The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today announced the launch of its first public consultation on improving the resilience and reliability of Canada’s telecommunications networks.
“Canadians need reliable, high-quality telecommunications services. We are taking action to lessen the disruptive impact of service outages on Canadians, reduce their occurrence and length, and ensure that essential services such as 911 and emergency alerts are always available,” said Vicky Eatrides, who took over as chair and CEO of the CRTC from Ian Scott in January.
The efforts come after the nationwide Rogers network outage in July 2022 that left much of Canada without phone and internet service. In the wake of the devastating network failure, Rogers paid out $150 million in refunds to customers and, together with Bell and Telus, signed a network safety plan agreeing to share resources in the event of a similar incident.
As part of the consultation, the CRTC is inviting Canadians to comment on the requirements it should impose on telecom operators for the reporting of major service outages. Until the CRTC finalizes its policy on outage reporting, all service providers are required to inform the watchdog within two hours of an outage and also file a comprehensive report within 14 days.
The CRTC is accepting comments until March 24, 2023. Those interested can submit their comments by:
In addition, the CRTC also expects to launch additional consultations in the future to assess potential measures to enhance network resiliency, access to emergency services, consumer communication and compensation, the impact of outages on accessibility services, and penalties on service providers for outages.
The CRTC noted that it is hiring an independent firm to review Rogers’ mitigation plan to prevent future outages, and, along with Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada, is also commissioning a report exploring resiliency and reliability measures employed by telecom regulators internationally.
