BCE, Rogers, Telus launch more ads against wireless policy

Incumbents BCE Inc., Telus Corp. and Rogers Communications Inc. released new ads this week as part of their campaign against the Conservative government's wireless policy. A new message, bearing the theme “Sweetheart deals for U.S. giants are a bad call for you,” appeared in full-page newspaper advertisements and on a new website at FairForCanada.ca. The ads and website feature employees from the three companies who express concerns about the impacts of a potential market entry by Verizon Communications Inc. under wireless policies that favour foreign entrants. “How does losing thousands of Canadian jobs in the cellphone industry help Canada? It doesn't,” said a full page ad by Bell, Telus and Rogers that ran Wednesday in the Ottawa Citizen, the Globe and Mail, and the Toronto Star. The ad showed a picture of a Telus service technician, with a message that said: “When I found out that our government is getting a giant U.S. cellphone company to come to Canada, I thought, how's this going to affect jobs? Experts are saying most of their good jobs will stay south of the border. Most of their profits too. But it gets better. Better for them. Even though this company is four times as big as all of Canada's cellphone companies combined, they're effectively getting a huge discount to enter Canada.” The message said Ottawa should “do something about the loopholes. Fast.” The companies also launched radio advertisements with a similar theme this week. One radio ad that ran Wednesday on Toronto AM station 680 News, which is owned by Rogers, referred to wireless auction policy and spectrum licensing rules that would allow Verizon to purchase more spectrum than the incumbents, as well as rules that prevent the incumbents from purchasing small, new entrant carriers until next year. "You know, we teach our kids to play fair. That's about as Canadian as it gets. So why is our government giving a giant, U.S. corporation special treatment? That's not fair," said the radio spot on 680 News, and urged listeners to visit FairForCanada.ca. The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, whose membership includes Telus, Bell, and Rogers, is also continuing an advertising series, featuring “facts” that show Canadian wireless prices are lower than those in the United States. “Fact: In a recent study comparing the cost of wireless services, Canada ranked as more affordable than the US in over 65% of the usage scenarios studied. How about that!” said a three-quarter page ad by the CWTA that ran in the Ottawa Citizen Wednesday. BCE, Rogers and Telus launched campaigns this month to try to convince the government to change the rules of the upcoming spectrum auction, scheduled to start in January. As part of the campaign, the incumbents' CEOs have been conducting editorial board meetings to voice their concerns about what they call an unfair playing field that would favour Verizon, while the companies’ corporate board members registered to lobby the government and the Prime Minister's Office on the issue. On Wednesday, Rogers CEO Nadir Mohamed appeared on BCE-owned news channel BNN to talk about Rogers' concerns about the government's wireless policy. The incumbents say the auction rules create an unfair playing field because the incumbents are capped at how many "prime" spectrum licences they can purchase and U.S. telecom giant Verizon, which is now considering a Canadian market entry, could purchase twice as many as Bell, Rogers, or Telus. The Wire Report reported Tuesday that Industry Minister James Moore’s office met privately with wireless industry stakeholders Monday and Tuesday and told many of them that the government is not changing its mind on the 700 MHz auction rules. In a statement Wednesday on Moore's constituency website, the minister said the government remains committed to better outcomes for Canadian consumers. "Our Government's view is that Canadian families work hard for their money, and they want their government to make decisions that will help them keep more of it. Protecting consumers and increasing competition in the wireless market are priorities for Canadians and our Conservative Government," Moore said. He said in the statement that the Harper government's telecommunications policy "remains unchanged." Moore said it was not created overnight and results from a "vigorous consultation that started in 2008 and continues today," with contributions from industry, consumer groups and the public. "We want all regions of Canada to benefit from competitive market forces, which is why more progress must be made. We will continue to stay the course by ensuring Canadians benefit from a competitive telecommunications industry," Moore said. The issue is starting to generate public discussion. The Simi Sara Show on CKNW AM 980, a B.C. radio station in Moore's electoral riding of Port Moody-Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam, hosted a call-in radio segment on Wednesday afternoon about the incumbents' call for Ottawa to change its wireless policies. On Monday, in response to a question from The Wire Report about whether the government is considering changes to its auction policy, Sébastien Gariépy, a spokesman for Minister Moore, said in an emailed response: “The policy has been announced and we are moving forward with the spectrum auction (as announced by Minister Paradis on June 4th, 2013).” The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, which has 110,000 members in the forestry, energy, telecommunications and media sectors, is supporting the incumbents’ position, as is one of Canada's largest business associations, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE). —With reporting by Simon Doyle at sdoyle@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

BCE, Rogers, Telus launch more ads against wireless policy

News | July 31, 2013

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BCE, Rogers, Telus launch more ads against wireless policy

News | July 31, 2013

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