Quebecor to rollout wireless despite challenges

Quebecor Inc. will move ahead with its rollout of wireless service in western Canada despite challenges from incumbent carriers. This was the main message as the firm released its results for the third quarter. "It is not next week, not next month, but we're ready to move," President and CEO Pierre-Karl Péladeau told a conference call with analysts Thursday morning. He expressed surprise that Telus Corp. challenged the sale of spectrum to the Montreal-based company. The Federal Court rejected the request for an injunction. For an injunction to be granted, it must satisfy a three part test set out in the RJR-MacDonald case: there must be a “serious issue” to be heard, the aggrieved party must face the prospect of “irreparable harm,” and the “balance of convenience” must favour the granting of the injunction. In an October decision, Justice Sébastien Grammond said Telus’s request for an injunction failed all three requirements of the test. "It is sad to see the length Telus and Bell will go to delay healthy competition," Péladeau said. The company has launched a PR offensive on the issue, running ads--including Wire Report affiliate publication The Hill Times--decrying the Telus lawsuit. "The incumbents are completely allergic to competition," the CEO noted. Péladeau and CFO Hugues Simard refused to speculate on the details of the rollout. When asked if Quebecor would delay until it is able to bundle services, the officials said it would not be appropriate to give the company's market strategy. Péladeau said it had sent letters to the CEOs of incumbent carriers and look forward to continuing the process. Speculation is that the firm will purchase Freedom Mobile from Shaw Communications Inc. if the western company is forced to divest following the proposed takeover by Rogers Communications Inc. Analysts asked what Quebecor would do if another suitor snapped up the Shaw property. "It's not going to be possible to answer that," the CEO replied. Revenues were $1.15 billion for the third quarter of 2021, an increase of $36.5 million or 3.3 per cent from the same period of last year. Net income was $173.1 million, an increase of $32.2 million. The telecom sector's revenues grew by $1.6 million, a jump of 0.2 per cent. The Videotron subsidiary saw its revenues increase from internet access services by $15.9 million or 5.6 per cent and from mobile telephony by $13.4 million or 8 per cent. Videotron reported 40,900 new connections to the mobile telephone, an increase of 2.7% and 22,500 subscriptions to the internet services, a hike of 1.2 per cent Videotron and the Fizz wireless brand reached 37 per cent market share in Quebec, placing the two brands first and second in the province. Péladeau said there is a favourable political environment in Ottawa for a fourth wireless competitor. The company head refused to answer questions about Quebecor’s lawsuit against Rogers over its shared network but made a few comments. Last week, Quebecor filed suit in Quebec Superior Court, seeking damages of $850.3 million for what it says is the deterioration of its network sharing agreement with Rogers, arguing that Rogers has effectively created a parallel network in a way that violates the agreement between the two companies. “Every time we met Rogers’ request they came back with new demands,” Péladeau remarked. “I hope when the air clears at Rogers we may have a clear dialogue.” -- Reporting by Paul Park, ppark@thewirereport.ca and editing by Michael Lee-Murphy, mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca

Quebecor to rollout wireless despite challenges

News | November 4, 2021

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Quebecor to rollout wireless despite challenges

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