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Speech
On the topic of “Good regulatory governance in the face of
globalization”
Notes for an address
by Jean-Marc Demers
Commissioner, Canadian Radio-television
and Telecommunications Commission
at the Opening Ceremony of the First Annual Meeting of the Francophone
Telecommunications Regulation Network
Bamako, Mali
October 27th, 2003
(CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY)
Introduction
Thank you, Mr. Modibo Camara.
Mr. Ministers,
Mr. Director of the Office of Telecommunications Development at UIT,
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Diplomatic Corps,
Ladies and Gentlemen, representatives of international agencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen, Chairs of Regulatory Agencies of the Francophonie
and telecommunications company executives,
Dear colleagues in telecommunications regulation,
Dear friends.
I would like to offer a special greeting to Her Excellency, Madame Louise
Ouimet, Ambassador of Canada.
Mr. Camara, thank you very much for welcoming us to your beautiful
country, and congratulations to your organizers.
It is an honour and a privilege for me to participate in this meeting of
the Francophone Telecommunications Regulation Network. The Chairman of the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), Mr.
Charles Dalfen, asked me to convey his greetings to you and to wish you a
very successful meeting.
One of the Network’s objectives is to promote regulatory cooperation
among States having the French language in common. There is certainly a
cultural basis on which we can exchange ideas aimed at a greater mutual
understanding of regulation. And the parallel is clear between the two major
methods of communications – language and telecommunications.
Some members of our Network have already had an opportunity to benefit
from tried and tested regulatory measures and to share them with fellow
members. Others are developing regulations based on the new technologies;
they will be able to avoid the laborious adaptation of obsolete regulations.
Given the rapid evolution of technology, regulation has to go with the
flow and rapidly adapt itself. There is always room for improvement and for
innovation. That’s why it’s worthwhile for us to share with each other our
experiences, our knowledge and our problems so that we can develop the best
possible rules for governing our national telecommunications.
In the next few minutes, I will share with you some comments on how the
CRTC operates and on some of its challenges. I will also touch on a few of
its accomplishments.
The Canadian government and the regulation of telecommunications
I would remind you just briefly that the CRTC is a public, autonomous and
independent agency, composed of a maximum of 13 commissioners. Its mandate
is to regulate and supervise broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada.
Its authority flows from two distinct laws through which Parliament
established broadcasting and telecommunications policy objectives and
delegated to the CRTC the responsibility to apply them. The CRTC develops,
generally without intervention from the executive branch of government, a
regulatory framework for each sector under its jurisdiction and ensures that
the regulatory regime is implemented and respected, thereby fulfilling its
role as regulator.
The 13 commissioners, some of whom live in the region of Canada they
represent, are appointed by the government for a specific term, at a
predetermined salary. They may only be removed from their duties if they do
not comply with the conditions set out in the Act to establish the CRTC. For
example, a commissioner may not, directly or indirectly, be an owner,
shareholder, administrator, director or partner of a telecommunications
company.
The agency is financed by telecommunications and broadcasting companies
according to regulations it established, with the agreement of the
government, in compliance with the rules set out in the two acts governing
these sectors. The CRTC can review its telecommunications decisions. The
decisions may be appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal or to the
government. The government may overrule, or return to the CRTC for review
and a new hearing, decisions in telecommunications or broadcasting dealing
with the granting, amending or renewing of licences.
Pursuant to the objectives of the Canadian telecommunications policy
established by Parliament, the CRTC must ensure that Canadians have access
to varied, innovative, high quality and affordable telecommunications
services that are competitive both nationally and internationally.
The decision-making process and dispute resolution
We must continually ensure that our processes are transparent and
reasonable, and that our decisions are clear, complete and precise.
When the CRTC releases a decision or policy, it makes note of comments
received from all sources and explains the reasons for the position it is
adopting. This ensures that decisions are transparent and reflect the
concerns of the parties involved.
One way we ensure that the Canadian telecommunications system is fair is
by helping companies to resolve disputes and find solutions to the concerns
of the public and the industry. To do this, among other things the CRTC
maintains an Interconnection Steering Committee, which meets regularly to
discuss subjects under the Commission’s jurisdiction.
The CRTC has also created a complaints service to handle disputes.
Consumers can appeal to the Commission when they wish, for example, to
challenge fees being charged by their service providers or rate increases
for local services. If a company takes issue with the practices of one of
its competitors, it can ask the CRTC to intervene via its mediation service.
The regulator will ensure compliance with its rules, and where applicable,
will take steps to correct the situation. It provides a response to every
complaint received, and explains its position. It often asks the company in
question to respond directly to the complainant, and to send a copy of the
response to the CRTC for evaluation.
Our challenges
We are still faced with many challenges. Some are a result of the very
nature of Canada, others are associated with national sovereignty, and still
others stem from the law and the markets. There are also, of course,
organizational challenges.
A) First, some of the CRTC’s challenges reflect Canada’s challenges.
- Physical challenges: in a vast country, with a widely dispersed
population and long, harsh winters, we have to ensure the development of
infrastructure as well as the provision of high quality services capable of
meeting the needs of individuals, companies and public agencies;
- human challenges: services must be affordable, accessible and without
any discrimination;
- the rights of individuals must be protected anywhere that market
forces are unable to do so (emergency services, confidentiality, service
obligations).
B) Other challenges are associated with our sovereignty:
- Respecting Canada’s international commitments (WTO/basic
telecommunications services),
- sharing with other North American countries the use and management
of common resources (for example, dialing and area codes),
- ensuring that our networks and services can interoperate with those
of our neighbours, and
- supporting the efforts of public security organizations (911
emergency services, criminal investigations, child protection laws,
etc.) and ensuring emergency communications (priority access service).
C) A number of the CRTC’s challenges flow from the objectives of the
Telecommunications Act:
For example, this act calls for reliance on market forces and the
development of competition based on infrastructure, i.e., where each company
owns what it needs to offer its services.
D) Changes in the status of the market and technological developments are
also a source of challenges for the CRTC:
- For example, current conditions in capital markets are unfavourable to
risk capital,
- convergence, which is the natural linking of services offered by
telecommunications and distribution (cable, wireless) companies,
- the development of IP (Internet Protocol) networks and services.
E) Finally, there are what we would consider organizational challenges:
- The balance that has to be maintained between the interests of the
various classes of service providers and those of subscribers,
- the efficiency and effectiveness of the regulatory framework,
- the evolution of the regulatory framework with regard to new
technologies and changing markets, and
- improvements in analysis methods (quality of service indicators) and
the annual reports that the CRTC must submit to the Parliament of Canada.
We must ensure that where regulation is necessary, it is as effective as
possible.
Moreover, in the long-distance, wireless and retail Internet markets, we
have declined to regulate for the very good reason that there is enough
competition to enable market forces to control prices.
On the other hand, in the local telephone market, we continue to regulate
prices because there is currently not enough competition.
Competition policies should be in the public interest. The regulator must
therefore balance public and private interests and remove obstacles to
competition.
The regulator must also ensure that the rules it establishes are
observed. For example, the CRTC intervened earlier this year when it noted
some non-compliance with its regulations. In April we issued a public notice
advising of our intention to send inspectors to incumbent telephone
companies (former monopolies) to verify their compliance with our
regulations, and of our intention to commence prosecution proceedings
against non-complying companies where applicable.
I have spent quite a bit of time talking about the CRTC’s challenges,
knowing that they are similar to those faced by other telecommunications
regulatory agencies in the Francophonie.
Canadian accomplishments
Let me quickly now touch on some of the successes that Canada has on the
books:
- More than 98% of Canadian households have access to wireline telephone
service.
- Long-distance rates in Canada are among the lowest in the world.
- Our wireless industry is healthy, competitive and profitable. Its rate
of penetration is growing strongly, more than doubling over the last few
years and reaching nearly 48% of Canadian households in 2001.
- The average annual rate of Internet growth was 60% between 1998 and
2002. The retail Internet market totalled $2.5 billion in 2002. In
addition, 97% of Canadians have access to low-speed Internet, i.e., via
the telephone line.
- As for broadband penetration, Canada heads the G8 countries. In 2002,
close to 30% of households subscribed to broadband. The market is pretty
well evenly split between cable and digital access telephone lines (DSL),
two industries with their own infrastructure.
- In 2002, revenues for the data transmission industry totalled close to
$2.2 billion, and their annual rate of growth reached 7% between 2000 and
2002. Revenues for the private line market reached $2.8 billion and their
annual rate of growth was 8% between 2000 and 2002.
- Finally, the Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that all
Canadian communities have access to broadband service by 2005.
Conclusion
Regulation is only part of the telecommunications success story. Market
conditions, competition and technological developments are also important.
And of course, the management and administration of telecommunications
companies plays a decisive role in the success of telecommunications.
For its part, the CRTC continues to endeavour to make its processes more
transparent and its decisions more transparent, complete and precise. The
fairness and integrity of the Canadian system depend on it.
And the CRTC is convinced of the importance and the relevance of
international exchanges, particularly among the members of the Francophonie,
as we will experience over the coming days.
Thank you!
- 30 -
Media Relations:
MediaRelations@crtc.gc.ca, Tel: (819) 997-9403, Fax: (819) 997-4245
General Inquiries:
Tel: (819) 997-0313, TDD: (819) 994-0423, Fax: (819) 994-0218
Toll-free # 1-877-249-CRTC (2782), eMail:
info@crtc.gc.ca
TDD - Toll-free # 1-877-909-2782
This document is available in alternative format upon request.
Date Modified: 2004-01-16 |
