LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Depatie is half right

VIDEOTRON’S ROBERT DÉPATIE RECENTLY shared with readers his view of competition in today’s market (See "A new phone plan from Ma Bell", www.cartt.ca, February 1, 2006).In his world, competition only works when his company is free to price and market services as it wishes while his main competitors (the phone companies) remain subject to artificial constraints. Strangely, Mr. Dépatie seems to actually consider these constraints to be “special favours for Bell”; favours that he says no cable company has ever received. He is at least half right. No cable company ever needed regulatory permission to change prices or service features...