ISED lays out ‘expectations’ for Quebecor’s national debut, should Competition Tribunal allow it

Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne Tuesday evening formally denied the transfer of spectrum assets from Shaw Communications Inc. to Rogers Communications Inc. as part of the two companies' plans to merge. The request, while it was officially still before Champagne, has been effectively already foreclosed since Rogers' and Shaw's announcement of a deal to sell Shaw's Freedom Mobile wireless brand to Quebecor Inc. At the same time, Champagne laid out what he said were his "expectations" that he hopes the companies will carry into their mediation sessions with the Competition Bureau before the Competition Tribunal, set to begin later this week. First, Champagne said he hopes Rogers, Shaw, and Quebecor will agree to a non-transferable 10-year license term for any spectrum that Quebecor acquires out of the deal, in order to ensure that Quebecor's Vidéotron stays in the national market for "the long run." Second, the minister said that he wants to see wireless prices in Ontario and western Canada – areas where Shaw's Freedom Mobile competes against Rogers, as well as BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. – come down to levels "comparable" to what is widely available in Quebec, which Champagne said are on average 20 per cent lower than the rest of Canada. "Promoting competition to bring down prices has been at the core of policies advanced by successive governments for many years. But let’s face it: when it comes to wireless services, Canadians deserve and need better options," Champagne said at the Tuesday press conference. “Wireless services are essential to our daily lives. They keep us connected to the world around us, to our loved ones and to our jobs," the minister added. "Canadians deserve world-class networks and access to wireless services at affordable and competitive prices. I am resolved to achieve these objectives—full stop.” The announcement also represents a continued commitment in Ottawa to the strategy of promoting a four-carrier national wireless market, partially through further encouraging Quebecor to compete nationally for at least a decade with Shaw's spectrum licenses. The Competition Bureau has argued to the tribunal that Quebecor's ability to compete nationally will be hampered by its lack of access to bundling opportunities Shaw enjoyed with its wireline assets. Competitive Network Operators of Canada executive director Geoff White told the Wire Report that giving Videotron a 10-year mandate-like licence condition is more of the same and "puts all the eggs in one basket." "So our concern is that this may result in more of the same, especially because the CRTC’s recent MVNO announcement appears to be very restrictive. If we can’t get our wireless competition framework right, it underscores the need to get the home internet competition framework right and that’s why we are cautiously optimistic," he said. "Both the federal government and the CRTC appear committed to the four-player policy but that has been beset by problems about tower-sharing and roaming and dispute resolution and we’ve seen some very well capitalized players try to make a dent, but fail." – Reporting and editing by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca and Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca.

ISED lays out ‘expectations’ for Quebecor’s national debut, should Competition Tribunal allow it

News | October 25, 2022

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ISED lays out ‘expectations’ for Quebecor’s national debut, should Competition Tribunal allow it

News | October 25, 2022

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