Tag: federal court of appeal

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Telecom news roundup: Competition Bureau ends fight to block Rogers-Shaw merger [Jan 21-27]

The Competition Bureau will no longer appeal against the Rogers-Shaw merger and Vidéotron’s takeover of Freedom Mobile.

The federal department was seeking to overturn a ruling made by the Competition Tribunal supporting the merger. However, the Federal Court of Appeal was quick to rule against the appeal, ending a months-long push to block the mergers.

More information, and a recap of other telecom news in Canada, are available below.

Business

Globalive is seeking a return to the wireless market by purchasing spectrum from Xplore Mobile. The telecom provider shut down in August. It’s unclear how much Globalive has offered for the spectrum and if Xplore Mobile and ISED will approve.

Vicky Eatrides is the CRTC’s new chair, and she has several priorities to tackle in her new role. This includes providers sharing more information on MVNOs and lowering wholesale internet pricing.

Remember BlackBerry? The device might be dead, but the company’s story lives on thanks to Matt Johnson’s movie named “BlackBerry.” The film follows the work of Research in Motion (RIM), the company behind the smartphone. It will make its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in February.

The Competition Bureau has ended its bid to block Rogers’ takeover of Shaw after the Federal Court of Appeal rejected its bid to overturn the Competition Tribunal’s decision. The anticipated hearing was short, with Justice David Stratas questioning the bureau’s arguments. Rogers, Shaw, and Québecor didn’t present their arguments. The decision left several telecom advocates disappointed.

In order for the merger to proceed, it needs Minister François-Philippe Champagne’s approval. According to a recent interview with the Toronto Star, he’s in no hurry.

The House of Common’s industry and technology committee also discussed Rogers’ takeover of Shaw and Vidéotron’s acquisition of Freedom Mobile. Many of the questions revolved around how Rogers selected Vidéotron to take over Shaw’s wireless spectrum licenses.

Bell Aliant charged a Nova Scotia senior long-distance pricing for local calls and didn’t admit its mistake and make a change until the CBC reported on the issue.

Telus has created a new consumer solutions business focusing on personalized tech solutions.

The telecom giant has also expanded its 5G partnership with the University of Windsor.

Innovation Canada held its first residual spectrum auctions since 2018, selling 600 MHz, 2500 MHz, and 3500 MHz spectrum licenses. Several companies secured licenses, including Bell, Rogers and TBayTel.

SaskTel has started rolling out its 5G network in the Battlefords, providing residents and businesses with speeds up to 1.2Gbps.

Bell held its first Let’s Talk Day after replacing its traditional donation method. The company previously made a five-cent donation per interaction but opted for a capped $10 million donation this year.

Eastlink is close to completing its fibre upgrade in Mindemoya, Ont.

Plan updates

The latter part of this weekly update is typically reserved for wireless deals. However, wireless providers didn’t release any deals this week, raising prices instead.

Fido has increased its monthly plans by $5 a month, but customers can cancel the cost if they sign up for Automatic Payments.

Bell and Virgin Plus will increase roaming rates by $1/day on March 9th. The increase applies to both U.S. and international roaming plans.

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Telecom advocates disappointed in federal court’s dismissal of Competition Bureau’s appeal

The largest telecom merger in Canada is one step closer to gaining approval, and various organizations are voicing their concerns.

The only person to stop this merger now is Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne after the Federal Court of Appeal rejected the Competition Bureau’s push to overturn the Competition Tribunal’s decision.

The bureau long sought to block the merger, stating the approval will lead to higher wireless bills for Canadians. It took its case to the Competition Tribunal, which backed the telecoms. The bureau appealed the decision, stating the tribunal committed legal errors.

Specifically, the bureau argued the tribunal focused on Vidéotron’s acquisition of Freedom Mobile and not Rogers’ takeover of Shaw. However, the court sided with the tribunal’s decision in a quick hearing that only lasted a couple of hours. The bureau says it won’t appeal the decision.

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) said it’s “horrified” by the “instant dismissal.”

“The public can only be suspicious that the powers that be want this deal to close — even if it means a decade of high wireless and internet prices for Canadians,” John Lawford, PIAC’s executive director, said.

During the tribunal’s hearing, it was revealed that Rogers would lease its wholesale wireline access rates to Vidéotron at lower rates than what the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has mandated.

Last week, TekSavvy filed an application requesting the CRTC to examine this factor, and the bureau tried to bring this application up at its appeal.

In its reaction, TekSavvy maintained its position. “The Rogers-Shaw merger is based on an unlawful side deal with Vidéotron that will kill competition and raise consumer prices,” the company tweeted, saying the CRTC has to investigate before Minister Champagne makes a ruling. “[The] court decision doesn’t change that.”

The company previously called on Minister Champagne not to approve the transfer of spectrum licenses from Shaw to Vidéotron, citing the impact it will have on independent service providers (ISPs).

OpenMedia’s campaigns director Matt Hatfield echoed this statement in reaction to the federal court’s decision. “We’re seeing a collapse of independent ISPs that create positive price pressure on telecom giants, and we’re now on the verge of adding Shaw to that list. In 2022 alone, we lost over a half dozen independent providers to big telecom buyouts.”

This is leading to increased prices and less competition, Hatfield said. The solution lies in “services-based competition,” including fair wholesale internet pricing and opening up MVNOs.

Minister Champagne said he would deliver his decision in “due course.”
The approval clears the way for the Rogers and Shaw merger to a near conclusion, a process that has taken nearly two years. The company hopes to close it by January 31st.
“We welcome this clear, unequivocal, and unanimous decision by the Federal Court of Appeal. We continue to work with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada to secure the final approval needed to close the pro-competitive transactions and create a stronger fourth wireless carrier in Canada and a more formidable wireline competitor,” a joint statement from Rogers, Shaw and Québecor states.
Categories
Mobile Syrup

Rogers says Competition Bureau’s appeal based on ‘collateral attacks,’ calls for dismissal

Rogers, Shaw, and Vidéotron are asking the court to dismiss an appeal from the Competition Bureau.

The four parties will face the Federal Court of Appeal on January 24th to make their respective cases on Rogers’ takeover of Shaw and Vidéotron’s acquisition of Freedom Mobile.

The parties previously faced the Competition Tribunal in a weeks-long hearing to discuss similar feats. The tribunal supported the telecoms and rejected the bureau’s arguments. The bureau appealed, stating the tribunal errored in its decision.

The response from lawyers representing the three telecoms says the tribunal’s findings were “rigorous” and based on evidence.

“The legal errors [the Commissioner of Competition] relies on are collateral attacks on the tribunal’s assessment of the evidence and its findings of fact, dressed up as pure questions of law.”

The bureau filed its initial appeal on December 31st and updated it on January 10th. The bureau argues the tribunal should’ve mainly focused on Rogers’ merger with Shaw and not solely on Vidéotron acquiring Freedom Mobile. In its findings, the tribunal said it would have reached its conclusion either way. In its updated appeal, the bureau said the tribunal failed to explain how it would get the same conclusion, resulting in a legal error.

The respondents say the bureau’s appeal ignores several vital aspects, including that the commissioner was aware “of every aspect” of the Rogers and Shaw merger and “closely involved with Vidéotron.”

“The suggestion that the sale of Freedom was a “trial balloon”–some kind of litigation stratagem to catch [the commissioner] by surprise–is unfaithful to the record and unhelpful to this court,” the respondents say. “Having now withdrawn his claim that the Tribunal ‘rushed to judgment,’ he makes no fairness argument before this court.”

The response further revealed Rogers and Shaw presented the bureau with two potential buyers for Freedom Mobile before continuing with Vidéotron.

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Federal court greenlights TekSavvy’s appeal of CRTC wholesale rates ruling

The Federal Court of Appeal will hear TekSavvy’s case against the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)’s decision to not lower wholesale internet rates after previously announcing it would.

The court made the announcement on September 15th, according to The Globe and Mail, though a date for the hearing is not yet listed on the Federal Court of Appeal’s website.

TekSavvy has been advocating for months, both through the legal system and in multiple public statements, against the CRTC’s controversial ruling in May 2021 that it would be backtracking on its decision to impose new regulations on wholesale internet rates in Canada.

For context, wholesale rates are the fees that smaller internet service providers — like TekSavvy — must pay in order to access the country’s physical internet network (think wires and lines).

Due to the high initial cost of building the infrastructure, that network is predominantly owned and operated by a trio of telecommunication and media corporations: Bell, Rogers and Telus.

The CRTC had planned on lowering the wholesale rates, but, following legal pressure from several of Canada’s larger carrier companies, decided not to go through with it, claiming that its original findings — i.e. that the rates were grossly inflated — contained errors.

TekSavvy has since blamed the CRTC’s reversed decision for a $3 price increase to its own services, and launched an online petition courting voter support.

The wholesale rates decision has very much become an election issue.

The Conservative Party of Canada is promising to reduce the CRTC’s regulatory powers and called for more competition in Canada’s ISP market.

Meanwhile, the New Democratic Party said it would work with the CRTC to reverse the wholesale rate ruling.

Source: The Globe and Mail