Konrad von Finckenstein's days as the chairman of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's (CRTC) are now numbered as he plans to step down from his post next year.
Serving as the CRTC's chairman since 2007, his five-year term ends in January 2012.
While there were reports in Canada's Globe and Mail that he had wanted to extend his current term, a memo appeared on Sept. 27 saying that the Canadian government is going to interview other candidates to fill the position.
A spokesperson for James Moore, Canada's Heritage Minister, one of the two federal government officials that oversee the CRTC, said "process for the selection of a new CRTC chair will be announced in the weeks ahead."
Von Finckenstein's impending departure comes at a challenging time in the Canadian telecom industry, where he been battling with other Canadian government leaders and competitive service providers over the impending implementation of Usage Based Billing (UBB) on consumer broadband services.
For more:
- Telecompaper has this article
Related articles:
Canada's UBB restrictions: A blow to competitors and consumers
Canada's CRTC postpones implementation of usage-based billing rules
Canada's CRTC mandates carriers open their last mile fiber to competitors
Canadian service providers want common ownership rules