Preliminary report in March, final report by June 2019
OTTAWA – The Competition Bureau wants to hear from consumers about their high-speed Internet services and their experiences with their providers as it continues its examination of broadband competition in Canada.
These results, gathered from a new online consumer survey released Tuesday, will help to identify trends in consumer behaviour and shape the Bureau's broadband market study that kicked off in May.
“High-speed internet plays a fundamental role in how Canadians work, learn, and thrive in the digital economy”, said interim Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell, in a statement. “We want to hear from Canadian consumers so that we can see the whole picture during this important market study.”
The Bureau also released an update on the study after conducting interviews with more than 20 “interested parties”, including broadband service providers, government bodies, consumer groups, and academics; and after reviewing 19 written submissions totalling more than 950 pages of material (a number of which are available here).
With this initial round of stakeholder engagement complete, the Bureau said that it will now dissect the material as it continues to refine its assessment of competition in Canada’s broadband industry. Operating under the premise that competition drives innovation, gives small and medium businesses an equitable chance to participate in the economy, and provides consumers with more choices and competitive prices, the probe will be guided by the following questions:
– Which factors influence consumer demand in this industry?
– What is the marketplace role of wireless- and third party fibre-based broadband suppliers, and how might this role change in the future?
– How does rivalry between facilities-based providers affect marketplace outcomes?
– How does the existing regulatory landscape affect facilities-based providers’ incentive to upgrade and maintain their networks?
– How do wholesale-based providers affect marketplace outcomes?
– How does the existing regulatory landscape affect wholesale-based providers’ ability to compete effectively?
“At this stage of the Study, the Bureau has not drawn any conclusions, and remains of an open mind”, reads the update. “The research questions set out in this document are based on those from the Bureau’s Market Study Notice, but have been tailored to reflect the additional knowledge and perspective that the Bureau has gained to date through marketplace interviews and written submissions. The Bureau will continue to refine these questions as the Study progresses.”
The Bureau added that it will conduct more research over the winter before reaching preliminary analytical results by next March, which it will confidentially discuss with stakeholders before drawing final conclusions and making recommendations. It pledged to publish the final results in a public report released no later than June 2019.
