Appeared in the Toronto Star on February 1, 2014 as Competition Bureau Raises Concerns over Canadian Wireless Market The longstanding debate over the state of wireless services in Canada has veered across many issues – pricing, roaming fees, locked devices, new entrants, and foreign investment to name a few. At […]
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Competition Bureau Raises Wireless Competition Concerns, Concludes Big Three Have “Market Power”
The Competition Bureau of Canada has just released its submission to the CRTC’s consultation on domestic roaming rates and with it left no doubt about its concerns with the state of wireless competition in Canada. Despite repeated efforts of the big three incumbent providers to argue that the Canadian market is competitive, the Competition Bureau has concluded that the big three enjoy “market power.” As the Bureau notes, market power is “the ability of a firm or firms to profitably maintain prices above competitive levels (or similarly restrict non-price dimensions of competition) for a significant period of time.”
Given its market power, the Bureau finds the wireless incumbents can use roaming to shield themselves from competition. It states:
“Incumbents can use the terms and conditions of roaming agreements to raise their rivals’ costs such that incumbents are shielded from the full effect of their the rivals’ (i.e., entrants) entry. Making it more costly for entrants to access incumbent networks through roaming agreements is one way for an incumbent service provider to relax competitive pressure.“
Competition Bureau of Canada Investigating ICANN and New gTLDs
John Pecman, the Commissioner of Competition, yesterday advised that the Competition Bureau of Canada is reviewing the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers and its administration of the domain name system. In a follow-up email, I was told that the Bureau is investigating ICANN “since they are poised to […]
Competition Bureau To Investigate Google Canada
The National Post reports that the Competition Bureau of Canada plans to launch an investigation into Google Canada. The scope of the investigation is unknown.
Competition Bureau to the CRTC on Wireless Code: Be Bolder
The Competition Bureau yesterday posted its submission to the CRTC on its draft wireless code. The key message from the Bureau: be bolder. The Bureau expresses concern with the competitiveness of the wireless telecom sector in Canada:
certain impediments continue to diminish the effect of competitive forces in this industry. First, certain industry practices have tended to impose costs on consumers who wish to avail themselves of competitive alternatives. Second, consumers are not always provided with sufficient information in an adequately clear manner to make informed purchase decisions. These features can deprive consumers, competitors, and the Canadian economy of the beneficial effects of competition in this industry, namely lower prices, higher quality service, and greater innovation. This submission provides recommendations on how the Wireless Code can minimize the effect of these impediments.
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