CP Party Leader Candidate wants to phase out CRTC

[Azure]

The Canadian Radio Telecommunications Commission has made itself a powerful enemy. Maxime Bernier, a candidate for the Conservative leadership, stated at the Canadian Telecom Summit that the CRTC should be phased out.

“Presumably in order to protect competition, the CRTC was preventing some providers from really competing and offering better deals to consumers. That’s what I call a policy of false competition,” Bernier said in his address at the summit.

Bernier is a former minister of Industry and held the role of Opposition critic for Innovation, Science and Economic Development just a few months ago. He recently announced his candidacy for the leadership of the conservative party. He is currently serving as a Member of Parliament for the riding Beauce in Quebec.

During his address Bernier also claimed that the CRTC has stifled competition with several decisions, including the recent announcement that large network providers will be forced to sell space on their high-speed infrastructure to smaller rivals at wholesale prices. Bell petitioned heavily against the decision, saying it would impact competition and investment in new technologies.

He went on to say the the telecom industry is a mature, competitive market and shouldn’t be treated as a “playground for bureaucrats.”

“Canadian consumers are best served when telecom providers are free to compete and invest, not when bureaucrats tell them what to do,” Bernier went on to say.

With these claims, he introduced several proposals to supposedly improve competition in the Canadian telecom market. These include eliminating the mandated sharing of networks, relieve the CRTC of its role as a telecom regulator, hold spectrum auctions without preferential rules “so that everyone is on a level-playing field,” and opening the sector fully to foreign investments.

It’s important to note that American telecom companies have attempted to enter the Canadian market in the past. In 2013, when it was speculated that Verizon would make a spectrum bid for entrance into Canada, Rogers Communications Inc., Bell’s parent company BCE Inc. and TELUS Corp. launched a campaign in opposition of this entry, stating that a foreign company would have an unfair advantage.

http://mobilesyrup.com/2016/06/07/co...m-competition/

Interesting take. The decision to force wholesale rates for backhaul bandwidth will create more competition in the internet industry, so backtracking that would certainly create a problem.

He is correct in saying that if Verizon or another big player would enter the Canadian market it would drive prices down.

But then again, if Shaw built out Wind a lot faster it would also create more competition. Why would a brand new carrier spend billions to build a network?

[White Out 403]

I wonder what his rich business friends and share holders for Shaw/TELUS/Bell/Rogers are thinking when they read this. The CRTC, I'm sure, gets on their nerves but with no regulator it wouldn't be long before this country was dominated by big American telco.

[Azure]

How are our plans comparable to the US?

The whole pitch does read like a scripted speech from the big 3.

[PsYcNeT]

Toot toot, now leaving Net Neutrality, all aboard the train to Preferred Bandwidth Town!

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

Toot toot, now leaving Net Neutrality, all aboard the train to Preferred Bandwidth Town!

Bingo.

Robellus knows full well what the FCC is trying to do to ISPs in the states, and really doesn't want to see the CRTC do that here. Not to mention they, along with Shaw, are royally pissed about things like the skinny package mandate for TV.

Solution: buy your political influence now!

[Fuzz]

In Theory “Canadian consumers are best served when telecom providers are free to compete and invest, not when bureaucrats tell them what to do,” Bernier went on to say.

In reality, the big 3 will just tighten their grip.

[Azure]

What they SHOULD do is open the industry up for foreign investment and see what happens.

[SebC]

Unregulated oligopolies seems like a bad idea. Government-sponsored oligopolies are also a bad idea. Bernier basically just cancelled out his position on dairy supply management for me.

[Hack&Lube]

Why does he sound like lobbyist/shill for the big 3 telecom providers?

[Resolute 14]

Because he is.