CANADIAN WIRELESS CODE OF CONDUCT- A BIG STEP TO NOTHING


Last week, the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission) announced a draft Canadian Wireless Code of Conduct that will eventually become a regulatory tool for wireless service in Canada. It seeks to create a “.. mandatory code for all mobile wireless service providers to address the clarity and content of wireless service contracts and related issues for consumers.” Throughout last year, the CRTC has been actively gathering comments and suggestions from the public about what they want to change in how wireless service in Canada is regulated. It is then safe to assume that this draft code of conduct is a direct mandate from the consumers- and I argue because of this, it is a big step towards nothing.
Why a Wireless Code of Conduct?
Obviously most Canadians feel that the wireless service industry is an evil corporate empire that has been bullying them for such a long time. The public obviously feels that the big 3 wireless carriers in Canada (Bell, Telus and Rogers) has been getting away with cheating consumers for too long and it is time for it to stop. Canadians clearly feel that their wireless service providers are unscrupulous cheats who hide important details about their wireless contracts just to get away with a sale. It is because of this very dim picture that a Wireless Code of Conduct has been deemed necessary.
People are hoping that with a Wireless Code of Conduct, there will be more clarity between the service provider and the consumer. It is also hoped that with the wireless code of conduct, complaints are address faster now that wireless service contracts are clearer.
What are the main issues addressed by the Wireless Code of Conduct?
One of the main concern address by the draft code of conduct is how cancelation fees are calculated. It seeks to make sure that cancelation fees do not exceed the amount of discount/subsidy received on the device. There are two Provinces in Canada that has passed provincial legislations mandating this (Quebec and Manitoba). The draft wireless code of conduct seeks to standardize the cancelation fee calculation- on new, existing and future contracts.
Another main issue addressed by the wireless code of conduct is clarity of the contract terms. The code of conduct goes as far as to mandate that there be e personalized summary page for all terms that apply specifically to the customer. No more hidden terms and fees and no more confusion.
The wireless code of conduct also addresses the issue of usage/ billing caps. Wireless service providers are mandated to suspend services once charges reach a certain amount set by the consumer.
The proposed wireless code of conduct also mandates Wireless service providers to offer cellphone unlocking solutions to their customers at a reasonable cost or at no cost (if customer is no longer on a contract).
The proposed code of conduct deals with other aspects of a service agreement but the ones mentioned above are the most discussed and seems to be the driving force behind this initiative.
Will a code of conduct really help?
It depends if help is really needed. The way I see it, most of the things that the CRTC seeks to address are already being dealt with or is already actually common practice. To some degree I feel it is trying to tackle the wrong problem.
Take the issue with phone unlocks- all the 3 major carriers in Canada offer in-house unlocking services under certain conditions and fees.
The issue on bill and usage caps to me is very counter productive and may even cause more problems for the consumer. It is also an issue that is already being addressed. Some carriers in Canada already offer this option and all offer this as a mandatory feature for some of its customer. All usage caps are disruptive and according to the CRTC, the service will not be re-instated unless the customer agrees to the charges. Here is where the problem arises- usage caps always calculate unbilled usage and most customers dispute being capped for something they have not been billed for. Getting the customer to agree to charges they have not been billed for is close to impossible- hell most people even dispute usage starting at them from the invoice already. If the CRTC is truly worried about the average wireless bill for Canadians, it should work on encouraging more competition and/or actively regulating prices.
The wireless code of conduct also mandates “clarity” in the service agreement. What the CRTC means with “clarity” is anybody’s guess but it does mandate, again, something that is already happening- a personalized summary page. All wireless carriers provide a summary of their wireless service at the time of activation. As for clarity in the consumers rights and responsibilities, I honestly believe all the Terms of Service from the 3 Carriers are clear and straightforward (read TOS here: Bell Mobility, Rogers Wireless, Telus Mobility). Changing the font size of the service agreement and having a personalized page for the consumer will not change a thing unless consumers make it a habit of reading the TOS before signing.
I agree that there are valid consumer woes out there but I honestly do not think this is because Wireless Carriers are trying to bully its consumers. The way I see it, there are two major problems in Canada’s wireless telecommunications industry: i. Price of service and ii. Competition. Wireless service in Canada is ridiculously expensive compared to other industrialized countries (read this article) in the world and the main reason for this is lack of competition.
The CRTC should focus on those two key problems and go back to its mandate: “… natural competition results in better prices and packages for consumers. In these cases, CRTC allows competition, not regulations, to drive the market.” (CRTC website)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Justice is blind but the scale is rigged when it comes to whistleblowers.

Image
General David Petraeus was sentenced to two years probation and a $100K fine for leaking classified information (link to  plea deal ). This sentence is nothing short of an insult to the justice system in the United States. It is a clear example of how the justice system in the United States is rigged.  Let us recall what got Petraeus into this mess by looking at two things - i. What did he leak? ii. What was intention for leaking the information?  What did he leak? Petraeus leaked names of covert operatives, war plans for US forces, and detailed discussion with senior officials including the US President. This information was contained in notebooks that Petraeus kept for himself. He then gave Paula Broadwell access to these notebooks to help her write his biography. The information contained in those notebooks are highly classified by any standard and had the potential of endangering US covert operatives.  When Chelsea Manning leaked the Afghan war-logs to WikiLeaks th
Read more

Tim Cook on Privacy.

Apple is leading the way in promoting user privacy in the digital age and recently Apple CEO Tim Cook delivered a speech during an event in Washington where he made some very important and controversial points about privacy in the digital age.  "Like many of you, we at Apple reject the idea that our customers should have to make tradeoffs between privacy and security...We can, and we must provide both in equal measure. We believe that people have a fundamental right to privacy. The American people demand it, the constitution demands it, morality demands it.” This statement is supported by Apple's action being the first major phone manufacturer to make encryption as a default in its Operating System. It goes to show how serious Apple is in protecting customer privacy and in not making money out of customer information. There are hundreds of millions of iOS devices all over the world and each one is connected to the internet. Whenever these devices connect to the internet
Read more

How a robbery in 1976 robbed US citizens of their privacy in the digital age.

B altimore - Shortly after midnight on March 5, 1976 Mrs. Patricia Mcdonough was robbed just outside her home. She was able to take a good look at the robber and his 1975 Monte Carlo automobile. A few days after the robbery, Mrs. McDonough started receiving threatening phone calls from the man claiming to be the robber. Mrs. McDonough started recording some of these threatening phone calls and notified the police. On March 13, the police asked the telephone company to install a terminating accounting equipment on Mrs. Donough's telephone line to determine the origin of the calls she was receiving. The police found out that most of the calls were made from pay-phones near McDonough's residence.  On March 16, in the general vicinity of Mrs. McDonough's home, someone asked a police officer for help in opening the locked door of his 1975 Monte Carlo. The officer helped the man, took down his plate# and notified the investigating officer.  The police ran the plate # and tra
Read more