TekSavvy has issued a letter to the CRTC questioning the quality of its 2018 Communications Monitoring Report.
Published on Dec. 20, 2018, the Chatham, ON-based internet service provider says the report was flawed, inexplicably broke with past standards and omitted data highly relevant to CRTC proceedings.
Specifically, the letter details a departure from previous methodological practice, including combining two pre-existing telecommunications provider categories into a new classification called “Independent ISPs.”
TekSavvy says major omissions included all data and analysis of resellers’ wireline revenue market share, despite the 2017 report including a detailed breakdown of such information in comparison to other service providers. Additionally, TekSavvy maintains that nearly 17 pages of data and analysis on the wholesale telecommunications sector was also absent from the 2018 report, and data and analysis on resellers’ total share of communications revenues.
Contrary to past annual reports, the independent telco says the CRTC neither identified nor explained any of the changes.
“The CRTC has long recognized that the annual Communications Monitoring Report serves a vital public purpose: to provide Canadians with the information they require to effectively participate in its proceedings.” said Andy Kaplan-Myrth, TekSavvy’s VP, Regulatory & Carrier Affairs, in a press release. “Without explanation, the 2018 Communications Monitoring Report broke with standards that the CRTC itself deemed necessary for past reports to fulfill that purpose.”
“We’re asking the CRTC to explain these changes and omissions, to provide more information about the standards it applied to this latest edition, and to issue an amendment to the 2018 Report that presents all omitted data as transparently as possible” added Kaplan-Myrth.
Published annually by the CRTC, the Communications Monitoring Report provides comprehensive data and analysis on Canada’s communications sector, which serves as a benchmark for CRTC proceedings.
While the 2017 report was released in full in November of that year, the 2018 report did not include the Broadcast Sector Overview. The CRTC has yet to reveal a date for the release of the full report. Prior to 2017, the full document was generally issued in September or October.
CRTC Media Manager Patricia Valladao told Broadcast Dialogue, the commission will be closely examining the TekSavvy letter and will respond in due course.
