Canadian startup dotmobile™ responds to Competition Bureau call for comments on Rogers-Shaw merger


TORONTO, Oct. 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In September of this year The Competition Bureau made a public request for information on the 6th largest transaction in Canadian history: the Rogers-Shaw deal.

Canadian startup dotmobile™ has submitted today its comments on the Rogers-Shaw deal, asking the Competition Bureau to consider service-based remedies to the merger. Specifically, they recommend granting one or more Full MVNOs wholesale access to the Rogers network, arguing that it is the best long-term remedy that will increase competition levels and provide Canadians everywhere with more affordable connectivity.

“This request for information from the Competition Bureau is rare. It gives us hope that they aren’t just ticking a checkbox, but are seriously interested in exploring all potential remedies. Facilities-based competition has led us here, and a new path forward is needed for the telecommunications market in Canada,” says Algis Akstinas, CEO of dotmobile™.

In its comments on the 2019 Review of Mobile Wireless Services the Competition Bureau identified that four dominant providers (Bell, Telus, Rogers and Sasktel) held market power and showed signs of coordinated behaviour.

In the same review The Competition Bureau has submitted that regional providers like Freedom Mobile are the only source of real competition in Canada’s retail wireless market. In its letter, dotmobile™ suggests that handing their centerpiece of facilities-based competition to a smaller company merely sets the stage for a future acquisition of the discounted assets.

“Through this transaction, the Bureau has the opportunity to expand its definition of real competition and craft a remedy that not only preserves the status quo level of competition, but improves on it,” says Algis Akstinas, CEO of dotmobile™.

About dotmobile™

Data on Tap Inc. is building dotmobile™, a smart tiny telecom with a goal - to make wireless more affordable and awesome for youth, seniors, students, newcomers, visitors to the country, small businesses, and families that want to save. Data On Tap™, dotmobile™, dot.™ and the dotmobile logo are trademarks of Data On Tap Inc.

Inquiries: hq@dotmobile.app