I love the Canadian wireless scene, unlike the U.S., where Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile rule the landscape and things stay relatively calm, Canada’s is always changing. There is a clear ‘line-in-the-sand’ between the Big Three – Rogers, Bell and TELUS – and every other carrier, albeit smaller ones. The Canadian Government cannot keep their nose out of the wireless affairs – the small carriers say they need help with regulations and roaming fees so that they can compete against the Big Three. The Big Three say that not being allowed to charge more for roaming will prevent them from expanding their networks in more rural areas – a threat that the Government does not want to hear. It is a drama that would make any daytime soap opera or serial proud.
This deal follows a July ruling by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) ruling against Canada’s largest carrier, Rogers. It alleged that Rogers used exclusivity clauses along with high roaming rates whenever new carriers would sign on to use Rogers’ network for their roaming solutions. Telus spokesperson Shawn Hall said, “The CRTC’s recent ruling that Rogers’ exclusivity clauses are invalid opened the doors to new discussions, and we have since sat down and finalized roaming agreements with some new carriers.” No mention of WIND Mobile was made as there are not only confidentiality clauses, but most carriers want the appearance of nationwide coverage and do not want the user worrying about where that coverage comes from.
WIND is the fourth largest carrier, but Rogers, Bell and TELUS each have at least 10 times as many subscribers then WIND. Many in the Government are hoping that WIND would merge with another smaller carrier to help form a fourth big player, but so far, nobody has emerged. Quebecor would be a good matchup and if somebody does not soon buy Mobilicity, they could end up falling into bankruptcy… there are many scenarios, but so far no action has taken place.
Please hook up with us on our Google+ Page and let us know if you are on WIND and what you think about the Government regulations – are you in favor of those pesky laws or do you think the market should dictate the pricing… as always, we would love to hear from you.