Telcos join forces over VoIP regulation

Canada’s incumbent telcos Bell Canada and Telus have joined forced with the nation’s cable-TV operators and smaller operators to appeal against the country’s current regulation of the voice over internet protocol (VoIP) market. The operators have asked the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to relax the current rules, which limit price-cutting for the incumbents and require them to seek regulatory approvals for new features. Bell Canada and Telus claim that their near-monopoly status in the basic voice market should not give them a disadvantage in the VoIP market.