TORONTO – Videotron CEO Manon Brouillette gave the federal government a thumbs-up for its efforts to promote competition in Canada’s wireless industry, and called for its continued support of four competitors on every market.
Speaking Wednesday at the Canadian Telecom Summit in Toronto, Brouillette called for “vigilance” to ensure that “incumbent carriers are not able to use their historical advantages and their accumulated market power to prevent new entrants from responding to the needs of consumers”.
She also urged Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada to level the wireless playing field as it preps for the forthcoming 600 MHz spectrum auction.
“This means that the Government needs to ensure balance in spectrum access – especially in the upcoming auction of 600 MHz spectrum”, she continued. “This will be the last allocation of low frequency spectrum for the foreseeable future. Low frequencies offer key advantages to the carriers that use them. The Government must seize this opportunity to ensure a more equitable allocation of these frequencies between the incumbents and the challengers.”
Photo from Canadian Telecom Summit by Michal Tomaszewski / Pinpoint National
