless and SMS fees for CNAC

Regulatory | By Paul Park | March 31, 2025

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