Competition in public long-distance telephone markets in Canada

A recent decision by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission allows entrants to interconnect with incumbent telephone companies for purposes of providing switched (public) long-distance service. The decision represents a potentially very important step towards promoting competition in Canada's telecommunications industry; however, continued regulation of the industry, restrictions on foreign ownership and mandated cross-subsidization of local access from toll revenues raise grounds for concern that the actual consequences of the decision will fall short of the potential.