Canadians Offer Their Opinions On Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) And The CRTC Ruling
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- Three-quarters (75%) believe traditional telephone companies should be allowed to compete and offer lower prices for VOIP services than their competitors if they want to, without interference from the CRTC; 183
- Six in ten (62%) agree that forcing only traditional telephone companies to submit their prices for VOIP services in advance to the CRTC and wait for approval is an unfair restriction on their ability to compete; and 183
- Two-thirds (68%) agree that traditional telephone companies should be free to provide bundles of communications services that include VOIP service without first having to obtain the CRTC's approval - just as their competitors are able to do.
When it comes to the CRTC's current policy that prohibits traditional telephone companies from contacting former customers for one year to offer special promotions or to encourage them to switch back, a good majority (64%) are of the opinion that this is a "bad policy" for them as consumers. Seventy-seven percent feel traditional telephone companies should not be prevented from offering VOIP promotions to customers of their competitors.
Seventy-five percent of Canadians agree they would have no hesitation in switching telecommunications suppliers if prices or services are not competitive with others in the market. And eight in ten (78%) agree that as VOIP services begin to come into the market their competitive choices will be enhanced.
Nine in ten Canadians (87%) believe that telecommunications companies play a critical role by enabling advances in business and consumer communications, and that they help to support overall growth in the economy. And nearly the same percentage (94%) agrees Internet technologies are fundamentally changing how Canadians communicate and how business operates.
According to most Canadians (62%) the CRTC, not the individual providers, should be responsible for ensuring that all VOIP service providers offer `social' type services. In contrast, one-third (32%) believes this is a responsibility best left to the individual VOIP service providers themselves.
These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid survey conducted by Ipsos-Reid on behalf of Bell Canada, Aliant Telecom Inc., Saskatchewan Telecommunications, Tйlйbec, sociйtй en commandite, and TELUS Communications Inc. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1200 adult Canadians were interviewed by telephone from July 15th to July 17th, 2005. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate within 177 2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what it would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error is larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data. Please open the attached PDF to view the factum and detailed tables.
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For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900
