Bell, MTS announce Manitoban service improvement

BCE Inc. and Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. made a high-profile overture Friday in their bid to join forces, announcing plans for a proposed merged operation to fill gaps in wireless coverage along a major north-south highway in the prairie province. The two companies, which announced earlier this month they had struck a deal for Bell to purchase MTS for $3.9 billion, said in a press release the acquisition would include an investment to “ensure continuous broadband wireless coverage along Highway 75, Manitoba’s main transportation corridor linking Winnipeg with the United States border at Emerson.” “Bell MTS will hit the ground running in Manitoba with major new investments in broadband communications,” Wade Oosterman, group president of Bell Canada and BCE Inc., said in the release. Completing the wireless coverage along the highway is “a clear example of the benefits that come from Bell’s scale and resources,” Jay Forbes, MTS president and CEO added. The merged company will build three new wireless cell sites linked by broadband fibre “to ensue continuous 4G LTE and HSPA+ coverage all along the highway,” the release said, noting the border crossing into Pembina, N.D., is “one of the busiest in Western Canada.” The cost of construction was not specified, but MTS spokesman Jeremy Sawatzky said in an email it was included in the $1 billion over five years that Bell pledged to invest in capital throughout the province. “The Bell MTS commitment to improving Highway 75 wireless coverage will enhance the safety and efficiency of a strategic trade and travel artery that is a vital component of Manitoba’s trade and transportation network,” Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister said in the release. Planning for construction would begin after the acquisition is approved, which is expected by the end of the year or early 2017, Sawatzky said. It is still subject to review by the Competition Bureau, CRTC and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. When asked if MTS would follow through on the announced improvements if regulators rejected the deal, Sawatzky said: “MTS is confident the transaction will be approved. BCE and MTS recognized from the outset the need for regulatory approvals and BCE has a proven track record of success in securing regulatory approvals.” Canaccord Genuity analyst Sandford Lee highlighted in a Thursday research note that Rogers Communications Inc.’s recent decision to raise wireless prices in Manitoba earlier this week “could raise the eyebrows of regulators.” The increase followed the company’s $5-per-month price hikes elsewhere in the country in mid-January, though Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Quebec were exempt, which Lee said analysts attributed to “strong competition from regional competition.” Lee noted that even with the $5 increase, Rogers’ wireless prices in Manitoba were still 35 per cent less expensive than in Ontario and British Columbia, but that “we find it somewhat interesting that Rogers chose to raise prices at this time, still in the wake of the announced BCE-MBT transaction.” He added: “If the other carriers decide to match, on the surface, it would not lend support for regulatory approval.” — With reporting by Charelle Evelyn at cevelyn@thewireport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Bell, MTS announce Manitoban service improvement

News | May 20, 2016

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Bell, MTS announce Manitoban service improvement

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