FAIR AND OPEN AUCTION FOR 700 MHz SPECTRUM CRITICAL TO DELIVER NEXT GENERATION WIRELESS NETWORK FOR CANADIANS
TORONTO, May 31, 2011 /CNW/ – Rogers Communications today pressed for a
fair and open auction of 700 MHz band spectrum. The remarks were made
by Rob Bruce, President, Communications for Rogers, at the 2011
Canadian Telecom Summit in Toronto.
“Those who have suggested that companies like Rogers shouldn’t have fair
and equal access to this spectrum are misguided,” Bruce said.
“Restrictions on the 700 MHz band auction would be unfair to our nine
million wireless customers who have every right to access a truly
national, robust LTE network in both urban and rural markets.”
Bruce said that an equal and fair auction – that includes established
players and newcomers under the same rules – is critical to Rogers’
deployment of its next generation Long Term Evolution (LTE) network.
700 MHz spectrum delivers better in-building penetration and,
importantly for Canadians who live in a country with low population
density, better coverage in rural and remote areas.
Three Principles for the Canadian Digital Strategy
Bruce called on the new Conservative Government and new Minister of
Industry, Christian Paradis, to adopt three key principles as a
framework for Canada’s digital strategy:
-
Adopt a regulatory regime that rewards and incents those that have
invested, and are investing, to make our nation stronger in both urban
and rural markets; - Make more spectrum available, more quickly; and
-
Create a level playing field for all participants, by adopting public
policy that applies equally to all participants regardless of size.
“If you look to other sectors with limited or precious resources, our
government has a long track record of creating a level playing field
for these sectors,” Bruce said. “Why would it take a different approach
to the valuable and limited 700 MHz spectrum auction?”
“We urgently need regulation that doesn’t prop up one company, or one
industry, at the expense of another,” Bruce said. “As Parliament
resumes, I urge the new majority government to work with our industry
to drive our digital economy,” Bruce said. “Our country’s future
prosperity depends on it.”
Rogers: a company of firsts
Since 1960, when Ted Rogers bought a struggling FM radio station CHFI,
the Company has been first in many areas: the first commercial
high-speed cable internet service in North America; the first to
launch BlackBerry service worldwide; the first to launch iPhone and
Android in Canada; the first in North America and one of the world’s
first to launch an HSPA network in 2008; and the first to commit to the
recently-announced Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, delivering faster
speeds, lower latency and greater usage capacity.
Bruce also emphasized the need to put Canadians in control of their
digital destiny, saying, “We have a responsibility to customers, to
families, and to communities to get this right.”
About the company:
Rogers is a diversified public Canadian communications and media
company. We are Canada’s largest provider of wireless voice and data
communications services and one of Canada’s leading providers of cable
television, high-speed Internet and telephony services. Through Rogers
Media we are engaged in radio and television broadcasting, televised
shopping, magazines and trade publications, and sports entertainment.
We are publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RCI.A and
RCI.B) and on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: RCI). For further
information about the Rogers group of companies, please visit www.rogers.com.