The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is changing the way independent Internet service providers are billed.
Wholesale, capacity-based billing will allow the smaller companies “flexibility” in the services they offer Canadians, according to the federal regulator.
"Our aim is to foster a marketplace in which Canadians have as many options as possible for their Internet services," said CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein.
The CRTC also approved a flat rate-only system for wholesale business services. The ruling means Internet users won’t be charged based on the amount of bandwidth or data they use – something that many Canadians feared would result in higher Internet bills.
While the CRTC does not set retail rates or cap bandwidth, it does require large phone and cable companies to sell network access to independents. Independents will order bandwidth in advance and manage network capacity or pay a flat monthly rate for wholesale access regardless of bandwidth use.
Public interest advocate OpenMedia.ca attracted 500,000 Canadians to an online petition against Internet metering. Its executive director Steve Anderson claimed victory and encouraged Canadians to move their accounts to independent service providers.
“It is truly rare for people to outmanoeuvre Big Telecom’s army of lobbyists, but together Canadians did it,” Anderson said.
CRTC launched a review in February and received 2,600 public comments. It held a public hearing in July at Gatineau, Quebec. The matter stems from Bell’s 2009 application to adopt Internet metering.
Bob Mackin