We discuss the CRTC's recent reversal of its previous decision from 2019 of wholesale internet rates and its likely effect on smaller internet providers and therefore on Canadian consumers with our guest, Andy Kaplan-Myrth of Teksavvy. Higher prices and less choice, anyone?
We discuss the CRTC's disastrous decision on wholesale internet rates from late May 2021 with Andy Kaplan-Myrth, VP Regulatory of Teksavvy, a well-established wholesale-based Internet service provider and its effect on Teksavvy, other wholesale-based ISPs, the market, consumers, the rest of the industry and even the CRTC itself.
We spend a full hour and a half (sorry) to get way into the history and actual details of the rate set by the CRTC - details that usually are not reported on or discussed outside the CRTC - but that will affect the price for Internet access and who delivers it in Canada. The CRTC's recent decision likely means reduced business investment by smaller providers, some of whom may go out of business, and undoubted headwinds for the business of Teksavvy and others that will stop things like these companies offering wireless service or more rural broadband service.
We discuss Teksavvy's various efforts to continue the fight in a Petition to now overturn this decision and the futility, at some point, of this groundhog day of Internet rate-setting.
We explore the twisted regulatory process and how we arrived at a point where the CRTC could say they were completely right in court, then completely wrong only 2 years later but, despite making many mistakes, it is now not worth their time to fix it properly. Just, wow. Really? What can consumers do to help break out of this current loop?
CRTC's Wholesale Rate Reversal, here: Telecom Decision CRTC 2021-181
Teksavvy Petition to reverse the reversal, here: TekSavvy Petitions Federal Cabinet to Overrule CRTC’s Arbitrary Rate Decision