MONTREAL – Rogers Communications this morning said it will invest $3 billion to “honour Cogeco’s legacy” by expanding rural connectivity, accelerating 5G coverage to 95% of Quebecers and creating hundreds of highly skilled jobs with new tech innovation hub, if it is able to purchase Cogeco’s Canadian assets.
“Rogers is deeply committed to the future ofa innovation and the knowledge economy in Quebec. We would be honoured to help enhance the customer experience and bring new investments including 5G that will fundamentally reshape the economic landscape of Quebec,” said Joe Natale, president and CEO of Rogers, in a press release this morning.
“This is about the future, and helping ensure that Quebec’s ambitions around innovation, connectivity, health and education advancements are fully realized.” Natale expanded on this recently in an appearance at a Toronto conference and said then the company would be stepping up efforts to put pressure on Cogeco to sell.
As readers are well aware by now, Altice USA made a hostile $10.3 billion dollar bid for Cogeco which included a deal with Rogers to sell it Cogeco’s Canadian assets for $4.9 billion. Cogeco and its controlling shareholder, the Audet family, has resoundingly and repeatedly rejected the offer, as has the provincial premier – and earlier this week, the Quebec legislature passed a motion supported by all parties backing the Audet family’s efforts, says a story in the Globe and Mail. Local governments have all backed the company, too.
Rogers said today its new plans would include, as stated in its release:
- Investing a total of $3 billion in Quebec over the next five years, which includes $1.5 billion in network investments
- Ensuring 5,000 jobs in Quebec for a combined Rogers/Cogeco entity (Rogers employs 3,000 in the province now)
- Maintaining Cogeco’s headquarters in Montreal with a Quebec President leading its business in Quebec
- Maintaining the Cogeco brand in Quebec
- Continuing relationships with local suppliers and contractors.
- Expanding the rollout of 5G throughout Quebec, with a commitment to having 95% of the population covered over the next five years
- Establishing a tech innovation hub in Quebec, which would create up to 300 highly skilled new technology jobs as a centre of excellence in artificial intelligence, software engineering and digital technology.
- Expanding rural connectivity and enhancing the customer experience:
- Building on Cogeco’s rural expansion commitments and establishing a rural connectivity partnership with the Quebec government to reach an additional 100,000 households.
- Upgrading services for existing Cogeco customers with the roll-out of Rogers next-generation connected home services, such as Ignite TV, Ignite Internet and Smart Home Monitoring
- Continuing Cogeco’s existing community partnerships and launching a new student technology scholarship program
- Continuing to sponsor major sporting and cultural events, including exploring ways to bring more major events to Quebec
- Establishing a French language training fund for Rogers employees outside of Quebec.
“We understand the importance of reaffirming our strong commitment to Quebec,” added Natale. “Rogers stands ready to be Quebec’s partner in building world-class networks to help make it a global leader in technology and innovation.”
The release also added Rogers has invested more than $2 billion in its wireless network in Quebec over the past 10 years.
