Canada's new regulatory framework: Convergence, competition and the Information Highway

摘要

This paper analyses the CRTC's new competitive framework for infrastructure development and the introduction of new services (programming and non-programming). The framework is contained in a number of regulatory decisions and in the Commission's report for the government on the Information Highway. The regulatory environment that has heretofore prevented cross-overs between the cable and telephone industries and discouraged vertical integration of content and carriage is reviewed. This serves as a basis for measuring the extent of the policy shift, which is shown to be significant. However, we question whether these changes will be sufficient to meet the implicit objective of accelerating the rate of investment in broadband infrastructure.