Support C-555: Cheaper, Understandable Wireless Phone Bills

[teamchachi]

The legislation

The Petition to Support the Legislation

Highlights:

• Do away with bogus "system access fees" and other hidden fees.

• No more locked phones. You can take your handset with you to any supported Canada network.
• Clear understandable phone bills.

This is AWESOME legislation that people need to know about and support. Please sign the petition and share it with your friends.

Here's the facebook group:

[fleudian]

Signed the petition. Hopefully this one doesn't die.

[jammies]

But the government is interfering with the rights of corporations to fleece the customers!

In all conscience I cannot support this bill - just because the big companies have bought out all the smaller players and divided up the country between them in a cosy little arrangement where your "choice" is limited to which carrier you would like to overpay for the same crappy service, doesn't mean the government should intervene to attempt the rectify the situation. All hail our oligopolic telco rulers!

[Calgaryborn]

Originally Posted by jammies

But the government is interfering with the rights of corporations to fleece the customers!

In all conscience I cannot support this bill - just because the big companies have bought out all the smaller players and divided up the country between them in a cosy little arrangement where your "choice" is limited to which carrier you would like to overpay for the same crappy service, doesn't mean the government should intervene to attempt the rectify the situation. All hail our oligopolic telco rulers!

Interesting angle but, I don't think the companies all played on a level playing field. The government gave some the monopolies or at least let them play with enough advantage that they couldn't help but overwhelm the competition. The results have been drastically higher prices then the States which are still high by european standards.

If you feel the government shouldn't interfere with how these monopolies "fleece" perhaps an alternative would be to let anyone in who wanted to compete against them; including the big American companies. Barring that I think the government has responsibility to control them just like utilities.

[jammies]

Originally Posted by Calgaryborn

If you feel the government shouldn't interfere with how these monopolies "fleece" perhaps an alternative would be to let anyone in who wanted to compete against them; including the big American companies. Barring that I think the government has responsibility to control them just like utilities.

I'm pretty sure you understood I was being sarcastic; however the the gov't is currently in middle of auctioning off bandwidth to allow just that, more competition. However you can't just "let" any company come in and compete; there is a limited amount of bandwidth available and this mandates physical limitations on how many carriers can exist in an area (without using common infrastructure, anyway).

Still, this seems to be a clear-cut case of the government attempting to interfere with market forces by fiat; I am amazed that no one is stepping up to say this bill is wrong because it does so. I am actually interested (and no, I am not being sarcastic) in how an extreme capitalist thinks the market should operate in this particular industry. I cannot imagine how unregulated wireless would work - other than how it works in my apartment building for 802.11 wireless, which is essentially an escalating war of more and more powerful antennae to overwhelm your neighbour's signal - but perhaps that is just a failure on my part.

[Calgaryborn]

Originally Posted by jammies

I'm pretty sure you understood I was being sarcastic; however the the gov't is currently in middle of auctioning off bandwidth to allow just that, more competition. However you can't just "let" any company come in and compete; there is a limited amount of bandwidth available and this mandates physical limitations on how many carriers can exist in an area (without using common infrastructure, anyway).

Still, this seems to be a clear-cut case of the government attempting to interfere with market forces by fiat; I am amazed that no one is stepping up to say this bill is wrong because it does so. I am actually interested (and no, I am not being sarcastic) in how an extreme capitalist thinks the market should operate in this particular industry. I cannot imagine how unregulated wireless would work - other than how it works in my apartment building for 802.11 wireless, which is essentially an escalating war of more and more powerful antennae to overwhelm your neighbour's signal - but perhaps that is just a failure on my part.

Yeah I knew you were being sarcastic but, it does raise some interesting questions. I guess because band width is limited it should be treated like a limited resource and regulated by the government. Perhaps it should be like the telephone where there is set rate paid to the provider and then competition after that for long distance.

[SebC]

Within 30 days after the coming into force of this Act, the Governor in Council shall, by order, direct the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to gather information, seek input and make a report on competition, consumer-protection, and consumer-choice issues relating to telecommunication services, including

(a) an assessment of the means by which telecommunication service providers can be compelled

(iii) to stop locking cellular phones to a specific provider such that they cannot be used on another provider's network,

So basically, with one law they want the providers to keep the cell phones unlocked, with another (the copyright law) they want to prevent people from letting others unlock their cellphones. Here's an idea, don't write crappy laws that take away consumer rights then have the CRTC investigate why they don't have any.

(c) an assessment of network management practices that favour, degrade or prioritize any packet transmitted over a broadband network based on source, ownership or destination

Net neutrality? Still, why the weak languague? Don't make an assessment, make a law. With all due respect, this law is fluff because all it legislates is that an assessment be done. Where was the assessment for C-51, which takes away consumer rights?

[Devils'Advocate]

Originally Posted by SebC

So basically, with one law they want the providers to keep the cell phones unlocked, with another (the copyright law) they want to prevent people from letting others unlock their cellphones. Here's an idea, don't write crappy laws that take away consumer rights then have the CRTC investigate why they don't have any.

Well, C-555 is being proposed by the Liberals while the copywrite law is being proposed by the Conservatives.

BTW - I put this in the iPhone thread and there has been no response as of yet. Let's say that C-555 passes. The cell service providers cannot charge a "System Access Fee". What is to stop them from raising rates to make up the lost revenue? Given that this auction is a drop in the buck of the competition required to reduce rates, the only way that prices will go down is if the government regulates the industry - and only the NDP are backing that idea.