The last few weeks have seen telecom policy as the lead story on national newscasts, and headlines on page one (above the fold) in newspapers. Bell, TELUS and Rogers have waged a very public battle over federal telecom policy, supported by 150 leading Canadian corporate CEOs and a major union. The national telecom giants have won the editorial support of the Globe and Mail and Toronto Star.
The battle is over the government’s ever shifting telecom policy: from transfer rules for spectrum to the auction timing and structure for the 700 MHz block.
The voices of smaller regional players may be getting lost in noise of the big guns being fired.
The government has stated that it wants four wireless players in every market. As I have indicated before, many parts of Canada already satisfy that objective. Strong regional service providers have been among the most successful competitors – in some cases (Saskatchewan and Manitoba), the regional carriers have more than double the combined market share of the big national brands.
But the auction rules for 700 MHz favour national market players.
Eastlink warned of this [pdf] last year in its comments on the 700 policy, challenging Industry Canada to reconcile its draft policy against its stated objectives:
Specifically, the Department said in Paragraph 6 of SMSE-002-12 Policy and Technical Framework for the 700 MHz spectrum band that its “main objectives for the decisions” outlined in the technical framework were:
- Sustained competition in the wireless telecommunications services market so that consumers and businesses benefit from competitive pricing and choice in service offerings;
- Robust investment and innovation by wireless telecommunications carriers so that Canadians benefit from world-class networks and the latest technologies; and
- Availability of these benefits to Canadians across the country, including those in rural areas, in a timely fashion.
Eastlink submits that this auction framework, as described in the Consultation and as subsequently described by the Department does not appear to support these policy objectives. Instead, new entrant and regional service providers will be participating in this auction at a considerable disadvantage to national incumbent providers, putting both sustainable competition and meaningful rural deployment at risk.
Videotron also indicated its concerns [pdf]:
Canada’s spectrum policy framework has always recognized the substantial benefits that flow from a vibrant regional carrier presence and has always worked to encourage this presence. Indeed, since 2008, it has been the new entrant carriers, all of whom have a regional presence, that have transformed the traditionally oligopolistic Canadian wireless sector, improving responsiveness to consumers and generating substantial consumer savings in the process.
Now is not the time to undermine these achievements. Whatever spectrum auction format the Department adopts must not impede the ability of these regional new entrant carriers to secure the additional spectrum resources they need to extend and deepen their networks.
SaskTel also clearly stated its concerns [pdf] in its 700 MHz consultation comments:
Overall however, SaskTel finds that the suggested rules for the acquisition and deployment of this important spectrum make it much less likely that regional players will be able to access 700 MHz spectrum with its unique ability to help rural areas to bridge the digital divide.
The AWS auction of 2008 collected billions of dollars from regional carriers that have provided the most successful sources of competition for Canadians in urban and rural markets.
Amid all of the noise, will the concerns of regional carriers continue to go unheard?