Today, the CRTC is taking action to help make telecommunications and broadcasting services more reliable for Canadians.
Service outages, even if they are short, are highly disruptive and can seriously impact Canadians' lives. Outages can have harmful effects on people, especially when they cannot connect to emergency services in times of need. To help lessen the impact of outages and further protect Canadians, the CRTC is announcing three key actions.
First, following a robust public consultation, the CRTC is issuing a decision to establish final reporting requirements for Internet and cellphone service providers for major outages. This will ensure that public safety and government authorities are informed about major outages, so they can better support Canadians and help providers restore services more quickly.
Second, the CRTC is launching a public consultation to consider new requirements and standards for how service providers design and operate their networks. These measures aim to help make Internet and cellphone networks more resilient, reduce outages, and support providers to manage them better.
Third, the CRTC is launching a public consultation to look at additional consumer protections to help ensure Canadians have the information they need during an outage. These measures include ensuring customers receive meaningful and timely updates, as well as refunds or bill credits after an outage.
The CRTC is welcoming comments on both consultations. Interested persons can participate by:
- filling out the online form on improving service reliability and on consumer protections during an outage;
- sharing views on the CRTC Conversations platform on improving service reliability and on consumer protections during an outage;
- writing to the Secretary General, CRTC, Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0N2;
- sending a fax to 819-994-0218; or
- filing a link to a sign language video using the online form on improving service reliability and on consumer protections during an outage.
All comments will form part of the public record and will inform the CRTC's decisions.
