The CRTC issued its annual report for 2003 on Canada's telecom industry. Once again, the focus was on the need for more competition, particularly in local telephony where the ILECs still dominate the market. Of course, the ILECs argue their market share is far less when you take into account wireless usage and wireless substitution. With wireless penetration expected to reach 50% by year-end, it's hard to totally dispute the ILECs' claim.
As for the need for more competition, the CRTC will discover that 2005 will provide everything they want and more. With Internet telephony finally breaking into the mainstream, the number of residential customers jumping on VOIP will take off. This will be buoyed by the entry into the market by Bell Canada and cablecos such as Rogers and Shaw. At the same time, Bell and perhaps Telus Corp. will get into the TV business.
On the wireless front, Virgin Canada will apparently launch in the first quarter, although I do not expect Virgin to be much of a price rebel given it is a joint venture with Bell. If the CRTC really wanted to buoy competition, they should approve local number portability across the board. Now, that would be interesting.

If you've ever had trouble reaching someone at city hall (what's with those confusing Blue Pages, anyway?), help is on the way. The CRTC has approved a joint application from the cities of Calgary, Toronto, Halifax and Halton to use 3-1-1 for non-emergency municipal government services.
For those of us in Toronto, this is a far cry from the days of former mayor Mel Lastman who refused to let civial servants use voice mail in the bizarre belief it would hurt customer service. 3-1-1, which is already being used in several U.S. cities, makes it easier to deliver programs, reduce costs and boost awareness among people of local sevices.