One week into CRTC’s public hearing on wireless services, battle lines have been drawn between big players and hopeful entrants
Canada’s Big Three wireless carriers say they’ll significantly axe investment if the federal telecom regulator forces them to sell wholesale access to their mobile networks, arguing this could hurt Canada’s position in the race to build next generation 5G networks.
One week into the CRTC’s two-week public hearing on the state of wireless services in Canada, the battle lines have been drawn between wireless players that have already made big investments and hopeful entrants who argue it’s not feasible for each prospective competitor to start from scratch. Telus chief executive Darren Entwistle said Telus will cut 5,000 jobs and $1 billion in investment over the next five years, along with a reduction in charitable spending, if the wireless resale is mandated. For those who suspect the cuts are an empty threat, Entwistle said this isn’t “theatre perpetrated by incumbents,” adding Telus’ board of directors signed a resolution instructing management to pursue the spending reduction plan should the CRTC mandate wireless reselling.
Even regional operator Eastlink, owned by Halifax-based Bragg Communications Inc., said on Friday it has already cut $60 million from its capital budget due to the prospect of mandated wireless access and a separate decision that reduced rates for wholesale access to fixed internet connections. The CRTC has already mandated such access on the wired side of business. The Canadian Network Operators Consortium, an organization that represents independent internet providers that rely on buying wholesale network access from the bigger players, argued it should apply similar logic to the wireless industry in order to give Canadians better alternatives.
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