ARCHIVED - Telecom Commssion Letter addressed to Christopher Wassilu (SkyNet Wireless Networks Inc.)

Ottawa, 12 December 2018

Our reference: 1011-NOC2020-0089

BY EMAIL

Christopher Wassilu
SkyNet Wireless Networks Inc.
C.P. 98524-9 rue de l’Église
Ste-Thérèse, Québec, J7E 1X1
chris@skynetcanada.com

Subject: Your company’s mandatory participation in the CCTS - Commission staff request for information 

Dear Mr. Wassilu:

This is a follow-up to my letter sent by email, dated 18 October 2018.

As I noted on 18 October 2018, based on the information provided to the Canadian Radio‑television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) by the the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS), SkyNet Wireless Networks Inc. was required to become a participant in the CCTS by 9 November 2018, but has failed to do so. As a result, SkyNet Wireless Networks Inc. could be found to be in violation of the Telecommunications Actbecause it had contravened the CRTC’s participation requirement. Appendix A provides more details concerning the requirement that SkyNet Wireless Networks Inc. participate in the CCTS.

I would take this opportunity to reiterate that failure to participate in the CCTS is taken very seriously by the CRTC and we are now exploring possible enforcement options, including the imposition of administrative monetary penalties (AMPs), the first of which was imposed in April 2017 on a telecommunication service provider (TSP) for failing to participate in the CCTS and on a Director of a TSP in August 2018 for failing to participate in the CCTS.

In order to avoid the CRTC taking enforcement actions against your company and its Director(s) including yourself, SkyNet Wireless Networks Inc. is required to immediately become a participant in the CCTS and provide proof that it has done so (i.e., a copy of correspondence from the CCTS acknowledging your company’s participation) to me as the Chief Consumer Officer of the CRTC.
Please note that if the Commission begins an enforcement proceeding against your company and its Director(s), AMPs may be imposed for past non-compliance even if your company ultimately becomes a participant of the CCTS.
Should you have questions about registering as a participating TSP or the triggering complaint, you can contact Ms. Josée Thibault at the CCTS at 613-688-4752.

If you have questions specific to the CRTC’s requirements concerning CCTS participation and the Telecommunications Act, you may contact Nanao Kachi, Director of Social and Consumer Policy, at 819-997-4700 or nanao.kachi@crtc.gc.ca.

Additional Information Required

Further to Section 37(2) of the Act, which grants the CRTC the authority to require the submission of any information that it considers necessary for the administration of the Act, to enhance Commission staff’s understanding of SkyNet Wireless Networks Inc.’s operations, you are required to file the following information:

• Total revenues and Canadian telecom revenues for the past three fiscal years.
• The number of subscribers to SkyNet Wireless Networks Inc.’s services that fall within the scope of the CCTS’ mandate for the past three fiscal years.
• List of officer(s) or director(s) from the company.
• List of underlying Canadian carrier or non-carriers that SkyNet Wireless Networks Inc. relies on to provide service to its end-customers.

This information is to be filed no later than 11 January 2019.

In addition, in reviewing this file, CRTC staff has discovered that SkyNet Wireless Networks Inc. has not responded to the annual Telecommunications Survey and reminds it that all telecommunications entities must respond to the annual Telecommunications Survey. This survey is conducted under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada 1985, Chapter S-19, the Telecommunications Act, Section 37 and the Broadcasting Act.

The annual Telecommunications Survey is due in March of each year and is accessible via the CRTC Data Collection System. You can contact the DCS helpdesk (1-866-845-6036) for more information or assistance. SkyNet Wireless Networks Inc. is required to immediately submit the information required for the Telecommunications Survey.

Yours sincerely,

Scott Shortliffe
Chief Consumer Officer and Executive Director
Consumer Affairs and Strategic Policy

Appendix A – Details concerning the requirement that SkyNet Wireless Networks Inc. participate in the CCTS

Mandatory participation in the CCTS has been in effect for the largest TSPs since December 2007. In Telecom Regulatory Policy 2011-46, the CRTC determined that all TSPs that offer services within the scope of the CCTS must become members of the CCTS within five days of the date that the CCTS notifies the TSP that the CCTS has received an in-scope complaint about it. 

The CCTS participation requirement was reaffirmed by the CRTC in Broadcasting and Telecom Regulatory Policy 2016-102. As per paragraph 45 of the CCTS review, the CRTC requires, pursuant to sections 24 and 24.1 of the Telecommunications Act, that as a condition of offering or providing telecommunication services:

• Every person (i.e. TSP) who is not a participant in the CCTS as of March 17, 2016 become and remain a participant in the CCTS commencing 30 days after the date on which the CCTS informs that person that the CCTS has received a complaint related to telecommunications services provided by it falling within the scope of the CCTS’s mandate.

For clarity, the term "person" includes every Canadian carrier and every person who is not a Canadian carrier, as defined in the Telecommunications Act.