Cogeco enters wireless market as mobile service launches in Quebec, Ontario
For years, Cogeco has offered internet, video and wireline phone services across Canada and some U.S. states., with a current total of 1.6 million residential and business subscribers.
'For almost 70 years, Cogeco has been deeply rooted in regional markets. The launch of Cogeco Mobile is not just a new chapter, it's a bold declaration of our unwavering commitment to be a competitive force in Canada,' chief executive Frédéric Perron said in a press release.
The expansion into wireless puts it head-to-head with telecom giants Rogers Communications Inc., BCE Inc. and Telus Communications Inc.
The initial roll out will be available to new and existing Cogeco internet subscribers who have their own devices in 13 markets in the two provinces: Alma, Magog, Rimouski, Saint-Georges, Saint-Hyacinthe, Saint-Sauveur, Sept-Îles and Trois-Rivières in Quebec and Brockville, Chatham, Cobourg, Cornwall and Welland in Ontario.
Its introductory plans come with rollover data, no commitments, no activation fees and no overages, the company said.
Cogeco first announced the Canadian launch during its third quarter earnings release on July 15.
In a note, National Bank analyst Adam Shine said Cogeco has been exploring wireless on both sides of the border with the spring launch of Breezeline Mobile in the U.S. as a defensive move to bundle with internet and reduce churn in its cable business.
Breezeline, the eighth-largest cable operator in the United States, provides internet, video and telephony services in 13 states.
The Massachusetts-based subsidiary launched mobile phone service on May 2024 as a pay-as-you-go service with no term contracts or cancellation fees.
The telco is leveraging a seven-year mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) regime that launched last year, he said. That policy by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission required incumbent telecoms Rogers, Bell, Telus and Saskatchewan Telecommunications to provide regional wireless carriers with access to their networks for a period of seven years.
Cogeco's mobility launch is being carried on TELUS's wholesale wireless network.
'In honouring our regulatory obligations, TELUS is enabling Cogeco's wireless launch by providing wholesale access to our award-winning broadband wireless network,' TELUS chief executive Darren Entwistle said in a press release last week.
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'We'll now wait to see how existing wireless operators in Canada react to (Cogeco's) arrival on the scene with its introductory offers just as back-to-school gets going and incumbents talk about more discipline,' Shine wrote.
• Email: dpaglinawan@postmedia.com
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