VANCOUVER – Telus announced Thursday that, pending some government and debtholder approvals, it will acquire Mobilicity for $380 million.
If the deal receives the required approvals, it would ensure continued service to Mobilicity’s 250,000 customers without the risk of disruption, says the press release the companies issued.
Without this deal, Mobilicity would likely end up seeking bankruptcy protection in short order. Of course, it remains to be seen what government thinks of this and whether or not it will grant the request to shift Mobilicity’s spectrum to Telus immediately. DAVE, Mobilicity’s parent company, purchased the spectrum for $240 million in 2008…
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NETWORK EXPANSION NEWS
Launches this week:
MTS launches 4G LTE service in Grand Beach and Victoria Beach, Man.
WINNIPEG – MTS announced Friday it has completed its 4G LTE wireless network expansion to Grand Beach and Victoria Beach, two of six rural Manitoba communities that are scheduled to receive MTS’s 4G LTE network service in 2013.
Earlier this month, LINK LINK LINK MTS announced plans to expand its 4G LTE wireless network to six more communities in 2013, including Selkirk, Portage la Prairie, Steinbach, Ste. Anne, Grand Beach and Victoria Beach.
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TORONTO – While analysts view today’s announcement that Telus has agreed to purchase floundering wireless newcomer Mobilicity for $380 million as a win for both companies, the bigger, as-yet unanswered question is whether or not Industry Canada and the Competition Bureau will allow the incumbent telco to buy a new entrant, a move that flies in the face of Industry Canada’s plan to have four wireless players in each region of the country.
“The situation is getting messier for the government,” says Scotia Capital analyst Jeff Fan. “The bottom line is this makes it less likely…
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GATINEAU – In their final written submissions to the CRTC on the proposed purchase of Astral Media by Bell Canada, various interveners say there are no words, no new rules the Commission can write which will sufficiently protect the Canadian TV system from the market power of a combined Bell/Astral.
That, tied to the fact Bell has told the Commission in no uncertain terms it will not proceed with the merger should it be required to divest any other assets, means the whole deal should be denied, just like the first one was rejected last fall. ( Continue Reading
DENVER, COLO. – Telus Optik TV customers in Alberta and British Columbia can now tune into the World Fishing Network (WFN) in HD.
“We’re excited to expand our partnership with TELUS and deliver some of the best fishing and outdoor lifestyle programming to Optik TV subscribers in crystal clear HD,” said Sean Luxton, SVP of digital and content distribution for WFN in a release.
WFN HD (Ch. 721) is offered as part of the Adventure Extra Package or a la carte, and continues to be available to Optik TV subscribers as part of the same…
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WHILE DROPPING IN ON the CRTC’s two-week hearing into new and renewed mandatory carriage requests (on cpac.ca) – and poring over some of the transcripts since its conclusion, two thoughts bubbled up above all the facts, self-serving opinion and pure BS that is a Commission hearing: The CRTC should impose some sort of mandatory penetration based rate card, a-la Bell Media’s, upon the entire regulated TV industry – or just deregulate the whole damn thing (which is not actually an option).
Independent broadcasters (those not owned by a vertically integrated entity) have little, if any, leverage when it comes to…
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OTTAWA – Canadian wireless operators remain largely unconvinced that Industry Canada’s proposed changes to spectrum licence transfers will be good for the wireless market. New entrants and incumbents alike are opposed to any rule changes that would limit a secondary spectrum trading market.
Mobilicity acknowledges that the department is trying to create a more competitive wireless market and took a first good step in setting aside spectrum in the 2008 Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) auction. But the upstart says “the imposition of additional vague, open-ended restrictions on the transferability of spectrum” won’t help new entrants raise the capital they need…
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MONTREAL – It's the darling of the Canadian telecom field these days among Bay Streeters, and Telus again had a strong quarter, posting a 13% increase in quarterly profit in its Q1 results released Thursday as it added tens of thousands of new wireless and IPTV customers.
It’s wireless ARPU has grown to over $60 a month and the price of its newly split shares is on the rise. Churn is down, customer satisfaction is up, wireline revenues are increasing, and dividend payouts are growing for investors. According to EVP and chief…
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NETWORK EXPANSION NEWS
Launches this week:
Telus expands 4G LTE service in B.C. and Ontario, invests $265 million in Quebec
VANCOUVER – Over this past week, Telus announced the expansion of its 4G LTE wireless network service to communities in British Columbia and Ontario, as well as a $265 million investment in Quebec to augments its Optik TV and fibre-to-the-home network.
Telus said it is spending $300,000 to expand its 4G LTE wireless network service to Big White, Nelson, and Hudson’s Hope, B.C., with $100,000 allocated to each community. This investment is part…
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VANCOUVER – Telus announced a second consecutive quarter of net profit growth of $362 million, an increase of 13.5% over the same quarter in 2012.
First quarter revenue increased by 4.8% to $2.76 billion, compared to the same period a year earlier, driven by increased revenue in the company’s wireless, high-speed internet and Optik TV businesses. Consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) also increased by 5.4% to $1.03 billion, resulting in a corresponding jump in earnings per share of 14% to $0.56, which reflects the company's mid-April two-for-one stock split.
Telus reported…
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