Verizon Communications has recruited a lawyer from Dentons to lobby the Canadian government on specific aspects of telecoms policy, sparking speculation that it may be taking a second look at the country’s wireless market.
Verizon was reported to have…
Verizon Communications has recruited a lawyer from Dentons to lobby the Canadian government on specific aspects of telecoms policy, sparking speculation that it may be taking a second look at the country’s wireless market.
Verizon was reported to have held talks with smaller wireless operators Wind Mobile and Mobilicity in the summer and explored a consolidation play which would have totalled more than US$1bn.
However, following its US$130bn buyout of Verizon Wireless, CEO Lowell McAdam said on a conference call in September that any move into Canada was “off the table” for now and added that they “never really seriously looked” at entering the country.
According to the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying’s registry, Dentons counsel Peter Burn disclosed in a filing he was representing Verizon last month. Burn planned to meet with the Prime Minister’s office and the business department, known as Industry Canada.
According to the filing, Burn looked to lobby on section 7 of the Telecommunications Act, which focuses on Canadians owning operators to maintain their identity, and a subsection of the Radiocommunications Act, which includes ministerial powers over spectrum.
The registration document was filed by Verizon subsidiary Verizon Canada, which is part of the telco’s global communication solutions business that has operations in the country.
In a statement Verizon said: “Our policy positions in Canada haven’t changed. We serve enterprise customers in Canada and our US wireless customers often roam in Canada, so it’s business as usual for us to be interested in the country’s telecom policy.”
