Vancouver-based Telus Corp. (TSX:T) has welcomed new telecom sector rules as a “thoughtful and balanced decision that meets the government’s objectives of promoting consumer choice, supporting sustainable competition through investment in technology and further expanding broadband services in rural markets.”
The new rules create caps that would limit the amount of digital space that large incumbents such as Telus can purchase when capacity is auctioned to companies.
However they fail to respond to new industry entrants’ requests that the government set aside capacity that only newer players can bid on. Relative newcomer Wind Mobile has just announced plans to boycott the next auction, planned for next year.
Telus president and CEO Darren Entwistle said, “The rules established by Minister [of Industry Christian] Paradis will allow all competitors to have fair and reasonable access to the critical 700 MHz spectrum in the upcoming auction.”
Telus also responded to the federal government’s move to lift foreign investment restrictions for companies with less than 10% market share.
“Telus is hopeful that the changes to foreign ownership limits provided yesterday by the government are a first step towards full liberalization of restrictions across the industry,” Entwistle said.
“We would encourage the government to go beyond this initial step and work towards putting Canada’s telecom industry on an equal footing with our global trading partners.”
See next week’s issue of Business in Vancouver for the first of a two-part series on the data crunch being faced by telecoms and Internet service providers due to the explosion of data-rich devices, such as smartphones, and increased video streaming.
