ComTech News

Today there is a lot in the news about deregulation of telecommunications services in Canada.  It seems that for all the issues with deregulation we have had in the US there is a lot more confusion over the very deffinition of deregulation north of the border.

The first article I reviewed on this subject was on Canada.com by Romina Maurino, Canadian Press called “Competitors must have 25% share of local phone market before deregulation: CRTC”

I have to admit the article while well written was a bit confusing to me (and I have been in the industry well over a decade) and it certainly wasn’t Romina’s fault.  This issue itself just seems counter to what we think of in the US about deregulation.  In the article basicly says that Competitors must have a 25% piece of the market before the market will be deregulated which apparanty means that carriers would be allowed to lower rates.  (huh?)

This report from Reuters Canada makes it a bit more clear as to exactly what is going on.  Regulation in Candada is really about the Canadian government telling providers how much they can charge not just wholesale buyers who compete with them but end users as well.  Apparently not just as one would expect with a spending cap either but a floor as well.  Apparantly Canada sets a regulated range for rates that providers can neither go over or under.

I guess a case could be made that this prevents an ILEC from saying they are fostering fair competition but then turning around and selling low enough to the end user to kill off thier own wholesale resellers.  Yet the entire industry and the regulation around it seems far more complicated and controlled in Canada then in the US.  I think it is a good idea to pay attention to the industry in other countries so I will do some more digging into the regs in Canada and a few other places and post them here.  By watching others make decisions and seeing their results we can learn a lot.

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