Law Times

Page 10 September 16, 2013 Law Times • FOCUS Wireless competition Is Verizon's retreat a small victory in losing war for incumbents? per cent of the telecommunications market. "I think in the short term, it leaves the federal government in a bit of a bind but down the road caring off Verizon Communications Inc. not much has changed," says Richler. from Canada's wireless market could be "Verizon is not a buyer, but that just means no more than a small battle victory in a someone else will pick up the slack later. Bell, Telus, losing war for the country's big three teleand Rogers might have done well for now but communications giants, according to one Toronto they're only fuelling resentment in the long run. competition lawyer. The Conservatives are finding they can be bullish Verizon confirmed that Canada was off its about them and not lose out in the polls." agenda in early September. The move followed a Competition lawyer Steve Szentesi, who runs co-ordinated attack by Telus Communications Co., the Canadian Competition and Regulatory Law Rogers Communications Inc., and Bell Canada on blog, says he expects the Conservatives to continue the "unfair advantage" they said the U.S. company encouraging foreign investment in the Canadian would get in the upcoming spectrum auction if it wireless market. were to enter the wireless market here. "The government seems too intent on having a Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government fourth carrier. They've sent very strong signals on that. answered back with a public relations campaign of 'Verizon is not a buyer, but that just means That's got to be a new entrant. Whether it's Verizon or its own to rebut the claims led by its new industry someone else will pick up the slack later,' another one, they really want a fourth player," he says. minister, James Moore. The federal government says Jeremy Richler. In news releases and open letters released on has publicly stated its desire for a fourth wireless Aug. 1, Telus, Rogers, and Bell each said they welcarrier in every market across the country and was reportedly keen comed competition but only on a "level playing field." All three obto entice Verizon to bid in the auction slated for January 2014. jected to the rules of the upcoming auction for blocks of 700-megaJeremy Richler, who practises competition law in Toronto, believes hertz spectrum that would have allowed Verizon or any other new the big three companies attracted few friends in the process among entrant to buy two of the four prime blocks and would have left the Canadian consumers who already feel overcharged and underserved big three companies to fight it out over the remaining two blocks. by the domestic giants that between them control more than 90 Verizon could also have purchased existing smaller players to boost BY MICHAEL McKIERNAN For Law Times S With more than 1,400 pages of essential legal references, Ontario Lawyer's Phone Book is your best connection to legal services in Ontario. Subscribers can depend on the credibility, accuracy and currency of this directory year after year. MORE DETAIL AND A WIDER SCOPE OF LEGAL CONTACT INFORMATION FOR ONTARIO THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE: • More than 27,000 lawyers • More than 9,000 law firms and corporate offices • Fax and telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, office locations and postal codes INCLUDES LISTS OF: • Federal and provincial judges • Federal courts, including a section for federal government departments, boards and commissions • Ontario courts and services, including a section for provincial government ministries, boards and commissions • The Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario • Small claims courts • Miscellaneous services for lawyers EARLY BIRD ORDERS MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY CREDIT CARD PAYMENT ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY AND ENTER TO WIN AN iPAD MINI** * Offer expires December 15, 2013 • price is based on orders of 100 copies or more **available to new purchasers only EARLY BIRD MULTIPLE COPY DISCOUNTS Perfectbound • December 2013 SPECIAL PRICE $74 (Regular $77) L88804-626 1-9 copies …………………………………………$74 10-49 copies ………………………………………$70.15 50-99 copies ……………………………………$67.84 100 or more copies ………………………$64.76 Multiple copy discounts available Shipping & handling plus applicable taxes are extra Visit carswell.com or call 1.800.387.5164 for a 30-day no-risk evaluation Untitled-1 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 13-09-13 10:32 AM its entry into Canada and had reportedly explored a $700-million bid for one of them, Wind Mobile. The big three companies said this was unfair because the rules barred them from doing the same thing. Earlier this year, the government blocked Telus from taking over Mobilicity, another small player once apparently on the radar of Verizon. All of this activity followed the lifting of foreign-ownership restrictions on wireless carriers with a market share smaller than 10 per cent by former industry minister Christian Paradis. Paradis' successor, Moore, dismissed the campaign as "misleading" and "dishonest" while insisting in a statement that "protecting consumers and increasing competition in the wireless market are priorities for Canadians and our Conservative government." But in early September, Verizon chief executive officer Lowell McAdam changed the game by telling Bloomberg News: "Verizon is not coming to Canada." Speculation about its imminent arrival was "overblown," he added. The news came as the U.S. company announced its US$130-billion buyout of the 45-per-cent stake British carrier Vodafone Group PLC held in its wireless business. Richler says Verizon's swift retreat shows foreign companies need sweeteners in order to compete in the Canadian market. "The market share of the big three is so dominant that nobody else can compete at the scale the government and consumers want or need," he says. "It may be a good thing that Verizon has left since it didn't seem so much that people wanted Verizon as they wanted competition." Michael Osborne, a partner with Affleck Greene McMurtry LLP in Toronto, says he would have welcomed the entry of Verizon. "Most competition lawyers are going to take the view that entry by a large, well-funded competitor is a good thing," he says. "The idea that Verizon would get a sweet deal strikes me as unlikely. They would be paying market value." Richler says he foresees even looser restrictions on foreign entrants to the wireless market in the future as the government attempts to bring in more carriers but warns it to proceed with caution. "You don't want to give away the store," he says. "But if you don't make certain changes, it's going to be damaging to consumers." Szentesi says he's not so squeamish about opening up the telecommunications market to foreign players. "If you want genuine competition, open the door, deregulate the market, and let it decide. The sort of tinkering the government is doing is never going to achieve anything like market forces," he says. LT

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