All options are on the table as Quebecor considers expansion
By Amanda Oye
QUEBEC – There is a chance Quebecor will move to provide multiple services outside of Quebec, Pierre Karl Péladeau, president and CEO of Quebecor indicated in a call with analysts last week.
While refraining from confirming any specific plans, Péladeau said the company has already delivered significant growth since it started in wireless leading to “limited growth opportunity in Quebec.”
Videotron, owned by Quebecor, spent nearly $830 million on spectrum in Manitoba, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia (in addition to Quebec) in the recent 3500 MHz auction, which sparked speculation about the company’s intention to expand outside of Quebec as it opens up the possibility for the company to begin to offer wireless services in those provinces.
While companies were not allowed to bid on set-aside spectrum in the auction unless they already had operations in areas in which they were bidding, Quebecor was able to bid in areas such as Toronto, Alberta and British Columbia because it offers telecom backhaul services through Videotron Business and Fibrenoire. Quebecor has previously bought then sold spectrum licences in southern Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.
The exact plans the company has for the spectrum it recently acquired are not clear, as Péladeau indicated there are several options for the company as “all alternatives are on the table.” This includes operating as a single product player. “The market outside of Quebec is different given that… we’ve been operating a quad play, but for us that doesn’t mean that there is no room for a single product play,” Péladeau said.
However, he went on to say there are “other alternatives also that we can consider through our capacity to be innovative… TPIA [third-party internet access providers] has been taking market share in Quebec, in the Internet access and starting in the video segment, so all of those possibilities also give some further consideration.”
It would not be a huge leap for Quebecor to offer services as a TPIA outside of Quebec. Videotron already acts as a TPIA in northwest Quebec, where it uses Cablevision’s network, which is owned by Bell.
Péladeau also mentioned the changing technological environment in the call. Building a network from now on will depend on the kind of technological environment there is, which could be favourable to newcomers, he said, specifically referring to Open-RAN technology. “I’m mentioning this because… what’s coming in is carrying more opportunity and it’s more favourable than what we have been experiencing before in terms of capital intensity, so, you need to deal with all of those issues and consider them as part of the financial equation moving forward.”
