Videotron launching flanker brand ‘Fizz’ in Quebec

A new no-frills mobile service provider called Fizz has emerged in Quebec and is trying to attract new subscribers to test its services at a discount before it officially launches, HuffPost Quebec reported Thursday. Quebecor Inc.'s Videotron is behind the new service launched Wednesday, the company confirmed to The Wire Report Thursday. "Fizz is a new, entirely different mobile player that offers members a 100 per cent digital experience," a Videotron representative said in an email. "It’s good news and we’ll have much more to say about it later this year when Fizz launches officially." The website for the new brand – fizz.ca – is advertising a beta-testing period with three months of discounted prices at “extremely low rates between $1 and $8." It also promises "highly competitive rates after our official launch,” although makes no mention of a specific launch date and doesn't provide a cost range for future rates. “You’ll be among the first to test drive an all-new, all-digital mobile service where members decide what’s fair for them,” the Fizz website said. It said users will be able to “reach speeds as high as 150 Mbps, depending on your phone and location” on its LTE network, and it advertises that its mobile services come without "frills, fees and extras." It does not have physical storefront locations and subscribers will need to already have a phone. It also said it will offer customized plans which will help consumers avoid "surprise fees," although it doesn’t advertise details about the terms of any customized plans. Desjardins analyst Maher Yaghi said in a research note Thursday that with the pricing plans still unannounced, it is "too early to make assumptions on the potential subscriber loading that the company could see from the product." "However, we believe that this new offering is likely to lead to incremental success for Vidéotron," he wrote. "The prepaid market is roughly 15 per cent of the total wireless market in Canada, so Fizz opens the door for Videotron to be able to grab share in this business and in due time benefit by taking those subs and upselling them into the postpaid market -- a strategy that has been very successful for through its Fido brand." Fizz will be available to residents of Quebec and also those living in the Ottawa region, according to its website. Quebecor and Videotron are not currently mentioned publicly anywhere on the Fizz website. The trademarks for the brand name and logo were registered in April this year to a numbered company in Quebec, according to the Canadian Trademarks Database.

Videotron launching flanker brand ‘Fizz’ in Quebec

Brief | September 13, 2018

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Videotron launching flanker brand ‘Fizz’ in Quebec

Brief | September 13, 2018

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