Competition Bureau, telecoms MVNO stance unchanged by COVID-19

The Competition Bureau says its advocacy for a temporary hybrid mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) model has been unchanged by COVID-19, as telecoms and stakeholders say the global pandemic has only strengthened their positions. Responding to a CRTC request for information as to whether COVID-19 had changed any views articulated during the regulator’s wireless service review, deputy commissioner Anthony Durocher said the pandemic had reinforced “the need for robust competition in the wireless sector” but had not altered the Bureau’s opinion that there was a market power problem, or that a limited MVNO model was the best way to disrupt the power of the Big Three. In his submission, Durocher said the “changing circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic” could prompt the CRTC to provide regional carriers additional flexibility by extending the mandated MVNO period beyond the proposed five-year time limit, but said it should be “clearly defined upfront,” both to provide regulatory certainty and to hold MVNOs to their commitments. “The CRTC can assess the MVNO access policy during its next wireless review, at which time the CRTC will benefit from more information on the degree to which the policy is used,” Durocher said in the submission. The model endorsed by the Competition Bureau would require BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. to sell facilities-based regional carriers access to their wireless networks for five years, at which point the market would be deregulated and re-examined as part of the next wireless review. All stakeholders and telecommunication and internet service providers who responded to the CRTC’s request for information told the regulator that their views about whether MVNO access should be mandated had been reinforced, rather than altered, by the pandemic. Bell, whose CEO Mirko Bibic told a February public hearing that the MVNO decision was a “potential tipping point” for the industry and even the least aggressive model would harm investment, said in its submission that COVID-19 had reinforced the importance of a regulatory framework that promoted investment by facilities-based carriers. “The evidence on the record already shows that wireless investment in Canada was likely to fall by approximately $600 million in the short run and more than $1 billion if the Commission mandated MVNO access. With the incremental financial and economic impact of the Covid-19 crisis, the risk is even greater now,” Bell’s submission states. Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC) said its arguments that Canada’s wireless markets lack competition, and that a full MVNO access model was needed to remedy it, had only been reinforced by the pandemic, but the temporary nature of the health crisis meant it should not be used as a basis for crafting wireless policies. “Any policy founded upon the crisis brought about by COVID-19 risks becoming obsolete once the pandemic passes,” CNOC said in its submission. It added that recent quarterly results showed the big telecoms were “weathering the pandemic just fine,” countering claims that mandating MVNO access would inflict further economic damage on the industry. Telus labelled COVID-19 the “most significant downturn in modern history” and estimated that Canadian mobile network operators had lost hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues due to the pandemic, while “potentially spending over $100 million to augment networks and operations.” Cogeco Inc., which has proposed a hybrid mobile network operator (HMNO) model where companies with broadband facilities would be able to access existing networks as long as they reinvested in their own infrastructure, said the pandemic had made its implementation “even more critical,” and urged the CRTC to make a decision as soon as possible. “The open-ended delays in the current process are not helpful for Cogeco as we are ready to provide customers in underserved areas with a viable wireless mobile service option, and are ready to start our facilities investments that will benefit Canadians in the delivery of critical wireless services in many of those markets,” the company said in its submission. -- With reporting by Adam Langenberg at alangenberg@thewirereport.ca and reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Competition Bureau, telecoms MVNO stance unchanged by COVID-19

News | June 3, 2020

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

Competition Bureau, telecoms MVNO stance unchanged by COVID-19

News | June 3, 2020

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

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Related Stories

Wireless data essential tool for study of urban recovery from pandemic

CRTC rejects Stingray COVID relief request, orders broadcaster to pay $9M in tangible benefits

Government, Telefilm, extend support for uninsured Canadian productions

CRTC sides with creative sector in broadcasters’ CanCon relief proposal

Reuse & Permissions

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us