Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
www.crtc.gc.ca
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Internet
Access to the Internet
The CRTC works to ensure that all Canadians have access to the Internet through their basic telephone service. By the end of 2008, 94% of Canadian households had access to high-speed Internet service, and approximately 69% of Canadian households subscribed to high-speed Internet service. (Source: CRTC Communications Monitoring Report 2009)
Retail Internet rates, quality of service and business practices
A retail customer is the end user who purchases access to the Internet. The CRTC does not regulate rates, quality of service issues or business practices of Internet service providers as they relate to retail customers. This is because there is enough competition in the market that retail customers can shop around for service packages.
Wholesale Internet rates and quality of service
A wholesale customer is an Internet service provider who buys bandwidth in order to access the Internet from a cable or telephone company and then resells that access to retail customers. The CRTC regulates rates and quality of service issues for wholesale services. The CRTC regulates the relationship between these resellers and the cable and telephone companies who own the infrastructure needed to provide Internet access, in order to ensure that Canadians have access to a range of Internet providers.
Complaints about your Internet service
Contact your Internet service provider
If you have a complaint about your Internet service, contact your service provider directly.
Contact the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services
If you’re not satisfied with your Internet service provider’s response, check the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) website to see if your service provider is a member. If so, contact the CCTS with your complaint.
The CCTS is an independent agency that helps resolve consumer complaints about your telecommunications service. Contact them at:
- email: info@ccts-cprst.ca
- mail: P.O. Box 81088, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1B1
- toll-free telephone: 1-888-221-1687
- toll-free TTY: 1-877-782-2384
- fax: 1-877-782-2924
Offensive content on the Web
The CRTC does not regulate content on the Internet. For content generated in Canada, there are Canadian laws, industry developed guidelines and content filtering software to deal with content that may be offensive. You can look at your Internet service provider’s “Acceptable Use Policy” or the Canadian Association of Internet providers “Code of Conduct” for more information about their respective standards. You can contact either your Internet service provider or your local police department to report illegal content.
The Government of Canada has set up a national tip line for reporting the online sexual exploitation of children. It also provides other resources to help Canadians keep their children safe while on the Internet. Visit www.cybertip.ca or call toll-free at 1-866-658-9022.
Broadcasting
Services that broadcast over the Internet or through other mobile devices in Canada don’t need to have a licence from the CRTC. You can read about the CRTC’s position in Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2009-329, Public Notice 1999-84, and Telecom Public Notice 99-14.
Exemptions are described in Exemption order for new media broadcasting undertakings (Public Notice CRTC 1999-197) and Exemption order for mobile television broadcasting undertakings (Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2007-13).
