The lobbying over the next spectrum auction appears to have begun, with Rogers, Bell and Telus claiming that they overpaid last time due to the government's decision to create a set-aside for new entrants. The incumbent carriers express doubt that the Canadian market can support more than three big players.
Spectrum Lobbying Begins: Bell, Telus, Rogers Say They Overpaid Last Time
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Cry me a river…
Does this mean I can lobby them because I feel that I’ve been overpaying for years?
“The incumbent carriers express doubt that the Canadian market can support more than three big players.” Seriously?! Just how dumb do they think we are?
I’m gonna need a bigger shovel!
Wow, I just read that STAR article. It has too be one of the biggest loads of BS I have heard yet from our Telco oligopoly so far. I can’t wait for these crooks to get their due when the competition starts seeping into the market, especially Bell!
Someone needs to remind them…
that in an auction you don’t have to bid if you think the price is too high. As well, since in an auction there may be no minimum price (I’ve been involved in auctions with a minimum bid, in particular for charities), they could just as easily have underpaid for the spectrum. Of course, in this case they’d have been congratulating themselves on getting the spectrum for less than market rates, rather than whining about paying too much.
“the complexity of wireless pricing and country-specific usage patterns and pricing models makes global comparisons difficult. ”
Yeah, thats real rocket science there, I’m pretty sure they still teach averages in elementary.
“Bell argued in its submissions that the failure of any of the new players will be “strong indication” that the Canadian wireless market cannot support more than three big carriers.”
This would just be a strong indication that the big 3 have sacrificed some short term profits in order to kill the new players by overbidding in the auction so the newcomers can’t get a foothold.
One thing it is hard to argue against is that with the big 3 teaming against them and willing to take short term losses to get rid of them, the newcomers will deffinately have a hard time competing.
When, oh, when will it end?
I completely sympathize with the big three here. I remember when the government forced me to overpay in an auction on eBay for vintage star trek memorabilia. Curse their meddling! And the ears didn’t even stay on.
“The incumbent carriers express doubt that the Canadian market can support more than three big players.”
I certainly hope so. How long *will* it take for the three new guys to push out the three old guys?
grapes are sour!
can you say “cry of the dinosaurs”?
let the market decide whether it can accomodate more than 3 companies or not.
Of course, there’s really only two providers in each area, since Bell and Telus have tower-sharing agreements such that neither overlaps in most areas.