Yak applauds CRTC decision to protect Canadians against consumer gouging

TORONTO - Yak Communications (Canada) Corp., applauded the recent CRTC ruling to order Telus to rebate consumers for a predatory fee they imposed in 2007. The ruling is a direct response to an application Yak filed in December, calling on the CRTC to remove an illegal "network access" fee that TELUS imposed on customers who did not subscribe to long distance plans.

Months of consumer gouging are at an end, now that the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (the "CRTC") has ruled in favour of an application submitted by Yak. As requested by Yak, the CRTC has ordered TELUS to reimburse any customers who have paid the fee but not made long distance calls.

"This is a huge win for all Canadian consumers," said Anthony Lacavera, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of both Yak and Globalive. "We feel very strongly as a company that someone has to take a stand on behalf of Canadians who are charged these unfair fees. The CRTC made the right decision today."

In November 2007, Telus began charging nearly 500,000 consumers in Alberta and British Columbia a long distance toll fee of $2.95 per month for home phone users who did not subscribe to a Telus long distance plan.

In December, Yak filed applications with the CRTC to remove the long distance "access fee" that was introduced by TELUS. Yak requested that the CRTC declare the fee illegal in an effort to prevent similar fees from being imposed by other large carriers. Additionally, Yak applied for an order that TELUS reimburse customers who have had to pay the unfair fee.

"The message sent to the big telcos today was that consumers will not be bullied into paying unfair fees because they are limited by choice, " said Mr. Lacavera. "It's time for consumer-friendly brands like Yak to play a bigger role in the Canadian telecom landscape and we look forward to competing for our share in the wireless market this year."

Yak plans to expand its "no contracts, no gimmicks" philosophy from its current offering of affordable and accessible dial-around, home phone, internet and long distance services, to bring its refreshing approach to the undercontested wireless market and will be participating in the wireless auction, slated to begin May 2008.