Summary:
As part of the Rogers-Shaw deal, Quebecor’s Videotron acquired Freedom Mobile from Shaw. The deal saw the federal government mandate a 20% price cut from Freedom Mobile under the leadership of Videotron, or penalties would be slapped.
In an interview with The Toronto Star yesterday, Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau reiterated the company’s plans with Freedom Mobile, while also teasing what’s to come.
According to Péladeau, the Freedom Mobile name is going to stay. He also said Freedom Mobile dropped calls outside home coverage will soon come to an end. Freedom Mobile agreed to invest $150 million in network upgrades including 5G within two years.
When asked how he will put his own spin on Freedom Mobile, he said “I’ve got something in mind. You watch.” He added, “We certainly look to have some surprising things coming,” without mentioning any specifics.
Péladeau told the Star he plans to get market share from Rogers, Telus and Bell by offering a “better product and a better price.”
After leading a virtual town hall with Freedom Mobile staff on Wednesday, he said staff were very happy.
When it comes to the Freedom Mobile brand and marketing, he added they will not “reinvent the wheel.” Freedom Mobile needs to offer prices at least 20% cheaper than what’s available from incumbents Rogers, Telus and Bell on benchmark ‘unlimited’ data plans.
Péladeau said if the ‘Big 3’ don’t react to Freedom Mobile’s impending price cuts, “they are going to lose significant market share.”
Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri said he was ready to respond to any price cuts from Freedom Mobile. “We will not be undersold just because of the price. You can expect us to be very aggressive in our value propositions on that,” said the Rogers CEO yesterday.
The latest Freedom Mobile FAQ on the transition to Videotron says customers will soon get a free 10% data increase.
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Prices are already way cheaper than %20. So he’s saying they ll raise them.
The prices are already better than the big 3, Freedom needs to improve their coverage. I just finished up my 2 years with Freedom and am likely jumping ship to one of the big 3 soon. Two years with Freedom, I frequently experienced areas with little to no reception. Too frequently I found myself in their away zones and would go over my “away GB”.
I’d love to support them, but they need to do something about the home and away zones.
Been with Freedom for 5 years now. I know their coverage isn’t as good but it hasn’t been a issue for me. It will be interesting to see how the big 3 will respond. Right now they offer nothing price wise for me to leave Freedom.