The OCC recently submitted a letter to James Moore, Ministry of Industry, regarding promoting competition and fairness in the telecommunications industry.
The OCC encourages the federal government to ensure that the rules it applies to the telecommunications industry are fair and promote competition in the sector.
Ontario businesses are concerned that under the government’s present rules, foreign businesses are given preferential treatment over their Canadian competitors. While Canada’s major carriers are being barred from competing for new entrants in the market like Wind and Mobilicity, these same restrictions do not apply to a large American company that is actively exploring entering the Canadian market. This skewed playing field positions an American company to acquire new entrants and, perhaps more importantly, their valuable spectrum, at a significantly depressed price.
Furthermore, current rules allow this same American company to purchase twice the amount of spectrum as Canada’s major carriers in the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction.
The OCC strongly believes that competition in all industries, including telecommunications, is a good thing. Competition spurs innovation, reduces prices for consumers, and usually generates greater economic output. However, we do not believe that competition is best encouraged, nor the Canadian consumer better off, as a result of a system where Canadian companies and foreign ones are subjected to different rules.
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