Competition Bureau wants standard, simple ISP contracts

Canada’s main competition watchdog recommends that all internet service providers should be required to use a standardized, easy-to-understand format when providing contract quotes to consumers.

The Competition Bureau, which made the recommendation in a filing to Canada’s telecommunications regulator, says consumers need a simple way to compare competing offers from internet providers, also called ISPS.

The bureau also recommends that advertised prices should include all mandatory fees and that the term “unlimited” should mean there are no data caps or slowdowns or other significant restrictions hidden in the contract.

Most of the large internet service providers said in their filings to the CRTC that they would support providing plain-language summaries after a sale is concluded, as a way to reduce customer frustration over the key terms of their agreements.

However, several — including Bell, Cogeco, Quebecor, Rogers, Shaw, and Telus — say they object to mandatory summaries of their offers until after a sales agreement is finalized.

For example, Calgary-based Shaw Communications Inc. said in its filing to the CRTC that paper or electronic pre-sale summaries would be “severely restrictive, inefficient and administratively burdensome.”

Shaw said such a requirement also disregards that customers typically makes decisions through a series of steps that include more than one inquiry, often through more than one sales channel.

It added that mandatory standardized pre-sale summaries would result in a “one size fits all” type of configuration.