Ensure ISPs don’t have to contribute money to CanCon: CCSA

The Canadian Communications Systems Alliance (CCSA) is asking the Senate transport and communications committee to consider precluding in law a requirement for internet service providers (ISPs) to contribute money to Canadian content, its CEO said Tuesday. “In our view, any benefit that might flow from requiring ISPs to contribute to Canadian content production would be greatly outweighed by the negative impact on the provision of affordable broadband internet services to all Canadians wherever they may live,” Jay Thomson told the committee. The comments are the latest to register with the senators’ study on modernizing Canada’s communications legislation. It also addresses an aspect of the CRTC’s government-ordered “Harnessing Change” report in May, which concluded that all players in the communications system must contribute to the system from which they benefit -- meaning ISPs would contribute to Canadian content. That report drew a backlash, with some consumer advocates saying that forcing ISPs to contribute would mean higher internet prices for customers. The CCSA on Tuesday reasoned the money that would otherwise go to un- or underserved communities would just be diverted to Canadian content funds like the Canada Media Fund (CMF), thus making it more difficult to bring affordable internet to remote areas that are already expensive for ISPs to operate in due in part to sparse populations. Thomson also made other recommendations to the committee, including mandating wholesale access to roaming via a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) model that he said could open up a competitive billion-dollar market as it has in the United States. The CRTC already rejected the WiFi-first MVNO model earlier this year, instead opting for the incumbents to propose lower-cost data plans. The CRTC still plans to review the MVNO framework at a later date. The CCSA is also joining other telecoms in pushing for the government to amend the Telecommunications Act to authorize the CRTC to act as the single regulator for all infrastructure attachments to make it more accessible to build their networks. The CRTC sets rates for infrastructure owned by federally-regulated telecom companies, but doesn’t for provincial hydro-owned structures, the attach price for which is “escalating dramatically,” Thomson said.

Ensure ISPs don’t have to contribute money to CanCon: CCSA

Brief | October 23, 2018

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Ensure ISPs don’t have to contribute money to CanCon: CCSA

Brief | October 23, 2018

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