Canada's ruling Liberals to target wireless bills in election -sources (updated)
27/08/2019 15:41
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By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Canada's ruling Liberals will
promise to help cut cell phone and internet bills in an upcoming
election campaign amid widespread complaints about the cost of
wireless communications, party sources said.
One option being studied is a cap on bills, the sources
said, while another is to oblige major providers to offer
wholesale access to Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs),
which are smaller outfits without their own infrastructure.
The Liberals, tied in the polls with the official opposition
Conservatives ahead of the Oct. 21 vote, want to tackle bills
they say are much higher than in other industrialized nations.
Liberal officials knocking on doors as election preparations
heat up say the cost of phone bills and internet is one of the
most frequent complaints they hear.
"Canadians shouldn't be paying more for their already very
expensive internet and communications services, and that is
something we will take into account," Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau told reporters on Monday.
The three main wireless providers - BCE Inc's BCE.TO Bell
unit, Rogers Communications Inc RCIb.TO and Telus Corp T.TO
- account for around 90% of the market.
Consumer advocates have long complained this leads to
gouging that particularly hits the poor.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications
Commission (CRTC), which regulates the industry, said wireless
costs account for almost 9% of the household income of the
bottom 20% of Canadians.
VAST COUNTRY
In December, Canada's innovation ministry released an
independent report that showed while prices were gradually
falling, Canadian monthly plans with two gigabytes of data still
cost an average C$75.44 ($56.83).
The equivalent price in the United States was C$61.26 while
in Rome it was just C$21.11. In Australia, like Canada a vast
underpopulated country, the figure was C$24.70.
The major telecommunications providers disagree with the
study and say costs are roughly comparable with those elsewhere.
The Liberals though are determined to act.
"There are two choices: legislate or push through measures
to boost competition," said one of the sources, who requested
anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation.
Bell and Rogers referred queries to the industry group
Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA). Telus
did not respond to requests for comment.
In February, Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains ordered the
CRTC to focus more on affordability and lower prices.
The CRTC said earlier this year it was looking into whether
it should order the major players to offer more access to the
MNVOs, which complain they are effectively being shut out.
The major firms say they are investing billions in
infrastructure to ensure coverage for just 36 million people
scattered across the world's second-largest country.
Over-regulation will cause speed and quality to slip, they add.
"When you get into an election campaign you get into emotion
sometimes," said CWTA President and Chief Executive Robert Ghiz.
"It's extremely important that any political party make sure
they don't put too much short-term thinking into something that
is going to drive our economy," Ghiz said in an interview.
The CRTC this month ordered a cut in the rates that
third-party internet resellers pay the major firms for access.
Bell said the move would cost it C$100 million, and it cut
plans to extend internet broadband to smaller towns by 20%,
which angered Bains.
The left-leaning opposition New Democrats, who could end up
keeping Trudeau's government in power if the Liberals fail to
win another majority in October, are also promising a crackdown.
The Conservatives, seen as being more friendly toward big
business, are looking at a tax rebate to help cut bills, said a
well-placed source.
Marie Aspiazu of OpenMedia, a non-governmental organization
pushing for cheap widespread internet access, conceded prices
were falling slightly.
"Is it better than nothing? Yes. But are we doing great? No,
I think we can do a lot more," she said by phone.
($1 = 1.3275 Canadian dollars)
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The high cost of Canadian wireless services png https://tmsnrt.rs/2NuLQHE
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(Additional reporting by Kelsey Johnson
Editing by Denny Thomas and Paul Simao)
((david.ljunggren@thomsonreuters.com; +1 613 235 6745; fax +1
613 235 5890; Reuters Messaging:
david.ljunggren.reuters.com@reuters.net))