It’s settled. Canada’s wireless sector is fiercely competitive according to Industry Minister Christian Paradis.
In Monday morning (April 15), the Minister held a conference call to discuss highlights of his trip to Asia. According to the transcript of the call, there was an exchange with Andrew Mayeda of Bloomberg News:
Question: Hi, Minister. I wanted to ask you about the wireless market back home in Canada. There have been reports that now it’s not just Wind Mobile that is potentially on the block, that also Mobilicity and Public Mobile are potentially for sale and that there’s a high possibility that those companies could end up going to the incumbents. You said publicly that you’d like four major wireless carriers in every part of the country. Are you concerned about the way things are going right now? And what steps might you take to deal with the situation?
Hon. Christian Paradis: First of all, of course this is – I always – you know, I always said that I acknowledge that this is a fierce sector in terms of competition. The competition is very high. Consolidation of course might occur but on the other hand I think we put the best policies in place in order to enhance the fact that we can have a fourth player in each region of the country in terms of competition and more investments. We also launched consultations about – about the transfer – the licenses – transfer criterias so now we are listening to what the industry has to say. But I think that we are on the right track to – in terms of policy. Of course it’s a work in progress. We will see what’s going on but I still remain confident that we will achieve our goal.
A fierce sector in terms of competition. If so, what is motivating the expanded roaming and tightened tower sharing rules announced in early March?
Jeff Fan from Scotiabank issued a new report yesterday, warning “A messy situation may be developing for Industry Canada.”
For IC, it’s a case of catch 22. If it doesn’t allow the transfers, it risks legal action. If it allows, we have consolidation. This may turn out to be a no-win situation. As we have noted before, we think IC should declare victory while it is ahead. Don’t fight a battle that cannot be won. Stop listening to the consumer activists and groups criticizing the wireless industry with outdated information. Canada is not large enough to support four facility-based competitors. IC should focus on the CRTC code to protect consumers and provide the CRTC with more power to enforce the code appropriately.
The fact that the United States is having a difficult time creating a viable third should be a lesson for Canada that a viable fourth carrier in every region of Canada is a long shot.
These points should provide be some interesting fodder for discussions arising at The Canadian Telecom Summit in June. Are you registered yet?