Verizon Wants Into Canada... Big Deal.
According to this article, the big three Canadian telecom providers, Rogers, Bell and Telus, are crying real tears to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission, because the US telecom giant, Verizon wants to buy a couple of Canadian cell-phone start-ups, Mobilicity and Wind Mobile, and bid in the next round of spectrum auctions for space for their service in Canada. Rogers, Bell and Telus think it's not fair that Verizon can buy their competition when they're not allowed. (Wind, Mobilicity, Public Mobile, Koodo and Virgin have been offering lower prices and better contracts for years! It's been a royal pain for Rogers, Bell and Telus to keep their customers without doing the same.) Rogers, Bell and Telus think it's not fair that Verizon, as a new-comer to Canada, can bid for several blocks of spectrum when they're only allowed to bid for one a-piece. And they certainly don't like it that a giant American telecom company, which is big and rich enough to actually compete with them, wants to get in on their lucrative, little fiefdom!
To me, this means nothing. Verizon is an American "premium carrier." Their prices in America are no cheaper than Rogers, Bell and Telus here. Their contracts in America are no less restrictive than Rogers, Bell and Telus here. Their service in America is neither clearer nor more reliable than Rogers, Bell or Telus here. Their customer support in America is no more useful or "friendly" than Rogers, Bell and Telus here. Competition from other giant American telecoms forces Verizon to offer Americans better deals on mobile data speed, reliability and price than Rogers, Bell and Telus offer here, but that doesn't mean Verizon will have to offer the same better deals to Canadians, even if we're roaming in the US.
Because they won't have to. In Canada, Verizon won't be competing with AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile. They'll be "competing" with Rogers, Bell and Telus, who all offer almost exactly the same level of price, service, reliability and customer support. Verizon will merely have to offer us the same thing we get from Rogers, Bell and Telus and expect to cut themselves a piece of the Canadian pie... the highest prices and most restrictive contracts in the civilized world for mediocre service and reliability with customer support from Bangladesh!
So if Verizon gets to enter rhe Canadian market, what will happen is that they'll vaccuum up Wind and Mobilicity... and maybe Public Mobile, Koodo and Vrigin, too... then use advertising that's just on the legal side of deceptive to pull customers away from Rogers, Bell and Telus, (just as Rogers, Bell and Telus themselves do.) What little real competition we have in the telecom market will be swept away and the Big Three will become the Big Four. And for Canadian cellular users, nothing in particular will change. So yippity-skippity, hoppity-hippity, dancing, rejoicing and glee! Hip-hip-hurrah for Verizon entering the Canadian cellular market. Too much fun for one little otter. Big deal.
CORRECTION -- Virgin Mobile is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bell Canada Enterprises. Koodo is a subsidiary of Telus. Wind, Mobilicity and Public Mobile are independent... so far.
To me, this means nothing. Verizon is an American "premium carrier." Their prices in America are no cheaper than Rogers, Bell and Telus here. Their contracts in America are no less restrictive than Rogers, Bell and Telus here. Their service in America is neither clearer nor more reliable than Rogers, Bell or Telus here. Their customer support in America is no more useful or "friendly" than Rogers, Bell and Telus here. Competition from other giant American telecoms forces Verizon to offer Americans better deals on mobile data speed, reliability and price than Rogers, Bell and Telus offer here, but that doesn't mean Verizon will have to offer the same better deals to Canadians, even if we're roaming in the US.
Because they won't have to. In Canada, Verizon won't be competing with AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile. They'll be "competing" with Rogers, Bell and Telus, who all offer almost exactly the same level of price, service, reliability and customer support. Verizon will merely have to offer us the same thing we get from Rogers, Bell and Telus and expect to cut themselves a piece of the Canadian pie... the highest prices and most restrictive contracts in the civilized world for mediocre service and reliability with customer support from Bangladesh!
So if Verizon gets to enter rhe Canadian market, what will happen is that they'll vaccuum up Wind and Mobilicity... and maybe Public Mobile, Koodo and Vrigin, too... then use advertising that's just on the legal side of deceptive to pull customers away from Rogers, Bell and Telus, (just as Rogers, Bell and Telus themselves do.) What little real competition we have in the telecom market will be swept away and the Big Three will become the Big Four. And for Canadian cellular users, nothing in particular will change. So yippity-skippity, hoppity-hippity, dancing, rejoicing and glee! Hip-hip-hurrah for Verizon entering the Canadian cellular market. Too much fun for one little otter. Big deal.
CORRECTION -- Virgin Mobile is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bell Canada Enterprises. Koodo is a subsidiary of Telus. Wind, Mobilicity and Public Mobile are independent... so far.