Big 3 in Canadian Communications Law

Hi all,

Attached is Kirsten, Kyle, Whitney and Julia’s project on the Big 3 in Canadian telecommunications. The sources used in our project are below.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Kirsten’s Sources

Emily Jackson, Canada has one of the world’s most protected telecom sectors — and the rates to show for it (July 2018), online: Financial Post <https://financialpost.com/telecom/tight-reins-leaves-our-telecom-sector-open-to-criticism-but-sadly-not-competition>

Aaron Saltzman, It’s a Canadian thing: Why big phone companies still dominate internet services amid cheaper options (March 2018), online: CBC <https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/internet-services-rates-canada-1.4596554>

 

Vikram Barhat, The Big 3 Telecom Companies (March 2021), online: Morningstar <https://www.morningstar.ca/ca/news/210660/the-big-3-telecom-companies.aspx>

 

Mia Nancy, Canadian Mobile Carriers: Who Owns Who? (January 2022), online: Techdaily <https://techdaily.ca/mobile/carriers/canadian-mobile-carriers>

 

Subscription Statistics 2021 Quarter 2 (2021), online: Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association <https://www.cwta.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Sub-Stats-2021-Quarter-2-EN-Web1.pdf>

 

Michael Geist, The Canadian Wireless Story: Comparative Data Shows World’s Highest Carrier Revenues Per Sim (January 2019), online: <https://www.michaelgeist.ca/2019/01/the-canadian-wireless-story-comparative-data-shows-worlds-highest-carrier-revenues-per-sim/>

 

Michael Geist, “Immediate War Footing”: Phil Lind Recounts the Big Three Battle Against Wireless Competition in Canada (January 2019), online: <https://www.michaelgeist.ca/2019/01/immediate-war-footing-phil-lind-recounts-the-big-three-battle-against-wireless-competition-in-canada/>

 

Michael Geist, Who Runs Canadian Telecom Policy Anyway?: Why the Telus Threats at the CRTC Will Backfire (Feburary 2020), online: <https://www.michaelgeist.ca/2020/02/who-runs-canadian-telecom-policy-anyway-why-the-telus-threats-at-the-crtc-will-backfire/>

 

Sources – Whitney:

 

Goerke, Ray, Rogers-Shaw Merger: Monopoly and High Prices (April 27, 2021), online: Socialist Alternative <https://socialistalternative.ca/news-and-analysis/economy/rogers-shaw-merger-monopoly-and-high-prices/>.

 

Keene, Lindsey, Canada Has a Cell Service Problem. It’s Time to Fix It (February 25, 2021), online: Kroeger Policy Review <https://www.kroegerpolicyreview.com/post/canada-has-a-cell-service-problem-it-s-time-to-fix-it>.

 

Ng, Gary, CRTC Approves Rogers-Shaw Merger, Decision Called ‘Disastrous’ by Consumer Group (March 2022), online: iPhone in Canada <https://www.iphoneincanada.ca/carriers/rogers/crtc-approves-rogers-shaw-merger-decision-called-disastrous-by-consumer-group/>.

 

Saldanha, Ruth, Rogers-Shaw: Good for Investors, Bad for Consumers (March 22, 2021), online: Morningstar <https://www.morningstar.ca/ca/news/210626/rogers-shaw-good-for-investors-bad-for-consumers.aspx>.

 

Shecter, Barbara, Rogers-Shaw deal clear major hurdle after CRTC approves merger, with conditions (March 24, 2022), online: Financial Post <https://financialpost.com/telecom/crtc-approves-rogers-us16-billion-shaw-takeover>.

 

Julia Sources:

Martin Masse, “May 2018: The State of Competition in Canada’s Telecommunications Industry – 2018”, Montreal Economic Institute, (May 2019), online: <https://www.iedm.org/sites/default/files/web/pub_files/cahier0118_en.pdf>.

“US Networks and Carriers”,  Compare Cellular, (2022), online: <https://www.comparecellular.com/networks/>

Alex Hughes, “MVNOs: what are they and what are the best options?” Tom’s Guide, (March 16, 2022), online: <https://www.tomsguide.com/reference/mvnos-what-are-they-and-what-are-the-best-options>

Christopher Mitchell & Katie Kienbaum, “Report: Most Americans Have No Real Choice in Internet Providers”, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, (August 12, 2020), online: <https://ilsr.org/report-most-americans-have-no-real-choice-in-internet-providers/>

David Sosa, “Consumer Benefits of Competition in the Telecommunications Industry” Analysis Group, (2022), online: <https://www.analysisgroup.com/Insights/cases/consumer-benefits-of-competition-in-the-telecommunications-industry/>

Jeff Moore, “Competition in rural America is getting better – and worse: Moore”, Fierce Wireless, (October 1, 2016), online: <https://www.fiercewireless.com/operators/competition-rural-america-getting-better-and-worse-industry-voices-moore>

Ernesto Falcon, “Broadband Monopolies Are Acting Like Old Phone Monopolies. Good Thing Solutions to That Problem Already Exist”, EFF Deeplinks blog, (May 22, 2019), online:  <https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/05/broadband-monopolies-are-acting-old-phone-monopolies-good-thing-solutions-problem>

Matthew Murchinson, Elizabeth Park, and Michael Herman, “The Technology, Media and Telecommunications Review: USA”, The Law Reviews, (January 11, 2022), online: <https://thelawreviews.co.uk/title/the-technology-media-and-telecommunications-review/usa>

Austin Bonner, Colleen Sechrest, Julie Veach, Kent Bressie, Michael Nilsson, and Paul Caritj, “In Brief: telecoms regulation in USA”, Lexology, (2022), online: <https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=9e7ab642-d7f6-43ed-814b-4025b62cbeaf>

Emily Stewart, “America’s monopoly problem, explained by your internet bill”, Vox, (February 18, 2020), online: <https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/2/18/21126347/antitrust-monopolies-internet-telecommunications-cheerleading>

Michael Geist, “The Canadian Wireless Story: Comparative Data Shows World’s Highest Carrier Revenues Per SIM”, Michael Geist Blog, (January 22, 2019), online: <https://www.michaelgeist.ca/2019/01/the-canadian-wireless-story-comparative-data-shows-worlds-highest-carrier-revenues-per-sim/>

Emily Groch, “Part 1: Canada vs US Telecom: Mobility”, Compere Media, (March 6, 2020), online: <https://welcome.comperemedia.com/blog/part-1-canada-vs-us-telecom-mobility/>

“Telecommunications innovation: supercharged with 5G”, Price Waterhouse Cooper, (2022), online: <https://www.pwc.com/ca/en/industries/telecommunications.html>

“USTelecom Industry metrics & Trends 2020”, USTELECOM The Broadband Association, (April 2020), online: <https://www.ustelecom.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/USTelecom-State-of-Industry-2020.pdf>

 

Kyle’s Sources:

Government of Canada, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2021-130, (15 April 2021), online: CRTC <https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2021/2021-130.htm>. 

iClarified, Rogers, Bell and Telus Are Trying to Keep Verizon out of Canada, (28 July 2013), online: iClarified <https://www.iclarified.com/32297/rogers-bell-and-telus-are-trying-to-keep-verizon-out-of-canada>. 

Olesia Plokhii,  Telecom Companies Dispatch Directors to Lobby Ottawa, (29 July 2013), online: iPolitics <https://www.ipolitics.ca/news/telecom-companies-dispatch-board-of-directors-to-lobby-ottawa>. 

Emily Jackson, Canada Has One of the World’s Most Protected Telecom Sectors – And the Rates to Show For It, (25 July 2018), online: Financialpost <https://financialpost.com/telecom/tight-reins-leaves-our-telecom-sector-open-to-criticism-but-sadly-not-competition>.

Pete Evans, CRTC mandates big 3 telcos to let smaller regional companies use their networks to create makeshift mvnos | CBC News, (15 April 2021), online: CBCnews <https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/crtc-mvno-wireless-1.5989357>.

One response to “Big 3 in Canadian Communications Law”

  1. Julian Dollak

    Thanks for your presentation, Kirsten, Julia, Whitney, and Kyle. The dominance of the Big 3 is definitely an issue that contributes to Canada’s place as a country with some of the highest telcom bills. In addition to opening the Canadian market to outside investment into telecommunications, another solution would be create publicly run telcom companies. Since telecommunications are very much natural monopolies that require large investments into infrastructure and operate on a very large scale, options for publicly funded options are a necessity to avoid price-gouging. In Saskatchewan, SaskTel is publicly-owned and is able to provide smaller communities with services that are not typically commercially viable. High speed internet and mobile phone services are now a necessity for daily life in Canada, so they should not solely be held to the whims of profit-driven companies that can hold these necessities hostage. They should be instead treated like water and waste-management and, at least in part, be publicly run. Such a move would obviously face a lot of pushback from the Big 3 because it would hurt their bottom line, but it would be to the benefit of Canadians to support it.

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