Network performance supports light regulatory touch: Bibic

The performance of networks in other countries during the COVID-19 crisis is evidence that the Liberal government and the CRTC should tread lightly when it comes to regulating the telecom sector, BCE Inc. CEO Mirko Bibic said Wednesday. That includes potential mandated access for mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) currently being considered by the CRTC, and the wholesale third-party internet access rates the regulator lowered last year that are currently under appeal by the incumbents. Asked by TD Securities analyst Vince Valentini for particular examples to show Canadian regulators "here's what could happen if we hadn't done this right," Bibic pointed to the experience in the United Kingdom and Australia. "They faced challenges supporting added traffic and added pressure. Providers in those countries and other countries at times have experienced download speeds up to 50, even 30 per cent slower," Bibic said. The comments came as part of the annual TD Securities Telecom & Media Conference, this year held remotely. Citing a recent OpenSignal report trumpeting the performance of Canadian networks, Bibic said "all these are really, really important when it comes to some of the regulatory files." "As a country, we really should not and frankly can not take any risks of negative rulings that are going to blunt investment in networks, particularly as we enter the work-from-home era, as we enter the 5G era. I think the regulators and public policy makers are going to appreciate that now more than ever. "The risk to the country from negative rulings would be pretty bad." Also referring to the OpenSignal report, Telus Corp. chief financial officer Doug French pointed out that productivity in Canada went up approximately 25 per cent in Canada, while productivity in the U.S. declined since the start of the COVID-19 lockdowns and widespread remote working. "Obviously environments are different, but a lot of that was associated as well with the quality of our networks," French said. Rogers Communications Inc. CEO Joe Natale, too, suggested that there should be a "tale of the tape" type analysis when the COVID crisis has passed, comparing Canadian networks to those of other countries. "By all accounts, Canadian networks have performed extremely well," he said, responding to a question from Valentini. Referring to rate increases and layoffs by some third-party ISPs since the beginning of the crisis -- that have triggered a rare agreement between the Conservatives and NDP on wholesale rates -- Bibic said "they have to make their own calls about how they're going to accommodate customers." "They shouldn't have expected to turn around and ask us to finance or subsidize their own accommodations to their own end customers. So that's my take on some of the asks they made during the crisis," Bibic said. Later in the conference, Quebecor Inc. chief financial officer Hugues Simard told Valentini that buying or selling access to wireless networks “could potentially be an opportunity for us in the right circumstances,” if the CRTC decided to mandate mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) operators. Asked by Valentini for Quebecor’s thoughts on MVNOs, on the potential to either buy or sell network access, Simard said it was not “something that we’re working on actively right now” but said the company had “come along on that idea.” “It could potentially be an opportunity for us in the right circumstances. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re certainly not closed off to this idea, it might make sense,” Simard said. Quebecor’s CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau told a CRTC public hearing in February that he would take legal action against both the federal government and the CRTC if the regulator mandates wholesale MVNO access, arguing such a decision would violate the agreement Quebecor signed when it purchased spectrum in 2008. In his presentation, Péladeau said mandating wholesale MVNO access would “jeopardize” the fourth player policy because regional carriers would suffer the greatest impact and said such a decision would jeopardise the financial viability of Videotron’s mobile wireless operations. Asked by Valentini if Quebecor hoped that strong network performance during the COVID-19 pandemic meant the CRTC’s wholesale rate reduction was less likely to be enforced, Simard said the company “would certainly like to think so” but warned regulatory decisions could be unpredictable. “But again, I think we should be careful, but in the past, I think we’ve demonstrated numbers of times that regulatory decisions are not necessarily based on impact analysis so who knows,” Simard said. The court appeal against the decision is scheduled to be heard on June 25, while incumbents also lodged a petition to the Governor in Council and a review-and-vary application with the CRTC. Meanwhile, Shaw Communications Inc. president Paul McAleese told Valentini that the company plans to bring a Shaw-branded wireless offering to the market by the end of the year, in addition to its Freedom brand. “We’re still deliberating just specifically how we do that, but it will be later this year that you see that introduced to the market. The intensity of that, we’ll have to wait and see just how aggressively to bring that to market in due course,” McAleese said. — With reporting by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca and Adam Langenberg at alangenberg@thewirereport.ca, and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Network performance supports light regulatory touch: Bibic

News | May 27, 2020

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Network performance supports light regulatory touch: Bibic

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