The indie ISP is encouraging Canadians to ask their local candidates for lower internet bills
TekSavvy is reaching out to Canadian voters as the latest step in its ongoing campaign to get the federal courts to uphold a contentious ruling on wholesale internet rates.
The independent internet service provider is encouraging Canadians to contact their local election candidates through an online email-generating tool it created. The tool uses your postal code to auto-input the contact info of candidates running in your area.
The pre-written letter provided by TekSavvy implores candidates to advocate on behalf of residents for cheaper internet bills — and that they do so specifically by asking the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to re-instate a since-reversed 2019 ruling.
For context, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), in response to accusations that Bell and Rogers were inflating wholesale internet rates to decrease competition, introduced a ruling in 2019 that would retroactively reduce the rates in question.
The decision was ultimately reversed, however, after Bell and Rogers contested the CRTC’s findings.
This letter-writing project is the latest in a string of efforts on TekSavvy’s behalf questioning the CRTC’s ability to regulate Canada’s telecom companies.
On March 16th, 2021, TekSavvy co-launched a “National Day of Action” to demand affordable internet for Canadians.
A few months later, on June 29th, the ISP filed a court challenge over the CRTC wholesale rate decision, which demanded that CRTC chairperson Ian Scott be fired due to allegations of bias.
More recently, TekSavvy blamed upcoming $3 hike in its internet prices — which goes into effect in October 2021 — on the CRTC’s decision to reverse the wholesale rate ruling.
Source: TekSavvy