CRTC Chair J.P. Blais calculates a reasonable-sounding response to consumers that will not jeopardize his future Board position at Bell.
We’re into the second day of public hearings on a proposed wireless code to regulate Canada’s extremely profitable cell phone industry, and put some control back into the hands of the consumer.
CRTC Chair Jean-Pierre Blais (pictured left) really wants to hear what you have to say about the new code, though his response to concerns so far sounds more like a marketing spin penned inside Rogers cell division.
Despite a public uproar against 3-year contracts, the CRTC has seen fit to leave that hot potato in the oven, rather than address it in the (draft) code. Public reaction of course is borderline incredulity.
Blais was also quick to sweep under the rug a proposal to give consumers a 15-day window to terminate their contract should they find that signal and service are not on par with what the telcos advertise.
The people still have one champion inside the CRTC, and he may end up having more clout to enforce rules than industry-puppet Blais is comfortable with. The Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services, Howard Maker may become man who can drop the hammer when wireless telcos decide you owe them more than you expected. Ol’ Howard has felt your pain:
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve torn my hair out – sometimes waiting on hold; sometimes being told different things by the same company depending on what rep I speak to,” – Complaints Commissioner Howard Maker
We’ve all been there, and it sure is good to have a guy on the inside who actually sits in the same queues and red-tape sloughs as you and me, rather than paying his lackey to deal with it.
Howard Maker: our last, best hope for responsible telecom providers.
The smaller industry players such as Mobility, Wind and Public Mobile stand behind the push to grant Howard’s agency, the CCTS, more powers to enforce the rules, and to put a collar on the big dogs when they step out of line:
Wind Mobile, meanwhile, also wants CCTS to publicly name offending carriers, and says too many consumers simply capitulate and eat disputed charges “in order to move on and avoid a protracted battle which could impact their credit rating.” – Globe and Mail coverage
It is said that justice is poor-mans food, seldom served to the rich or powerful. Though Blais’ puppet show wraps up it’s week-long engagement Friday, it will be months before consumers have any idea of the outcome – months for industry money to massage and re-arrange the code before it’s put into place. Don’t expect a miracle, but at least there is one guy on the inside who wants the public to still have *some* say in how the use of those publicly-owned frequencies are used.