Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Canada Competition Bureau provides submission to CRTC on wireless roaming rates, (Jan 30, 2014)

The Canada Competition Bureau announced on January 29 that it has provided a submission to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in response to a Call for Comments following the CRTC’s consultation on the mobile wireless roaming rates charged by Canada’s largest wireless companies to new entrants in Canada.

The Bureau believes that Canada’s largest wireless companies have an incentive to use high mobile wireless roaming rates to ensure that new entrants are not, and do not become, fully effective competitors. As a result, new entrants are likely limited in their ability to bring attractive product offerings to market, resulting in reduced product choice, higher prices for consumers and/or less innovation in Canadian mobile wireless markets.

The Bureau’s submission also supports the establishment of regulatory safeguards to protect against the imposition of high roaming rates, effectively allowing new entrants to have a greater competitive impact in Canadian mobile wireless markets. Where market forces are insufficient to achieve certain policy objectives, the Bureau will continue to provide advice to regulators to assist them in implementing policies that achieve their objectives in a minimally intrusive way, it was noted.

News: Antitrust