These continue to be turbulent times for the communications sector. Following a report in the Globe and Mail on Friday about talks between TELUS and Mobilicity, there are reports of consolidation taking place with the 3 independent new entrants who just left the national wireless association, in addition to a previously announced option agreement for Rogers to acquire spectrum from Shaw.

While Industry Minister Christian Paradis has indicated an objective for all Canadians to have access to at least 4 wireless service  providers, as I asked last month, do we have the right policies in place to drive investment in innovation and consumer choice for Canada’s wireless sector?

In theory and with the best intent, these measures are supposed to help foster a more competitive market. The problem was that these measures were announced without an overall strategy against which they could be tested for consistency with an ultimate objective. So the measures sound good, but how can we determine if they fit together with an overall plan?

In practice, we may have already seen the first unintended, yet somewhat predictable sign that some of these measures could be counter productive.

Four years ago, on the occasion of Globalive being awarded its spectrum license, I wrote a piece asking “What’s the rush“. Following payment of the auction price, I wondered what was the hurry to get the actual piece of paper? The issuance of the license started the clock ticking on a number of counters. At the time, my focus was on the expiration of the initial 10-year license period. I asked why carriers would want time counting down during the first year or so that it would take to build the network.

At the time, I was taking a long term view, thinking about companies that bought spectrum in order to build a business that would be around for a while.

There were others who may have just been looking at getting past the 5-year restrictions on potential buyers, always keeping in mind the opportunity to sell. That is why the license award table, identifying the start date for each buyer of AWS spectrum, is an important reference document to keep on hand. There are blocks of spectrum that have still not been activated; some of the new entrants have licenses in a range of geographic areas that may never justify a network build or market launch.

I have been wondering recently if government intervention is introducing too much uncertainty into the Canadian wireless marketplace. Is the ground shifting too much at once?

In the past few months, the Industry Minister has tried to build interest among global players in investing in the Canadian wireless market, such as during his recent visit to Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Is the investment climate in Canada favourable for global players?

There are lots of regulatory adjustments to the wireless market in play right now, all motivated by fostering consumer benefits, but seemingly lacking coordination. Is too much change happening at once? Among others, we have seen: The federal government liberalized foreign investment in all but the three biggest telecom carriers in Canada; some provincial governments have enacted a patchwork of consumer laws that target mobile carriers; the CRTC is developing a wireless code of conduct that may or may not supersede these laws; Industry Canada is introducing new license conditions and has created uncertainty in the rules associated with license transfers that could be associated with mergers and acquisitions.

These issues, and many more, will be explored at The 2013 Canadian Telecom Summit, taking place June 3-5 in Toronto. In particular, Rita Trichur from the Globe and Mail is moderating a session on Wednesday, June 5 called “Unplugged: The next generation of wireless”. Earlier that day, Namir Anani from ICTC is moderating a session called “Building an Innovation Economy”.

Registration fees increase May 1. Have you registered yet for The 2013 Canadian Telecom Summit?

The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association has lost its new entrant members.

In a press release issued earlier this morning, WIND Mobile, Mobilicity and Public Mobile have announced they are leaving the national association that, up until today, represented all wireless service providers, whether new entrant or long standing incumbent.

The three mobile service providers say the move is a direct result of their long-standing, mounting frustration with the CWTA’s consistent bias in favour of Rogers, Bell and TELUS on a wide variety of issues. From this point, the CWTA does not, and cannot claim to, speak on behalf of the Canadian mobile wireless sector.

There is often a tension in industry-wide associations.

Despite allegations to the contrary, telecommunications service providers fight for each customer and as a result, the representatives on association boards are often doing battle to improve competitive positioning. While personal camaraderie can sometimes help to overcome the professional competitive tensions, relationships can be strained when common ground cannot be found.

Two years ago, I observed what I called “cracks in the lobby“. where WIND Mobile and Mobilicity disagreed publicly with the CWTA over the issue of Manitoba’s proposed wireless consumer protection legislation. At the time, I asked:

In such groups, is unanimous agreement required or can a majority vote determine whether the association attaches its seal to a position? Where unanimity is not possible, should the association stand down and have members respond on their own?

The break-away from the CWTA creates some interesting challenges for the association, and also for a number of government agencies. The CRTC and Industry Canada have relied on CWTA to act as a gateway to the entire mobile industry on issues that require a common position or industry-wide action. For example, last September, the CRTC tasked CWTA with developing a solution to address handset theft. In its letter dated January 14, 2013, the CRTC asked CWTA to report by November 1:

confirming whether or not 100% participation has been achieved by the industry imposed deadline, and if not, what steps will be taken to achieve 100% participation and in what timeframe.

Without a mandate to represent 100% of the industry, it is not clear whether the CRTC will need to issue an order to all wireless service providers to participate in developing a common solution and response. When Bernard Lord was named head of the CWTA in the fall of 2008, I wrote:

Among the challenges for the new association leader will be recruitment of new members – welcoming the new AWS spectrum holders under the industry’s umbrella. While the new entrants may harbour some resentment for the CWTA’s lobbying during the spectrum consultation, there are many issues for which the common interests of the industry should unite all of the players.

At that time, four-and-a-half years ago, I told the CBC that newcomers would have much to gain by joining the CWTA. There are areas of common ground that merit industry-wide representation. Where a consensus among all of the industry players exists, there is so much more credibility, if presented on an industry-wide basis. The entire wireless sector loses when the industry can’t speak with a single voice.

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[11:25am update] The CWTA issued a statement that pointed to many industry wide initiatives that have been part of the common interests shared across competitive boundaries, including: Recycle My Cell national cell phone recycling program, the upcoming stolen phone database initiative, Wireless AMBER Alerts, the Mobile Giving Foundation, E9-1-1 enhancements, the textED.ca youth education initiative, Common Short Codes, the new FCM-CWTA antenna siting protocol, wireless number portability and anti-spam regulations.

The many contributions of WIND, Mobilicity and Public Mobile will certainly be missed, and CWTA would welcome their return to the Association in the future. CWTA will continue to promote the value of Canada’s wireless sector in bringing the benefits of wireless technology to Canadian consumers, businesses and communities.

The state of TV broadcasting is front of mind, with Cartt.ca reporting from the National Association of Broadcasters show in Las Vegas and the release of the CRTC’s latest report on the financial results for Canadian cable and satellite companies.

Various reports indicate increased levels of cord cutting, but the CRTC is indicating a net increase of about 1% in the households subscribing to a TV distribution service. Companies in the US are using various forms of regulatory arbitrage to re-transmit programming over-the-top and some broadcasters are threatening to stop over-the-air transmissions completely if they can’t get appropriate compensation for their signals.

Where is the industry headed?

At The 2013 Canadian Telecom Summit, on Tuesday June 4, we close the day with a panel looking at these issues and more:

For a couple of months, I have been saying that we have put together one of the strongest programs yet for The 2013 Canadian Telecom Summit. The Canadian Telecom Summit takes place June 3-5 in Toronto. Have you registered yet?

The 2013 Canadian Telecom Summit is just 8 weeks away. This is the 12th annual gathering of the leadership of stakeholders in the Canadian Communications sector.

Together with my co-chair, Michael Sone, we think we have assembled our strongest program yet.

This year, in addition to our always popular Regulatory Blockbuster, we are featuring sessions devoted to:

• Customer Focused Business Transformation;
• Devices, Screens & Apps;
• Network Transformation;
• Business Models in a Converged World;
• Consumer Issues;
• The Revolution of TV: Content Anywhere & Anyhow;
• Building an Innovation Economy;
• CIO Roundtable; and
• The Next Generation of Wireless.

The event will also feature keynote addresses from global thought leaders, some of whom participating for the first time in The Canadian Telecom Summit.

The brochure is reproduced below.

Have you registered yet? Prices increase May 1.

 

In 9 weeks, more than 60 industry shaping leaders will converge at the Toronto Congress Centre for The 2013 Canadian Telecom Summit, taking place June 3-5. With more than a dozen keynotes offering insights into the future of Canadian ICT, panels and discussions will be exploring what drives the information economy.

This year, we have assembled some of our strongest panel discussions, including sessions called:

• The Regulatory Blockbuster;
• Customer Focused Business Transformation;
• Devices, Screens & Apps;
• Network Transformation;
• Business Models in a Converged World;
• Consumer Issues;
• The Revolution of TV: Content Anywhere & Anyhow;
• Building an Innovation Economy;
• CIO Roundtable; and
• The Next Generation of Wireless.

No other event is quite like The 2013 Canadian Telecom Summit in covering the industry from every angle.

Now in its 12th year, The 2013 Canadian Telecom Summit is Canada’s most important annual ICT event, attracting attendees from around the world.

The Canadian Telecom Summit  is your chance to hear from and talk with your colleagues in both a structured atmosphere of frank discussion and high-octane idea exchange, as well as schmooze in a more relaxed social setting of genial conversation.

An annual tradition to conclude the first day, after being immersed in a full program of keynotes and panel discussions, we hold our not-to-be-missed Cocktail Reception, sponsored this year by Ericsson. This is a chance to unwind, enjoy some delicious food & drink, catch up with colleagues and make new professional acquaintances.

Come meet with leaders from services and equipment suppliers, applications developers, policy makers, regulators and major customers.

Book your seat early. The Canadian Telecom Summit is the only event you need to attend.

Register now: www.telecomsummit.com

Download the complete conference brochure here.