Business
The Mere Existence of Competitive Facilities is not Sufficient to Ensure Sustainable Competition in the Local Telephony Market
The Mere Existence of Competitive Facilities is not Sufficient to Ensure Sustainable Competition in the Local Telephony Market.
About this update from Cogeco Communications Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nMONTREAL, Dec. 11 /CNW Telbec/ - Cogeco Cable disapproves of the new\ncompetitive facilities test proposed by the Honourable Maxime Bernier,\nIndustry Minister.\n\n\nThe measure announced today by the government is contrary to sound public\ninterest policy and practice for deregulating the telecommunications sector,\nand it ignores the relevant recommendations of the Telecommunications Policy\nReview Panel issued earlier this year. Indeed, the government has yet to issue\na comprehensive position on the recommendations made by its own expert panel\nin this report nine months ago.\n\n\n\"We are witnessing another piecemeal announcement essentially designed to\nplease the incumbent telephone companies rather than to ensure real\nsustainable competition in the best interest of Canadian consumers\" indicated\nMr. Louis Audet, President and CEO of Cogeco Cable.\n\n\nToday's announcement may have lasting adverse consequences for Canadian\nconsumers of local telecommunications services. The government is clearly\nsidestepping the existing independent process for deregulating local telephone\nservices established by the CRTC, on the mistaken assumption that consumers\nare adequately protected by the mere existence of competitive facilities even\nwhere the incumbent telephone company retains a dominant position in the\nmarket.\n\n\nThe government's announcement also suggests that Bill C-41 tabled in the\nHouse of Commons last week will give ample protection to consumers against\nanti-competitive conduct by incumbent telephone companies by providing for\nadministrative monetary penalties under the Competition Act. First, the\ngovernment is proposing to end existing CRTC regulatory safeguards\nprematurely, without prior evaluation of significant market power, and\nregardless of the actual passing of Bill C-41 or its coming into force.\nSecond, the announcement squarely contradicts the government's own expert\npanel which specifically stated the following in its report last March:\n\n\n... (W)hile the Competition Bureau has a higher level of expertise in\ndefining markets and assessing market power than does the CRTC, the\nPanel is not satisfied that the Competition Act provides an appropriate\nframework for the resolution of competitive disputes in the\ntelecommunications sector where SMP still exists or where markets are in\ntrans...