On March 7, 2012, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (“CRTC”) issued a decision mandating that all service contracts, both existing and prospective, between a Canadian carrier and a local VoIP service provider include the provision that the local VoIP provider and any of its subordinate wholesale customers comply with Canada’s 911 service obligations. In the past, subordinate resellers of local VoIP service who did not contract with underlying carriers had been able to avoid 911 service obligations. Such obligations include informing consumers about any limitations of 911 service from VoIP home phones during power outages and about any inadequacies of 911 service when using nomadic VoIP. Failure to comply with 911 service requirements can result in the CRTC ordering an underlying carrier to disconnect its service to noncompliant VoIP providers. A link to the CRTC’s decision can be found at:
https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2012/2012-137.pdf
Please direct any questions regarding this advisory to the Attorney assigned to your account.
