Here are two words that get us fired up: consumer protection. Add in a bit of “CRTC” and maybe “wireless service providers” and the debate really gets going.
Over the past week, a story we wrote about wireless carriers appealing to the (CRTC) Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to create a Canada-wide wireless “code” to protect consumers seemed to rub our readers the wrong way. The motivation behind these companies’ efforts is apparently to avoid seeing provinces create their own regulations, which could be harsher for the providers. Not everyone took well to that.
“The CRTC doesn’t do anything for consumers, but screw them. I hope the provinces adopt consumer protection laws to help consumers, not the big three’s bottom line…. like the CRTC usually does!”
Meanwhile, JR Smithman complained that whenever the CRTC gets involved in supposed consumer protection schemes, the opposite effect occurs. He called on the CRTC to stop taking advice from corporations, and told Rogers to back off:
“If Rogers is pushing for this then this could only be saving (making!) more money for them and their ilk. The consumer always gets ‘shafted’ when the CRTC listens to these corporate greedy monsters and comes up with a plan that ‘helps’ the consumer.
“This kind of help we can do without. Leave it be and deal with things the way they are, Rogers.”
Readers weren’t necessarily opposed to a national policy, however. But one argued that the CRTC shouldn’t oversee it. Commenter A-Man felt that the organization’s track record should disqualify it:
Others offered specific suggestions for what a nation-wide wireless code could look like. InfinitiGuy pointed to long-term contracts as one area that should be regulated:
“Many other countries have a two-year maximum term, which is a lot more fair. Can you imagine what phone you were using three years ago?”
And speaking of unfair, one commenter complained that ComputerWorld Canada wasn’t giving its readers the whole story. Cariboo chided us for neglecting to give the consumer a voice in our stories:
“I’m getting the impression that your orientation is decidedly pro-corporate. I was looking for objectivity and inclusion of consumer perspectives but haven’t found much of that.”