Canadian Government Will Force Repeal of CRTC
Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2011 5:43 pm
Canadian Government Will Force Repeal of Measures That Hamper Unlimited Internet
by: Shane McGlaun
Clement says government will force repeal if CRTC doesn't act (Source: The Globe and Mail)
Thousands of consumers have complained already about the CRTC's decision
In the U.S. major ISPs have been trying to move to pay-per-byte model for quite some time, and a few of them have succeeded in moving from unlimited plans to tiered plans. ISPs in other countries are trying to do the same thing and the move is raising some eyebrows in Canada.
In Canada, a recent ruling by the CRTC ended unlimited use internet plans. However, The Globe and Mail reports that the Harper government is saying if the CRTC doesn't overturn the decision to it would force the independent regulator to rescind the decision.
Canadian Industry Minister Tony Clement announced the CRTC decision would be overturned via Twitter late Wednesday night. One of the tweets he posted read, "True. CRTC must go back to drawing board. If the CRTC does not back down." The tweet comes in response to a question of if the government would act in response to the public outcry.
The cabinet has the ability to reverse the CRTC decision if the CRTC doesn't opt to reverse the decision itself. The Globe and Mail reports that the elimination of unlimited accounts by the ruling has sparked huge consumer outrage.
The decision made by the CRTC effectively forces small ISPs to stop offering their customers unlimited use web accounts and move to per byte charging. Many of the small ISPs use the unlimited plans to lure customers to their service and away from the large providers who tend to offer only per byte fees.
Clement told the Commons on Wednesday; "We want to ensure that the Internet is available for consumers, small businesses, innovators and creators. That is what we are all about."
One CRTC official has stated that the agency has received thousands of complaints about the decision already. The decision also allows the larger providers who sell smaller providers space on their internet backbones to charge the smaller providers on a per byte basis, which would in turn make them have to charge users per byte.
by: Shane McGlaun
Clement says government will force repeal if CRTC doesn't act (Source: The Globe and Mail)
Thousands of consumers have complained already about the CRTC's decision
In the U.S. major ISPs have been trying to move to pay-per-byte model for quite some time, and a few of them have succeeded in moving from unlimited plans to tiered plans. ISPs in other countries are trying to do the same thing and the move is raising some eyebrows in Canada.
In Canada, a recent ruling by the CRTC ended unlimited use internet plans. However, The Globe and Mail reports that the Harper government is saying if the CRTC doesn't overturn the decision to it would force the independent regulator to rescind the decision.
Canadian Industry Minister Tony Clement announced the CRTC decision would be overturned via Twitter late Wednesday night. One of the tweets he posted read, "True. CRTC must go back to drawing board. If the CRTC does not back down." The tweet comes in response to a question of if the government would act in response to the public outcry.
The cabinet has the ability to reverse the CRTC decision if the CRTC doesn't opt to reverse the decision itself. The Globe and Mail reports that the elimination of unlimited accounts by the ruling has sparked huge consumer outrage.
The decision made by the CRTC effectively forces small ISPs to stop offering their customers unlimited use web accounts and move to per byte charging. Many of the small ISPs use the unlimited plans to lure customers to their service and away from the large providers who tend to offer only per byte fees.
Clement told the Commons on Wednesday; "We want to ensure that the Internet is available for consumers, small businesses, innovators and creators. That is what we are all about."
One CRTC official has stated that the agency has received thousands of complaints about the decision already. The decision also allows the larger providers who sell smaller providers space on their internet backbones to charge the smaller providers on a per byte basis, which would in turn make them have to charge users per byte.