Quebecor sells its westward expansion

MISSISSAUGA - On the second day of the Canadian Telecom Summit, Quebecor Inc. CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau sought to do away with any uncertainty about whether or not his company was ready to roll out in western Canada. He appeared to properly announce his company as a fourth competitor in the west. In a speech headlined "The Disruptor", Péladeau touted Quebecor's role in bringing down wireless prices in Quebec, and argued that his company could do the same in British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba. "I understand that some of the incumbents didn't really like it, but as the commissioner said yesterday, I understand that he supports strongly what decided -- to make sure that we will be able to get competition in Canada," Péladeau said, referring to CRTC chair Ian Scott's speech Monday, in which the commissioner pointed to Quebecor's spectrum acquisitions as evidence of increased competition flowing out of government policy. "The result of ISED’s spectrum auction for the 3500 megahertz band is an early indication that some companies are interested in offering services beyond their traditional geographic areas, which suggests the potential for even more competition to the benefit of consumers," Scott said Monday. Péladeau was also explicitly referring to the effort from Telus Corp. and BCE Inc. to take ISED to federal court to prevent Quebecor's acquisition of set-aside spectrum in the western provinces over the summer. "You need to have a little bit of courage when you're suing the government, but this is what Telus did," Péladeau told the conference. When asked in an interview with the Wire Report if the court challenge was slowing the western roll out, Péladeau said "unfortunately, this is what we're used to." In describing his company's experience in signing MVNO agreements with incumbent carriers, Péladeau also said that Quebecor has recently been approached by an American operator with an offer to become an MVNO in the U.S. Is the company taking up the offer? "At the moment we're working on it. One thing at a time," he said. "It's not impossible that we can consider doing this. We don't know the market in the U.S. as much as the one in Quebec and in Canada, but that doesn't preclude us to eventually look deeper.” Péladeau also sought to dispel concerns that Quebecor's lack of wireline assets in the western provinces will hamper its ability to properly compete. "Technology is providing a significant amount of solutions," he said, while also pointing to the possibility of third-party access arrangements with incumbents. "There is not only one road to go to Rome. You can go different ways, but certainly what we would like to do is go to Rome." President of Bell Mobility Claire Gillies said in a Tuesday appearance at the conference that the higher telecom prices in the west allow for network investments. "If we had $65 across this entire country -- or our share dropped -- we won't be able to invest. So we have to compete in every market we compete in to the best of our ability but what is being campaigned on -- which is lowering prices -- lowering prices generally mean lesser quality," Gillies said in reference to Péladeau's pricing comparisons. "So if that's what everybody wants, then let's just go into it with eyes wide open because you won't get this quality or innovation at $65 across the country," she said In addition to endorsing Quebecor's set aside spectrum acquisitions in the 3,500 MHz band, CRTC chair Ian Scott Monday also said that the regulator has "moved on" from the controversial decisions of the past year, decisions that have seen competing court challenges, a trio of petitions to cabinet , and accusations of bias against Scott himself. In a speech, Scott told attendees that the regulator's attention has shifted from its rejection of a broad-based mobile virtual network operator model, as well as its reversal of a 2019 decision that dramatically slashed aggregated wholesale rates. "Unfortunately, in the aftermath of this high-speed access decision, some remain focused on perceived winners and losers. We, however, have moved on," Scott said. "The industry continues to evolve and move forward, and we’re looking at far bigger and frankly, much more productive things." In an interview with the Wire Report, Scott acknowledged it had been a fractious period in telecommunications regulatory policy, but said that others have been as contentious. "If you look back to the early implementation of competition, resaleing and sharing in the late 1980s, early 1990s -- 90-7 was, I think, one of the big ones -- and then the implementation of long distance competition, there were tons of petitions to cabinet," Scott said. He did however acknowledge the frequency of court challenges. ""I would say that parties may be becoming more litigious. And that's in part because of the courts: we had a recent Supreme Court decision that re-established, if you will, the parameters for the review of decisions by quasi-judicial" bodies, Scott said, referring to the court's decision known as Vavilov. "I guess it's natural for parties to look at decisions like that and say "hmm, I think I want to test the boundaries," he said. — Reporting by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca and Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca and editing by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca

Quebecor sells its westward expansion

News | November 16, 2021

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Quebecor sells its westward expansion

News | November 16, 2021

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