Huntsville, Ontario
June 7, 2015
Peter Menzies, Vice-Chairman of Telecommunications
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
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Good evening. Thank you for inviting me to speak to you tonight. I always appreciate the opportunity to reach out—particularly to those who run some of Canada’s independent telecommunications companies. It’s invaluable to me to hear about the challenges you face and the innovative solutions you have developed and continue to propose to address them.
Too often, much of the public’s and the media’s attention focuses on the work being done by your much larger competitors. That’s a mistake. The great work being done by the carriers you all represent is one of our nation’s most unique success stories. You began as pioneers and you continue to be so. You have transitioned from dependable providers of 20th century technology to innovators in the deployment of 21st century technology.
Most of all, you are increasingly dedicated to providing the best service possible to thousands of Canadians in rural communities, who instead of being passed by are your top priority.
I understand special greetings are in order. It’s not every association that reaches its 50th year of advocacy. Congratulations on that milestone achievement. None of you looks a day over 49.
When he turned 50, Muhammad Ali remarked that “a man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.” It’s true that age—or, if you prefer, experience—gives us the perspective to appreciate the world more deeply. And if we are curious and open and humble enough to reflect on our experiences, we hopefully gain wisdom from them. Such wisdom, in turn, gives us the ability to consider change more carefully and understand the roles we play in an evolving society more completely.
How much has changed in the telecommunications world since this association was born in 1965! Most of us now connect to one another over the air rather than through wires. We’ve thrown away our rotary dial handsets and replaced them with voice-activated digital assistants. And nearly every one of us carries a supercomputer in his or her pocket that has more processing power than the machines used to put the first man on the moon. Such change is staggering; the pace at which it unfolds, truly historic. We have broadband technology to thank for such speed.
Ladies and gentlemen, the broadband revolution is upon us and it is changing everything. It is the platform that more and more Canadians use every day to participate in the digital economy, to fulfill the many aspects of their economic, social and cultural lives: work, education, entertainment, healthcare, commerce, communication—the list goes on. Can anyone think of a part of life that hasn’t yet migrated over to the digital world?
You surely notice such changing demands—for newer services, faster speeds, more ubiquitous access and greater reliability—among your customers. We at the CRTC notice it too, in the shift in the types of requirements being expressed by consumers, the innovations being put forth by industry, and the deepening complexity of the regulations we manage.
You may recall that back in 2011, the CRTC set universal target speeds of at least 5 megabits per second (Mbps) for downloads and 1 Mbps for uploads. That was appropriate four years ago—many even doubted it was achievable.
But today, our target seems less current. I recall people in the North suggesting that 5 Mbps seemed like a dream. For an important few it still is, but for the vast majority, it is just a memory of a bygone era. The Federal Communications Commission in the U.S. recently changed its broadband target to 25 Mbps for downloads.
Ideas such as the critical role played by broadband in Canada today, the speeds required to enable Canadians to engage fully in the digital economy, and the costs they will pay to access such services will undoubtedly be central to our review of basic telecommunications services. Launched in April, our assessment will consider exactly what should constitute basic services.
We want to hear Canadians’ views. We are asking them after all to make a list of all their communication services and answer the question: Which of these is the most important to you? Which of these constitutes your basic telecommunications service?
Our proceeding is now very much underway and will roll out over three distinct phases in order to capture as much input from as many diverse voices as possible. During the first phase ,we are collecting data from service providers such as yourselves to get a clear view of what you offer to Canadians, what parts of the country you serve and how, and what rates you charge. You have until July 14 to submit your comments.
We will digest the intelligence you give us over the summer before we launch the second phase of the proceeding in the fall. This is where Canadians have a chance to respond, to give us their ideas and opinions on those services they need to participate fully in the digital economy, including the digital culture, now and into the future.
The proceeding will include a public hearing next April, during which anyone—industry, citizens, creators, consumers, academics—may come forward to share ideas and input. We want to hear not only from the voices we have come to depend upon but also the voices that have been missing. We want the fully engaged and those who have been disengaged and to hear their needs and wants as well as what is possible and practical.
We will supplement oral and written testimony at the hearing with submissions presented to us via an online public discussion forum. All the ideas and opinions we receive from these various channels deepen and enrich the public record that we consider when making our decisions.
By the way, it’s been said in some regulatory circles that approaches such as these—open public hearings that consider input from a multitude of voices, technical and otherwise—are inappropriate. That regulation is best left to the experts: industry and government, and that Commissioners should not be corrupting themselves by reading Twitter.
I could not disagree more. Such an approach is old-fashioned. It is exclusionary. And it is elitist. Commissioners tasked with serving the public interest have to be conscious of what the public is interested in.
Closed-door hearings among lawyers and engineers and high-level executives leave out an essential element of the equation: the public itself. The CRTC’s mandate is to act in the public interest. Doing so requires—in fact it demands—that we understand the wishes and opinions of the members of that public. At the same time, listening to people does not mean we have to agree with everything we hear.
We always act in the public interest. Experience tells us that the public interest is revealed by the input and perspectives of the various people who participate in our proceedings. After all, what the public wants, what it needs and what it can afford are sometimes very different things. And we are fully aware that the public interest is very often extremely well served by competitive market forces and that a healthy industry is fundamental to meeting the needs of citizens.
I urge you and everyone you know who cares to get involved in this proceeding. The perspectives you will bring to the table will be critical to helping us develop as complete a picture of the telecommunications service industry as possible. I said earlier that you face distinct challenges and enjoy distinct successes. Share those with us in the context of this review.
Before I turn to the other topic I want to talk to you about today—our recent decision on Execulink Telecom’s Direct Connect service—let me just quickly update you on three other items of interest.
The first is our decision on wholesale wireline services. We held a hearing last November to identify which services large cable companies and incumbent phone companies must offer to their competitors on a wholesale basis and under terms set by the CRTC. We asked which of those services should be mandated and which deregulated. Fibre to the home was a particularly popular talking point. Our decision is forthcoming. My fellow Commissioners and I are working to find that right balance between promoting sustainable competition and fostering sufficient incentives for network investments. Stay tuned.
The second matter is the consultation we recently launched called “Review of costing inputs and application process for wholesale high-speed access services.” We are inviting comments until July 6 on the question of whether our wholesale costing structure for high-speed access services provided by large cable carriers and telephone companies to their competitors is still appropriate. If you have insight to share on this matter, by all means do.
We have also recently asked for comments to help us further streamline and increase the efficiency of our approval mechanisms for tariff applications, intercarrier agreements and other processes. If you have any suggestions, please submit them by June 30.
As you know, two weeks ago, we denied Execulink’s application to review and vary elements of a decision we took last September in which we set rates for the company’s Direct Connect service.
In its application, Execulink asked us to consider whether external expenses could be included in regulatory economic studies, whether such studies should include only fixed common regulatory expenses, and whether the markup Execulink charges for its Direct Connect service was appropriate.
After careful analysis, we determined that our original approach on all three fronts was more appropriate. I expect many of you were disappointed with that outcome. I understand that this decision will have an impact on your respective upcoming rate applications.
Muhammad Ali was right to say that we can’t view today’s world with the same eyes that we used thirty years ago. None of us is the same person today that he or she was then. We have been through too much. We have seen too much change. We have grown older and, hopefully, wiser. To view our industry through those same eyes would be to do ourselves a disservice.
The pace and complexity of the change brought about by technological innovations is forcing everyone to adapt—almost daily, it seems: Canadians as consumers, you as service providers, and us as regulators. Consider the challenges brought about by such change as opportunities to be grasped rather than as hurdles to be leapt.
Your experience gives you a valuable perspective from which to interpret change and react to it. Draw on that wisdom. Seize the moment. Adapt, innovate, thrive and feel free to succeed.
Thank you.
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