As Parliament returns, Bains promises ‘plan’ for lower wireless prices

When the House of Commons comes back after winter break next week, it will be to a political environment in which telecom and media issues are set to take centre stage in an unprecedented way. There are a number of high-profile issues and developments the Liberal minority government will be tackling -- from a generational effort to update the telecom and broadcasting acts, to promises to lower the price of wireless service and introduce new rules for streaming platforms, to a decision on whether to ban Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. equipment from Canada’s 5G networks. On the telecom side, Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains has promised to drop wireless prices by 25 per cent -- something he’s likely to be pressed on by both the Conservatives and the NDP. Bains told reporters Thursday that the government will soon provide more information on that promise. “We'll be rolling out a plan to clearly demonstrate how we're gonna achieve that target, and how we're gonna fulfill and honor that commitment,” he said during a phone press conference Thursday. Bains said the government is going to be “engaging with the telecommunication sector as well, but I can tell you right now that the underlying principle is gonna be promoting more competition. Bains recently confirmed that the starting point of that pricing drop will be in December 2019. The government hasn’t yet released its annual report on wireless market pricing, data which could be used to benchmark prices. Parliament won’t be the only entity focusing on the issue this winter. The CRTC -- which operates at arms’ length from the government -- is holding what is set to be a high-profile hearing on the wireless market in Canada in February. The wholesale wireless hearing will look at whether or not to mandate access by MVNOs, or companies that don’t have their own wireless infrastructure, to telecom networks. While proponents say such a move would boost competition and lower prices, it’s an idea strongly opposed by Canada’s current wireless carriers, who say doing so would harm investment from facilities-based providers. Indeed, the spectre of new rules for MVNOs is one of the levers the Liberals have threatened to use if wireless prices don’t drop. Another key issue in the wireless space is whether to ban equipment from Huawei from Canada’s next-generation wireless networks. After he was named the new public safety minister in November, Bill Blair told reporters there is no timeline for making that decision. According to a Question Period note prepared for Blair in the fall, the government’s “technical, economic, foreign policy, and security experts are all involved in this examination which will determine the best way to maximize the many social and economic opportunities of 5G for Canadians while minimizing the risks.” On Thursday, Bains told reporters he has been “engaging the telecommunications sector” and “working with Minister Blair and our national security agencies with experts.” “We're doing our due diligence to make sure that any decision that we make is in the best interest of Canadians, and that’s currently the process that we're undertaking,” he said in response to a question from The Wire Report. He said that process involves “doing a thorough examination of all the relevant facts and engaging with all the relevant stakeholders, including our allies, to understand their thought process before we come to any decision more broadly speaking on 5G and how we deploy it." Bains, who was speaking to reporters from the World Economic Forum in Davos, said the government is also looking at what other jurisdictions have done on the issue. The government has a few options open to it. The Liberals could decide to make no change, or alternatively, to formalize the current ban on Huawei equipment in the sensitive core of networks. That move would enable the government to say that it’s taking action to ban equipment, but would keep the status quo for telecoms who are currently Huawei customers. Alternatively, it could decide to implement a complete ban. That would be costly for those telecoms who currently use Huawei in their 4G networks, namely BCE Inc. and Telus Corp.; because the equipment isn’t interoperable, they would have to rip out the existing Huawei gear and replace it. Telus told the government last year such a move would significantly delay the deployment of 5G. But before any of those issues are settled, the next step in the process of updating the broadcasting and telecom acts will take place. The report from the broadcasting and telecommunications legislative review panel will be released some time in the next week -- its long-awaited final recommendations are due by Jan. 31. So far, there have been few indications about the way the blue-ribbon panel is leaning on the myriad issues they’ve been asked to weigh in on, which include everything from passive infrastructure and 5G deployment, to Canadian content to rural broadband. Those recommendations will inform how the government goes about updating the two pieces of legislation, which are nearly three decades old; neither of which so much as mentions the internet. For instance, Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault told The Wire Report earlier this month that the government is waiting on that report before deciding the specifics of how it will move forward with its promises to implement new rules regarding Canadian content and streaming services. Guilbeault’s mandate letter directs him to introduce, by 2020, legislation that would force content providers “including internet giants,” to include in their catalogues “meaningful levels of Canadian content,” contribute to CanCon creation, promote that content and ensure it’s “easily accessible.” Also likely to come as soon as the next federal budget is the extension of sales tax to foreign streaming services, though a promised three-per-cent corporate tax on ad and data revenues of the biggest international tech giants will wait for international consultations to be concluded. The government had initially planned to introduce it in April of this year. The Liberals have also promised to update Canada’s privacy laws, introducing a set of principles in the Digital Charter released last year, as well as a supplementary document proposing to modernize the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). How and when the government implements those ideas in legislation is another development many will be watching. Question Period notes prepared for Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains outline that the government is “committed to enacting meaningful updates to Canada’s laws,” including PIPEDA. The QP notes added that the government “will continue to engage Canadians and industry leaders moving forward to gather feedback on how we are advancing and promoting this Charter and the related proposals for privacy reform. And despite the issues of the day, the regular business of government continues -- including a speedier-than-usual consultation on the federal budget, expected this spring. Last year’s budget included funding for critical cyber systems, which there hasn’t been much of an update on since. QP cards prepared for Blair outlined that a “whole-of-government effort is underway with a view to developing a framework that will enhance cyber security in the finance, telecommunications, energy and transport sectors in Canada,” but offered no further details. — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and reporting and editing by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca

As Parliament returns, Bains promises ‘plan’ for lower wireless prices

News | January 23, 2020

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As Parliament returns, Bains promises ‘plan’ for lower wireless prices

News | January 23, 2020

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