Dear Greg,
MY COMPLIMENTS ON YOUR superb coverage of the 2011 Canadian Telecom Summit. I was hoping to grab a chance to speak while we were there, but we didn’t seem to cross paths. Maybe next time.
Regarding this article (CTS 2011: Don’t punish us for being early, good, says Telus’ McFarlane), I noted the following Editor’s Comment which I think it is important to correct:
"(Ed note: However, if Industry Canada likes Videotron’s other idea – to consider the HSPA network-sharing Telus and Bell, or “Belus” as Videotron CEO Robert Dépatie called them Wednesday – as a single entity, neither company could bid on two blocks in very many places)."
In fact, nowhere in its submissions to Industry Canada has Videotron argued that Bell and Telus should be treated as a single entity for the upcoming spectrum auctions.
In his speech to the Telecom Summit, Mr. Dépatie included an illustrative slide from a recent Seaboard report that places the spectrum imbalance in Canada in an international context and includes a bar for "Bellus". That is all.
An accurate reading of Videotron’s 700 MHz proposal is the one presented in the previous paragraph of your article and the one understood by Mr. McFarlane: "Under the Videotron plan, Telus could buy two blocks of spectrum everywhere but B.C. and Alberta, where it has used 800 MHz spectrum since launch."
Not a bad deal for Telus, I have to say.
Dennis Beland
senior director, regulatory affairs, telecommunications
Quebecor Media Inc.
Editor’s response: Both Shaw and Mobilicity have called for Telus and Bell to be considered a single bidder when it comes to the auction of 700 MHz spectrum. We regret our mistake and have corrected the story.
Greg O’Brien
editor and publisher
Cartt.ca
