Quebecor ‘changing its tune’ in call for wireless intervention

Quebecor Inc. representatives made a populist appeal at the last day of a hearing about the wholesale wireless market, asking for regulatory help taking on the “three giant” national wireless carriers.

Manon Brouillette, president and CEO of Quebecor subsidiary Vidéo- tron, echoed the company’s June announcement that it’s ready to become a fourth national wireless carrier under the right regulatory conditions. She asked the Canadian Radiotelevision and Telecommunications Commission to cap wholesale roaming rates, or what one carrier charges another for access to its network, below the interim price set by the government last spring.

“History has clearly demonstrated that the intrinsic nature of monopolies — and, by extension, oligopolies — is to perpetuate themselves,” Ms. Brouillette said. “Without vigorous intervention from an institution like the CRTC, the three giants will continue to do everything they can to keep control over the Canadian market and to place obstacles in the way of true competition.”

If Quebecor gets the discounted roaming access it seeks, Ms. Brouillette said it can improve consumer choice and lower wireless rates.

Ms. Brouillette said she disagrees with those who argue regulating wholesale rates will remove the incentive for carriers to invest in building their own networks.

“We’re builders and innovators. In order for us to control a market, we wish to control the technology,” she said. “If we had healthy, sustainable and fair rates, we would simply invest more quickly.”

Vidéotron has about 550,000 wireless customers in Quebec, about 13% market share in the province. Vidéotron is launching its long-term evolution (LTE) wireless network in Quebec — new infrastructure built in partnership with Rogers Communications that offers consumers faster data speeds averaging 40 megabits per second and improves its reach to 90% of the Quebec population.

In June, when Quebecor CEO Pierre Dion announced the goal of becoming a fourth national carrier, he said the firm was prepared to potentially acquire one or both of struggling upstarts Wind Mobile and Mobilicity. Acquiring at least one and its spectrum would be an important step for Quebecor to expand its reach beyond Quebec.

At the hearing Friday, CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais pointed out that Quebecor’s position on regulatory intervention is very different from the one it took at September’s Talk TV hearing. During that hearing, which examined proposed regulatory changes to adapt to the future of television, the company asked for radical de-regulation of the broadcast industry to help its cable division compete with innovative online video offerings like Netflix Inc.

“It sounds like you’ve changed your tune,” Mr. Blais said. “You’re saying ‘we’re small players and they’re giants.’ I think in the other proceeding, some other people might have said that to you the other way around.”