Let’s talk telco? The regulator has announced a new multi-year plan that will look into the services Canadians require to participate in the digital economy.

The CRTC kicked off a major proceeding Thursday designed to review basic telecommunications services in Canada.

The first phase of the proceeding will see the Commission solicit information from Canadians to better understand their current telecommunications services and determine which areas are not being adequately served or not being served at all. Noting that its current policy dictates that Canadians in all regions have access to a low-speed Internet connection, the Commission said that it must review its policies on basic telecommunications services “in order to be in step with the future and the changing needs of Canadians”.

Canadians are encouraged to comment, before June 30, 2015, on issues including:

– services that should be identified as necessary for Canadians to participate in the digital economy;

– necessary upload and download speeds to participate meaningfully in the digital economy;

– the possible need for funding mechanisms to support the provision of modern telecommunications services, and

– the roles of the economic and regulatory players in telecommunications services, such as the private sector, governments and the CRTC.

In the second stage, which will take place this fall, the CRTC pledged to hold further public consultation to collect comments from Canadians regarding these issues, and following that, will stage a public hearing scheduled to begin on April 11, 2016, in Gatineau.

“The proceeding we are initiating today is both extensive and important for Canadians”, said CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais, in a statement. “As our habits change in this digital age, our telecommunications services must keep pace. Canadians are looking to the future, and the CRTC wants to ensure that the technology they depend on does so as well. The proceeding we are launching will help us ensure that telecommunications services meet the changing needs of Canadians.”

Agencies/Canadajournal