Last month, it was rumoured Xplornet was in talks with Rogers to acquire Freedom Mobile from Shaw, as part of the pending Rogers-Shaw merger expected to close in Q2.
New Brunswick-based Xplornet would acquire Freedom Mobile from Shaw, in a move that would help improve the chances of the Rogers-Shaw merger being approved by competition regulators.
According to two unnamed sources speaking to The Globe and Mail, Rogers has now shared the idea of Xplornet acquiring Freedom Mobile to the federal government, and now Ottawa will decide if it is a reasonable proposal.
Canada’s Competition Bureau and the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development still need to approve the Rogers-Shaw deal. Last month, the CRTC approved the broadcasting elements related to the Rogers-Shaw deal.
A spokesperson for Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, told the Globe in a statement, “as the regulator responsible for approving the transfer of licensed spectrum, [Mr. Champagne] will review any applications on their merit and what is in the best interest of Canadians.
Back in March, the Industry Minister made it clear Rogers would not be able to acquire Shaw’s wireless licenses for the deal to happen, as that would not foster wireless competition.
Rural telecom Xplornet was acquired by global private equity firm, Stonepeak back in June 2020, in a deal worth a reported $2 billion. Xplore Mobile was not part of the acquisition; the latter was created when Xplornet acquired wireless customers from Manitoba Telecom Services (MTS), after the latter was bought by Bell in 2017, as part of a condition of the sale.
Want to see more of our stories on Google?
P.S. Want to keep this site truly independent? Support us by buying us a beer, treating us to a coffee, or shopping through Amazon here. Links in this post are affiliate links, so we earn a tiny commission at no charge to you. Thanks for supporting independent Canadian media!
Hey it’s not a bad choice… They’re already operating in Canada, they have spectrum and tower infrastructure. It would be easier for them to push new services onto consumers.
Not sure how good their books are though considering starlink is widely available now in Canada… If I needed service (since the advertised pricing is only slightly more expensive) it would be very tough for me to choose Xplorenet over Starlink.
That’s not really what he said. He only said he wouldn’t let Rogers keep it all… he wouldn’t allow “the wholesale transfer” I believe is how he phrased it. It was certainly not a strong stance against them keep parts of it.
Allowing Rogers to decide who gets it is foolishness. They will obviously pick the weakest player that poses the smallest threat to them and the one most likely not to rock the boat for the cartel. But, for a government that repeatedly carefully controls how, when and by whom their numerous violations are investigated, it at all, I’m sure it makes perfect sense to let Rogers dictate their own regulations.
DUH! No surprise there. Rogers wants Freedom to fail if they can’t have it. Who else better to make sure that happens than the worst internet provider in Canada.
Curious to know, does anyone know how different fixed point wireless is from mobile? Would it be possible for Xplornet to leverage their existing fixed point network into a viable mobile network? If so that could be interesting!
It’s not good, take a look at the XploreNet Mobile website.
Its entire existence seems to be to the Bell-MTS merger look like it didn’t kill the competition in Manitoba. (While likely not risking losing any money)
Hey there! So Xplore Mobile was actually spun out from Xplorenet proper, and is run as a separate company. So what you see in Manitoba actually is the MTS network. So I don’t believe they are leveraging any fixed point wireless resources for their network there.
I know that (to an extent since I live in BC and do not see either companies). I guess the point I’m making is that this situation already happened with Xplornet as the same role, while Freedom is the role of MTS and Rogers being Bell…
And it did not end very well, but I also understand that’s not quite the point you were making either, was kinda separate.
You certainly make a good and important point! Even if it’s possible they might not do that. Very true!
However I am wondering if it only didn’t happen in Manitoba because technically Xplore Mobile and Xplorenet are completely different companies. So unless Xplorenet rolls out Freedom as independent like they did with Xplore Mobile, maybe it could be merged with their fixed point network? I just don’t know if fixed point is technologically different compared to mobile networks.
If you look at XploreNet Mobile’s (which only exists because of the Bell-MTS merger) it’s clear that they aren’t competing on pricing, at least nowhere near what Freedom’s been doing.
Of course Rogers wants Xplornet to buy Freedom, they’re the least competitive, and have already shown an ability to not make significant downward pressure in the market.
How funny would it be for this to be pushed through as is, then Quebecor buys XploreNet Mobile, and then puts Lacevera in charge of it.
Rogers would sue, since this whole Xplornet thing is about the two latter things not happening.
Not only that, they have like 2-3 stores in Manitoba and their Unlimited data plan is only available in like 3 small Manitoban communities. (Not even Winnipeg)