You might remember that the big three wireless companies all were singing from the same song sheet when Verizon was rumored to be entering Canada? Take this statement from the “Fair For Canada” website:
Canadian wireless providers are all for competition. Competition has driven Canadian carriers to build world-leading networks of high speed wireless coverage, nationwide. Competition benefits Canadians.
But competition requires a single set of rules – a level playing field.
It’s time this government stands up for fair competition. It’s time we tell Ottawa to close the loopholes and subsidies for American wireless giants before it’s too late.
But it seems that tune has changed, at least it has for Rogers. In a Financial Post article, Edward Rogers (Deputy chairman and executive president of Rogers Communications) argues that opening the door to foreign competition would be bad for Canada. Take this for example:
“The model we have right now, I believe, allows Canadians to have the best wireless industry, the best cable indsutry and some fantastic media assets in Canada,” Mr. Rogers, son of the late Ted Rogers Sr., told a CIBC investor conference in Whistler, British Columbia. “I personally don’t want to just sell that.”
And this:
“I don’t think there’s any formula where any of these companies are owned outside Canada and they do better for customers. I think you could argue that if we were a branch plant, that Canada would be last…. Is Canada going to continue to innovate and are we going to have wireless coverage in rural areas if owned outside of Canada? My belief is not.”
“You’d do the lower 48 and Alaska and Maui and Puerto Rico and Canada would be phase two,” Mr. Rogers said referencing the prospect of an American owner.
So. Rogers is clearly afraid that if the the Canadian Government modifies the Investment Canada Act so that a foreign telco like Verizon, Orange or Deutsche Telekom walks in and sets up shop from scratch or more likely by buying an existing telco, Rogers would come out on the short end of the stick because they would actually have to compete against someone who they could not push around or extinguish.
Sucks to be them I guess.
Considering that former Rogers CEO Nadir Mohamed was quoted as being all for competition, this is one hell of an about face and it makes Rogers look like a bunch of hypocrites.
I will reiterate what I have said previously, which is open the doors and let foreign companies in. It’s the best way to get the “More choice. Lower prices. Better service” that the Canadian Government wants. It will also force the big three collectively and Rogers in this case to do something that they’re not used to doing, which is to compete.
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This entry was posted on January 24, 2014 at 2:43 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Rogers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Rogers Changes Its Tune On Competition
You might remember that the big three wireless companies all were singing from the same song sheet when Verizon was rumored to be entering Canada? Take this statement from the “Fair For Canada” website:
Canadian wireless providers are all for competition. Competition has driven Canadian carriers to build world-leading networks of high speed wireless coverage, nationwide. Competition benefits Canadians.
But competition requires a single set of rules – a level playing field.
It’s time this government stands up for fair competition. It’s time we tell Ottawa to close the loopholes and subsidies for American wireless giants before it’s too late.
But it seems that tune has changed, at least it has for Rogers. In a Financial Post article, Edward Rogers (Deputy chairman and executive president of Rogers Communications) argues that opening the door to foreign competition would be bad for Canada. Take this for example:
“The model we have right now, I believe, allows Canadians to have the best wireless industry, the best cable indsutry and some fantastic media assets in Canada,” Mr. Rogers, son of the late Ted Rogers Sr., told a CIBC investor conference in Whistler, British Columbia. “I personally don’t want to just sell that.”
And this:
“I don’t think there’s any formula where any of these companies are owned outside Canada and they do better for customers. I think you could argue that if we were a branch plant, that Canada would be last…. Is Canada going to continue to innovate and are we going to have wireless coverage in rural areas if owned outside of Canada? My belief is not.”
“You’d do the lower 48 and Alaska and Maui and Puerto Rico and Canada would be phase two,” Mr. Rogers said referencing the prospect of an American owner.
So. Rogers is clearly afraid that if the the Canadian Government modifies the Investment Canada Act so that a foreign telco like Verizon, Orange or Deutsche Telekom walks in and sets up shop from scratch or more likely by buying an existing telco, Rogers would come out on the short end of the stick because they would actually have to compete against someone who they could not push around or extinguish.
Sucks to be them I guess.
Considering that former Rogers CEO Nadir Mohamed was quoted as being all for competition, this is one hell of an about face and it makes Rogers look like a bunch of hypocrites.
I will reiterate what I have said previously, which is open the doors and let foreign companies in. It’s the best way to get the “More choice. Lower prices. Better service” that the Canadian Government wants. It will also force the big three collectively and Rogers in this case to do something that they’re not used to doing, which is to compete.
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This entry was posted on January 24, 2014 at 2:43 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Rogers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.