Cogeco promotes reorganization at BMO conference

Cogeco Inc. is running smoothly after a corporate reorganization, its CFO maintains. Patrice Ouimet was speaking at the 25th annual BMO Media and Telecom Conference Tuesday. As part of the changes, Frédéric Perron was named as CEO of the company earlier this year. Ouimet spoke highly of his boss’s previous efforts as head of Canadian operations of the binational corporation. The CFO said other facets of the reorganization include more centralization between Canadian and American holdings. “At the size we have and the speed at which technology is evolving and the industry is moving, we thought it made a lot of sense to do it,” Ouimet reported. “It speeds up our decision making.” Early signs are that the changes are productive. In terms of technology, Cogeco is now using artificial intelligence chatbots to answer questions from consumers rather than live employees. “So far it’s been going very well” the CFO stated. “We’re handling basic questions right now, the more simple ones, but we have an agenda to add more complexity to it in the coming year.” The major news announced by the telecom recently was the plan to become a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). Ouimet is bullish on the prospects. “We’ve always said that we try to be very efficient with capital and how we go about it so this is a pure MVNO for five years,” he says. “Actually, that’s longer than is required under the regulations.” Bragg Communications Inc. subsidiary Eastlink is one of the partners in the deal; the other is an unnamed incumbent. Asked by moderator Tim Casey, BMO’s telecom, media, and cable analyst, if we could see Cogeco unveiling the MVNO service this calendar year, Ouimet was coy. It will not occur in short order, he said. He revealed that its Oxio division, purchased last year, will serve as a flanker brand for the MVNO service. There are also plans for Breezeline, its American subsidiary, to become a MVNO serving U.S. interests. Turning to the operations south of the border, the CFO said that cord cutting is more prevalent in the U.S. than Canada, although Breezeline’s rate is below the national average for America. Many consumers in North America have been canceling their cable service in favour of streaming services. Ouimet stated that Cogeco will go after some of the $43 billion in funding available through the American Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program (BEAD). He warned that regulations vary by state so he could not get into detail about the BEAD bidding process. Ouimet also expressed concern that Canada’s big three telecom carriers — BCE Inc., Telus Corp., and Rogers Communications Inc. — are buying up third-party internet access firms and deploying their services. “We believe that the ability of the big three to use this regime without building, that’s not in the best interest of Canadians,” he stated. It may be necessary for the CRTC to step in to guarantee true competition in the marketplace, he argued. –Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca

Cogeco promotes reorganization at BMO conference

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By Paul Park
| September 10, 2024

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