The two recent decisions by Canada’s telecom regulator are prohibiting competition in the country’s highly concentrated industry, reported Reuters. Critics argue that it will make it even harder to bring down prices for mobile and internet services.
The country’s cellular bills are among the highest and hence Canadian consumers have been complaining about high cellular bills for years. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has threatened to take necessary action if the providers failed to cut bills by 25%.
Despite this, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) ruled that it would not significantly lower the rates arguing that small companies must pay to access the high-speed broadband networks of larger rivals, including BCE, Telus Corp, and Rogers Communications Inc.
In April, CRTC asked large telecom companies to offer wholesale wireless access to Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) to smaller organizations, who can then resell the capacity at reduced retail prices and pass on the benefits to the consumers. However, there were several stipulations that were to benefit big companies.
However, Thursday’s ruling will allow the big carriers to charge rates similar to the prices originally set in 2016. The decision overturns an under appeal 2019 ruling that would have forced telecom operators to lower their wholesale rates and make retroactive payments to small companies.
The recent ruling will result in lower retroactive payments.
