Industry development has ‘outpaced’ need for open access spectrum, Bell says

Developments in the marketplace have outpaced the need for open access conditions on spectrum licences, Bell Canada Enterprises Inc. told Industry Canada in its submission for the department’s consultation on a policy for the 700 MHz band. “The market circumstances surrounding the concept of ‘open access,’ as addressed in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) August 2007 … have evolved considerably beyond those which existed at the time of the FCC's mandate,” Bell wrote. In November 2010, Industry Canada opened a consultation on a policy framework for the 700 MHz auction. One of the questions asked is whether the department should adopt an “open access” policy for the 700 MHz band. Open access conditions on spectrum licences aim to promote consumer choice by increasing user access to mobile handsets and applications. The conditions require carriers to allow all compatible devices, handsets and applications onto the network. The idea behind the policy is that, without those conditions in place, mobile operators can control the handsets and applications available for use. The debate over open access in Canada stems from a 2007 ruling by the FCC that allotted 22 MHz of its 700 MHz band for open access. The FCC said its open access spectrum policy would give manufacturers the ability to develop devices compatible with the frequency as long as the wireless network was not negatively affected. The FCC also said that open access spectrum would be a creative space for application developers and a place for users to download, install and use applications of their choice. But in its submission, Bell cited the growth of Google Inc.’s open Android operating system--which allows all users to develop and download applications, despite what service provider they subscribe to--as evidence that the industry has advanced beyond the need for open access regulation. “What we have today are very sophisticated mobile devices that openly access the Internet and have access to hundreds of thousands of mobile applications from a sector of the wireless industry that, for all intents and purposes, did not exist in 2007,” Bell wrote. In its submission to the department, Rogers Inc. also said the commercial mobile market has evolved to a more flexible and open model with respect to consumer devices and applications. “There is no need for imposing any open access requirements in the 700 MHz band or any other mobile spectrum band,” Rogers said. Rogers cited the success of Apple Inc.’s iPhone as an example of market forces allowing open development and access without regulation. “While the iPhone was ‘exclusive’ to Rogers when it was first introduced in the Canadian market, this ‘exclusivity’ ended once Bell and Telus Corp. launched their own HSPA networks in November 2009 … in response to market forces and without the imposition of any restrictive government intervention,” Rogers wrote. Telus said that, at the time that the FCC hosted its auction in 2007 with open access conditions, it was assumed that carriers' “walled gardens” would limit mobile Internet access. But this concept is now redundant, Telus said. “Given the paradigm shift in the mobile industry driven predominantly by Apple and Google … ll wireless carriers and devices in Canada and the U.S. already provide open access to the Internet based on voluntary collaboration between handset vendors and carriers,” Telus said. Telus added that the CRTC has already put in place safeguards to deal with undue preference on wireless Internet services. But the Public Interest Advocacy Centre’s (PIAC) viewpoint differed from that of the incumbents. PIAC’s submission said that Industry Canada should consider steps to look at a transition toward open access spectrum. “… he concept presents opportunities for innovation and achievement of the objectives of the Telecommunications Act and the Broadcasting Act,” Michael Janigan, executive director for PIAC, wrote. asmith@thewirereport.ca

Industry development has ‘outpaced’ need for open access spectrum, Bell says

News | March 18, 2011

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us