Court order blocking Quebecor 3500 MHz acquisition would harm competition: ISED

The Department of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development (ISED) has told the Federal Court that if the court were to grant the order requested by BCE Inc. and Telus Corp., and delay the issuing of set-aside spectrum licenses won in the 3,500 MHz spectrum auction to Quebecor Inc., the move would have an adverse impact on competition in the Canadian wireless market, according to an affidavit filed in Telus and Bell's challenge to the auction results. In an affidavit filed Tuesday Daniel Anderson, a manager in the Spectrum Licensing and Policy Branch at ISED, wrote that "preventing any single auction winner from being able to deploy its new 3500 MHz flexible-use licences at the same time as its competitors would harm competition." "Ensuring all auction winners are able to enter the market and compete fairly requires all licences to be issued at the same time. If the licences of one winner were delayed then this disadvantage could only be alleviated by delaying the licences of all competitors in the geographic areas where that winner holds spectrum," Anderson wrote, though that outcome would mean delays in the deployment of 5G in the country. In late August, both Bell and Telus filed parallel court challenges seeking to block Quebecor's acquisition of bands of set-aside spectrum the Quebec-based company acquired in British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba. In the applications for judicial review, the incumbents ask for an order preventing ISED from issuing licenses for set-aside spectrum to Quebecor’s Vidéotron subsidiary, revoking any licenses that have been issued, and putting any bands of set-aside spectrum Quebecor won at auction in June and July back on the auction block. Should the order be granted, Anderson wrote in the affidavit, Quebecor's "Vidéotron would be the only licensee in the relevant licence areas that would not be able to deploy in its empty blocks on the initial licence issuance date or trigger the transition process, in which case it would have to wait until the next transition round, which will commence after the conclusion of the first six-month transition round." "As a result," Anderson continued, "the ability of Vidéotron to deploy services pursuant to its licences would be delayed at least six months behind that of Telus and all other licensees in the relevant licence areas, even if the comparative delay in issuing the licence was just one month." Anderson also argued in the affidavit that any delay in issuing licenses to Quebecor would have a knock on effect on other spectrum proceedings, including the planned 3,800 MHz auction, currently in the planning stages. "This process requires stakeholder participation which must be informed by certainty as to the status of 3500 MHz licence holders and the competitive environment," Anderson wrote. In the 3,500 MHz auction, Quebecor spent just shy of $830 million on 294 licenses covering a population of just under 30 million, and the company has been explicit about its ambitions toward national expansion. — Reporting by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca and editing by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca.

Court order blocking Quebecor 3500 MHz acquisition would harm competition: ISED

Broadcast | October 6, 2021

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Court order blocking Quebecor 3500 MHz acquisition would harm competition: ISED

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