Nowak: Wireless spectrum set-asides are the way to go

Image from Cayusa on Flickr

By Peter Nowak

Ah, political opportunism – so easy to see, so disappointing to witness.

No sooner did Open Media start a petition for better wireless competition than the Liberals jumped in. The activist group’s latest effort, called Stop the Cellphone Squeeze, is urging the federal government to set aside spectrum licenses in an upcoming auction for new wireless companies. In plain English, they want big players Bell, Rogers and Telus barred from bidding on a certain portion of the airwaves that are necessary for cellphones to work.

As of this past weekend, the petition had amassed more than 35,000 signatures. Invisible Industry Minister Christian Paradis has said the rules for the auction will be unveiled “soon.”

Liberal Industry critic Geoff Regan quickly jumped in to support the petition with an open letter on his website. To address Canada’s high wireless prices, “a reasonable amount of spectrum space should be set aside for any small or new entrants who wish to bid on a section of the 700 MHz bandwidth.”

That’s all well and good, it’s just too bad it directly contravenes the Liberals’ position in the previous spectrum auction. At the time, Industry Critic Scott Brison said “there’s no proof [a set-aside] will lead to lower prices,” adding that the special rules would result in a $200-million dollar windfall for new cellphone carriers. He gleaned that number directly from lobbying supplied by incumbents.

What’s changed? Well, given how effective Open Media was in spurring opposition to usage-based internet billing last year – it built a petition with half-a-million signatures – it’s clear the advocacy group now has some clout with politicians. All things considered, it’s good that elected officials are listening to the people rather than corporate lobbyists. Read more »

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