While “deeply interested” in launching wireless services, will only proceed under the right circumstances
By Amanda Oye
It is no secret Cogeco wants to offer its customers wireless services. The question yet to be answered is when?
Cogeco has been trying to get into wireless since 2018. The company has made advancements towards this goal, including its recent purchase of 38 licences for $295 million in the 3500 MHz spectrum auction that closed in July.
Another step forward came a couple of years prior, in 2019, when Cogeco proposed a Hybrid Mobile Network Operator (HMNO) model to the CRTC during its consultation into mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs).
“Our model ensured that the MVNO players could not get mandated access unless they were investing in a network themselves,” said Marie Ginette Lepage, Cogeco’s vice-president of wireless solutions and innovation, in an interview with Cartt.ca.
“And one of the key components of our approach was to make sure that we could strike the right balance between the entry of new wireless players and the potential impact on investments, and the CRTC MVNO decision is very, very similar to the one that we have put forward,” she said.
Lepage has been with Cogeco since June 2019. Previously she worked for Videotron in roles including managing its MVNO wireless service.
She believes Cogeco is in a great place to launch a mobile service in the future.
“We have a very strong, strong foundation,” she said.
Lepage referred to Cogeco’s spectrum portfolio as well as its wireline network and infrastructure, noting these things make the company “a very credible wireless new entrant in the market.”
Cogeco, according to Lepage, is “deeply interested in offering more choice to consumers with mobile services, but we’re also very disciplined about it.”
The company is still waiting to reach a few milestones, she said, “because the success of the MVNO framework relies on two important things.”
The first is “reasonable terms and conditions,” and the second “is reasonable rates,” she said. “Our next steps will depend on this because we need to ensure that we have the right conditions to launch a wireless operation.”
The company’s participation in the next spectrum auction will depend on the implementation these two things, as well as the agreements Cogeco is able to negotiate. It “will also be contingent on the framework that ISED is going to put forward,” Lepage said. Cogeco will be looking at the competitive measures put in place and whether spectrum is auctioned off based on smaller service areas, which Cogeco prefers.
Cogeco is also looking at the Rogers/Shaw deal closely and with interest.
“We do encourage the minister of ISED, the Competition Bureau, as well as the CRTC to look into and scrutinize this merger carefully because as you know, it would be one of the largest mergers in the history of Canadian telecom,” Lepage said.
“Cogeco would like to be part of the solution if ever the Competition Bureau decides that Rogers needs to divest parts of or all of Freedom’s assets.”
As much as Cogeco wants to move into wireless, the company is not ruling out walking away from it entirely. “Everything is on the table and a possibility, but… we are working diligently because our interest is really into moving forward and offering more choice to consumers with mobile services,” Lepage said.
