Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Statement of consumer rights
The CRTC has issued Telecom Decision CRTC 2006-52, a "Statement of consumer rights" in respect of ILEC local home telephone service. The Commission limited its Statement to those rights and services under the Telecom Act, and did not extend these rights to include a Net User Bill of Rights (that we discussed in June) that has been raised in the US Senate.As stated in the CRTC's press release,
This statement clarifies consumers’ key rights which include: the right to a local telephone service, the right to choose a phone company, the right to confidentiality, and the right to register a dispute or complaint.In the near future, some local markets will be forborne from regulation. Today's Decision recognizes that there could be a significant difference between consumer rights mandated for regulated markets and those that may be applicable in forborne markets. CRTC Chair Charles Dalfen said:
Ensuring that consumers understand their rights is important. In the future, when some local markets are not regulated, it will be important that consumers continue to understand their rights and we are hopeful the entire industry will work together to ensure those rights are understood and respected.We agree. However, the Decision calls for
ILECs to consult with the CLECs and consumer groups, in the context of industry self-regulation, on the issue of establishing and communicating consumer rights in forborne local services markets.I'm not crazy about encouraging this kind of cooperation in setting standards for service delivery. Would we want Ford, GM and Toyota to get together to agree on what kind of rights automotive consumers have in a fully competitive market? I think I would prefer to see competitors compete, rather than collude on service delivery and consumer rights.
Set the minimum standards - after that, let the marketplace decide.
Technorati Tags:
Consumer rights, ILEC, CRTC, regulation, local competition
Posted by Mark Goldberg @ 8/29/2006 12:10:00 PM 
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Mark:
Bang on!! Couldn't agree with you any more than I do on your position on using competitive environments to get the most for consumers. After all, isn't that what competition is all about and what de-regulation is supposed to achieve?
Brian Gordon
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Bang on!! Couldn't agree with you any more than I do on your position on using competitive environments to get the most for consumers. After all, isn't that what competition is all about and what de-regulation is supposed to achieve?
Brian Gordon
Posted by 
: 8:43 PM, August 29, 2006
: 8:43 PM, August 29, 2006 << Home
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