Cogeco Cable Inc. to make recommendation to CRTC on the future of mobile wireless services in Canada
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
Cogeco Cable Inc. to make recommendation to CRTC on the future of mobile
wireless ser vices in C an ada
Montréal, September 25, 2014 – Cogeco Cable Inc. ("TSX: CCA") ("Cogeco") announced today
that it will be appearing on September 29, 2014, at t he public hearing held by the CRTC on the
review of wholesale mobile wireless services. The proceeding, announced in the Telecom Notice
of Consultation CRTC 2014-76 issued in February, will be held in the National Capital Region.
This review was initiated by the CRTC with the objective of determining whether the wholesale
mobile wireless services market is sufficiently competitive, and in the event that it is not, what
appropriate regulatory measures are required to make it so.
The federal government’s policy aims to introduce a fourth wireless provider in every region of
Canada in order to strengthen competition. Cogeco believes that relying on Mobile Virtual
Network Operators (MVNO) as an additional competitive model should be encouraged by
appropriate regulatory measures. MVNOs are mobile wireless service providers leasing
capacity from facilities-based wireless carriers such as Bell, Rogers and TELUS.
Below is an overview of Cogeco’s proposals and position on the CRTC’s review:
• Although Cogeco supports the federal government’s facilities-based option, it believes
that the MVNO model represents an additional competitive model that would bring
greater benefits for Canadian consumers and enterprises and would ensure the
sustainable desired level of competition.
• Cogeco seeks the implement ation of appropriate regulator y measures to allow it to enter
the wireless market as an MVNO to offer customers more choice, better value and
differentiated wireless services.
• The entry of MVNOs in the market would contribute to increase investment in the
telecommunications industry. To operate, they would need to make certain investments,
hence contributing to economic growth and generating employment.
• The government’s Policy Direction to the CRTC states that the CRTC should not adopt
measures that artificially favour carriers over resellers and remain neutral. Cogeco
believes that in order to guarantee the presence of a fourth competitor in every m arket in
Canada as requested by the government, a regulatory framework requiring major
wireless carriers to provide wholesale wireless access network services to MVNOs is
necessary.
“Given the high concentration in the Canadian mobile wireless mar ket, Cogeco strongly believes
that regulatory measures fostering the entry of MVNOs in addition to other measures will
increase competition in the market and enhance consumer choice”, stated Louis Audet,
President and Chief Executive Officer, COGECO Inc. and Cogeco Cable Inc. “A regulated
MVNO option would definitely be in the best interest of Canadian customers and businesses”,
concluded Mr. Audet.
ABOUT COGE CO CABLE I NC.
Cogeco Cable Inc. (www.cogeco.ca) is a telecommunications corporation. It is the 11th largest
cable operator in Nort h America operating in Canada under the Cog eco Cable Canada name in
Québec and Ontario, and in the United States under the Atlantic Broadband name in Western
Pennsylvania, South Florida, Maryland/Delaware and South Carolina. Its two-way broadband
fibre networks provide to its residential and business customers analogue and digital television,
high speed Internet and telephony services. Thr ough its subsidiaries Cogeco Data Services and
Peer 1 Hosting, Cogeco Cable Inc. provides to its commercial customers a suite of information
technology services (colocation, managed and dedicated hosting, managed IT, cloud and
connectivity services), with 20 dat a centres, extensive fibre networks in Montréal and Toronto as
well as points-of-presence in North America and Europe. Cogeco Cable Inc.’s subordinate voting
shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: CCA).
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Information :
Media
Nancy Bouffard
Director of Corporate
Communications
C
ogeco Inc.
Tel.: 514 764-4613