Residential Telephone Service Survey December, 2006 [Canada]

The Residential Telephone Services Survey (RTSS) collects information about telephone service across Canada. Bell Canada and other companies are from time to time negotiating local service pricing options for phone rates with the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunication Commission. The telephone service subscription rate is the most reliable indicator of affordability. Monitoring any changes in the phone service subscription rate and analysing the reasons for non-subscription will help regulators make decisions about cost increases, decreases or subsidies. In 1996 Statistics Canada was approached by Stentor Resource Centre Inc. to conduct a quarterly survey in order to monitor the residential telephone service subscription rate across Canada. The management of the survey was transferred from Stentor to Bell Canada in the fall of 1998. The survey was conducted bi-annually in 2000, 2001, 2002 (May and November) and 2004 (May and December). In 2003, it was conducted once (in May). It was determined that sufficient information could be obtained by conducting the survey once a year so in 2005, the RTSS was conducted in December only.