Telus wants Competition Bureau methodology in MVNO review

After a November Competition Bureau report endorsed a limited version of mandated access to incumbent networks for mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), Telus Corp. is asking the CRTC to let it see the methodology of the study and submit responses, or else throw the report out altogether. In asking to see the report’s underlying data, Telus is also asking for 90 days to submit responses, and subsequently asking the CRTC to delay the scheduled mobile wireless review by some three months, according to a December 6 letter obtained by the Wire Report. Should the CRTC decline to push back the date of the hearing, Telus says it would still like 90 days to submit responses anyway. The Competition Bureau’s endorsement of a limited MVNO model was based partially on a report from Matrix Economics, which argued that “it may be possible to design an MVNO mandate to promote such competition, without undermining investment incentives in the industry.” The Matrix Economics study relied on data sets and methodology kept confidential, and Telus argues in the submission that without access to the Competition Bureau’s methodology, the company “has no mechanism to test the conclusions in the report.” “The result is a serious and highly prejudicial denial of TELUS’ right to procedural fairness,” the company wrote. The data at issue was the subject of a back-and-forth among the bureau, the CRTC, and the telecom companies back in the spring. The bureau initially asked for a detailed set of data in April, which drew accusations from the telecom companies that the Competition Bureau was attempting to hijack the mobile wireless review process. Despite the criticism, the bureau held firm on the request, while saying it would be willing to make some compromises. The commission initially rejected the request for detailed information from the telecoms, before changing course the following month and saying it would require the telecom companies to submit a narrowed set of data, ordering companies to turn over the data in August. If the CRTC doesn’t let Telus and other wireless service providers see the underlying data and methodology, “it should accord the Commissioner’s Report no weight, or alternatively strike it from the record,” the company wrote. The Competition Bureau submitted the Matrix Economics report as a supplement to its initial submission to the mobile wireless review from May, in which it floated the idea of mandated MVNO access conditional on network investments. In 2018 and again in 2019, Telus commissioned its own reports from NERA that questioned the methodology of reports on telecom pricing. This year Tefficient, a Swedish consulting company that has issued a number of such reports, cited late data reporting and industry attacks on report credibility in its decision to pull back from analysing the Canadian telecom market. — With reporting by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Telus wants Competition Bureau methodology in MVNO review

News | December 11, 2019

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Telus wants Competition Bureau methodology in MVNO review

News | December 11, 2019

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