Photo by Dara Kendell. Cell phone users will be happy to hear about an update the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has implemented.
"It is local roaming, it's no extra cost to the user. All the carriers across Canada now have to allow you as a cell phone user to roam onto another network if that network has a better signal," Reality Bytes owner John Shoff told 99.5 Drum FM.
Shoff added this new update levels the playing field of coverage. Cell phone users will essentially have the same reception with any carrier.
"It's going to flip between different networks to get you the best signal," he explained.
The CRTC has found that there is an insufficient level of competition among the national wireless companies – Bell, Rogers and Telus – in the provision of wholesale roaming services. These companies can maintain rates and impose terms and conditions that would not prevail in a competitive market. Other Canadian wireless companies need to obtain these services under reasonable rates, terms and conditions in order to offer comparable broad or national wireless coverage to their own customers.
These regulated wholesale rates will facilitate sustainable competition in the wireless market that will provide benefits to Canadians, such as reasonable prices and innovative services. They will also ensure that the wireless carriers continue to invest in high-quality networks.
The carriers are not allowed to charge roaming fees when the phone switches between local networks.
Fire at a trailer in Greenwood Villa. Photo submitted.
