GATINEAU – On Wednesday, the Competition Bureau filed a submission to the CRTC’s consultation on the domestic mobile wireless roaming rates charged by Canada’s largest wireless companies.
In a press release the Bureau said it “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 regulatory safeguards which would protect against the imposition of high domestic roaming rates, effectively allowing new entrants to have a greater competitive impact in Canadian mobile wireless markets.
The federal government in December said it would cap those rates while the CRTC looks into modifying its policies.
The CRTC has already acted on international roaming charges, capping those fees with its 2013 Wireless Code of Conduct.
