It’s nearly 18 months since the launch of a review of foreign investment in Canada’s telecommunications sector. The file was derailed a year ago in the wake of a completely unrelated file: the government’s rejection of BHP Billiton acquiring Saskatchewan’s Potash Corporation.
When the consultation was announced at The 2010 Canadian Telecom Summit, it was said that “We will have a relatively short, but important discussion period commencing with the release of that report in the next few days so we can get the feedback from both the industry and Canadian consumers.”
At the time, I spoke with Canadian Press:
Industry analyst Mark Goldberg, who also organizes the telecom summit, praised the governmentâs initiative but also said it is prudent to quickly advance the plan, because the leaving the future uncertain could actually hurt all of the carriers.
âOnce you open a process and thereâs uncertainty as to which direction is going to be followed, it creates an overhang for the capital markets. The ability of companies to raise capital during that interim period of uncertainty canât be overstated,â he said. âIt could be extremely damaging to small players and large players alike to have a lengthy period of uncertainty when youâve got such a capital intensive business.â
It is painful to see this issue continue to drag out. A year ago, the issue was attached to the 700 MHz spectrum auction consultation for no really good reason. As I wrote at the time, we need clarity on foreign investment rules in advance of the auction, but these changes are for more than just the wireless sector.
In fact, we would have had a better, more informed spectrum consultation had foreign investment been resolved, either way, before the consultation took place.
When can we expect some clarity?