TORONTO – Rogers Communications is hoping that its wireless customers will help with its lobbying efforts to prevent Industry Canada from giving special treatment to new entrants during next year’s auction of the 700 Mhz wireless spectrum. But at least one of those new entrants has taken issue with the tactic, calling it “a thinly veiled attempt at manipulating government regulators and public perception”.
Rogers, the country’s largest mobile operator, posted a sample letter on its website asking customers interested in its new LTE service to email it to their elected officials to demand a “fair and open auction for the 700 spectrum”.
“I respectfully urge you to allow free and open access to the 700-megahertz spectrum by allowing all companies to participate in the upcoming auction”, reads the letter. “Excluding any provider would only serve to slow down Canadian innovation, damaging our growing and vital digital economy.”
Wireless incumbents Rogers, Bell Mobility and Telus have been pushing new Industry Minister Christian Paradis not to exclude them from bidding on any portion of the band, which is seen as ideal for mobile Internet use (it’s great for video and is excellent distance properties for rural coverage). Industry Canada used set-asides for new entrants during the last spectrum sale in 2008 which allowed the likes of Mobilicity, Wind and Videotron to buy spectrum and enter the wireless market, creating competition and squeezing prices.
Mobilicity describes Rogers’ letter as a “lobbying ploy insulting to consumers”, adding that wireless spectrum must be set aside for the new entrants in order to “sustain (their) new-found low rates”.
“The future of affordable wireless rates is at risk, not the future of long-term evolution (LTE) networks,” said Mobilicity COO Stewart Lyons, in a statement. “Mobilicity has helped bring down the cost of wireless in Canada significantly and we need to augment our limited amount of spectrum to ensure affordable pricing continues.”
Not surprisingly, Rogers Communications’ SVP of regulatory affairs Ken Engelhart disagreed with that "in a bunch of ways".
“The point that we’re making is that this 700 spectrum is very, very valuable for delivering LTE out to Canada’s less populated areas”, Engelhart told Cartt.ca in an interview. “We are launching LTE in Canada’s top markets using our existing spectrum. But we will not launch LTE in the rest of Canada without 700 spectrum.
“Mobilicity’s argument is that somehow by giving them preferential access to the 700 spectrum will keep them in business. I think that’s just a laughable proposition. They’ve got a big network that they’ve already built with their existing spectrum – if they get new spectrum there is no way they would build a second network because the cost would just be prohibitive until they have way, way, way more customers and at the rate they’re going, that will take some time.”
Engelhart also noted that Rogers has asked Industry Canada for “roll out requirements” mandating new 700 spectrum holders to build in Canada’s less populated areas, while most new entrants have opposed the idea.
But Lyons cautioned consumers about "the real implications" of asking their local Member of Parliament to allow Rogers et al to bid on the 700 Mhz spectrum.
“Big 3 wireless carriers have more spectrum than they need and will stop at nothing to dress up and misrepresent their hidden agenda of eliminating competition so they can raise their rates back up again", he said.
While declining to share how many current or future customers have contacted their MPs on Rogers’ behalf, Engelhart said that the response to the letter “has been very good” and has met the company’s expectations.
“The site is designed to do two things”, he continued. “One, it’s telling people about LTE and giving them access to the information about it, and secondly, we’re saying to some customers, ‘if you feel comfortable being an advocate for us, this is what we’re trying to do in order to get LTE more broadly distributed’. So it serves those two purposes."
The rules of the 700 Mhz spectrum auction are expected to be released by Industry Canada in early November, and the auction will take place next year.
