Government Tables Amendments To Cap Wholesale Roaming Charges

Following up on its February budget announcement, the federal government has tabled proposed amendments to the Telecommunications Act that would limit the amount that carriers may charge each other for the provision of roaming services; however, the amending legislation does not include other proposed changes that were announced in February.

The amendments are contained in Bill C-31, a daunting 359-page budget implementation bill that amends nearly 40 statutes.  The bill was introduced on 28 March 2014.

The proposed amendments would add a new section to the Telecommunications Act prohibiting a carrier from charging other carriers amounts for roaming services that exceed the average amount charged by the carrier to its own subscribers for those services.  There would be separate caps created for wholesale roaming charges levied for each of: