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Fair (free) access to Caller-ID service in Canada

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This is an open online petition to three major wireless phone companies operating in Canada to stop charging customers with a basic wireless-telephone subscription for Caller-ID service, and to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to enforce rules that avoid companies to charge extra for displaying unblocked Caller-ID numbers. Caller-ID is provided as a free service in most states and countries in the world, including in the United States and in Europe. Caller-ID technology is an integral component of all modern phone telecommunication systems, and the transmission of this information does not cost phone companies a lot extra to maintain, compared to the actual cost of the wireless connection which is already charged to the subscriber. In fact, telecommunications companies must make an effort (hence spend money) to selectively strip away caller-id information which is already included in every call, by design of the international telecommunications infrastructure. Currently all three major phone companies in Canada are charging for Caller-ID. A add-on package that includes it ranges from anywhere between $7 to $15 per month per line. Even if the customer is already subscribed to an expensive 3G data service, which costs around $30-50 per month, Caller-ID is often not included in the plan. This is not only ironic and but also illogical, consdiering the subscriber has already paid for gigabytes of wireless data access, and yet just 10 bytes of information per paid call is withheld from the user. Caller-ID is a basic necessity, and not having access to this small piece of information can cause anywhere from annoying inconveniences to inefficient communication between parties in serious emergency situations. Therefore the undersigned request the responsible parties to take appropriate action in providing, regulating and legislating fair access to this essential service.

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