TekSavvy applauds Minister's drive to telecom innovation: more mobile competition around corner

TekSavvy Logo (CNW Group/TekSavvy Solutions Inc.)

CHATHAM, ON, June 5, 2017 /CNW/ - TekSavvy Solutions Inc. welcomes today's pro-consumer, pro-competition announcement by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) at Canadian Telecom Summit 2017 on rules that would let "Wi-Fi-first" mobile providers roam on big telcos' wireless networks.

Expected to be detailed in a Cabinet order to the CRTC, the approach would increase affordability and innovation in Canada's highly-concentrated cell phone market by lowering barriers that block new players from competing.

The CRTC's review will get the ball rolling on a potentially game-changing process. Today, fixed-line providers like TekSavvy cannot broaden their models into the mobile space without building potentially redundant networks. The "WiFi-first" approach would let competitors bring the promise of lower prices, broader choice and a different way of doing things to cell phones, too.

"Consumers appreciate and trust us when it comes to bringing great service and fair prices to in-home telecom services," says TekSavvy CEO Marc Gaudrault. "But time and again, we've heard their frustration at having too few doors to knock on in other sectors."

"This is a fresh approach to kick-starting mobile competition in Canada," added Chief Legal & Regulatory Officer Bram Abramson. "In other countries, Wi-Fi-first carriers are able to enter the market and help promote competition. There's no reason we cannot create the same environment that would let Canadian and foreign investors – and attract innovators who make the market more competitive from every direction."

TekSavvy, which serves about 300,000 Canadian households, is an independent telecom provider based in Chatham, Ontario, and Gatineau, Quebec, and has won numerous awards for the quality of its experience and its commitment to upholding consumers' digital rights online.

SOURCE TekSavvy Solutions Inc.

For further information: [email protected] / [phone], TekSavvy Solutions Inc., 800 Richmond St., Chatham, ON N7M 5J5