Cogeco sees “less risk” on MVNOs, but still deciding when to launch.

While Cogeco Inc. says it currently sees "less risk and greater clarity" with regards to the CRTC's mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) framework, the company is still stopping short of committing to launching a mobile wireless offering in the coming year. Cogeco CEO Philippe Jetté told analysts Friday on an earnings call covering the first quarter of fiscal 2023 that there is some hesitancy based on new requirements the CRTC has inserted into the framework. In the CRTC's October release of terms and conditions for the framework, the regulator decided that a company hoping to avail of the mandate for wholesale access to incumbent networks must already be offering some type of commercial wireless service somewhere in Canada. "We think we're very close to that but we need to give the CRTC a closure to this process," Jetté said on the Friday morning earnings call covering the three months ending Nov. 30, 2022. In a conference call with reporters following the earnings call, Jetté said that the central questions about the launch of a wireless offering are still to be determined. "We all want to know where and when? And these are the two questions we can't answer still, today," he said. "We're still working though the CRTC terms and conditions our next step . We've secured spectrum, now we understand that we have to have a commercial offering somewhere in Canada. We're defining what that is, where it's going to be, how it's going to work with the MNOs," the CEO said, adding that the company needs to see rates before it starts that process. Jetté also said that the company has hired between 30 and 40 people to assist in the transition to wireless. Asked about the appointment of new CRTC chair Vicky Eatrides, Jetté said that the company will need to assess the early decisions that come out of the regulator, but "it looks promising. I think it's a team with very good knowledge and understanding at Industry Canada, at the Competition Bureau as to what it takes to consider wireline and wireless in totality." "I see very strong government and political will. I see the CRTC working much more closer with industry, with ISED," he added. In first quarter earnings results for Cogeco Communications Inc., the Cogeco subsidiary which covers the company's telecom business, revenue in the quarter climbed to $762 million, an increase of 6.1 per cent from $719 million a year ago. The company's profit climbed 3.2 per cent, up to $120 million from $117 million this time last year. Cogeco's Canadian telecommunications arm generated 4.8 per cent more revenue in the quarter, up to $372 million from $355 million in the first quarter of 2022, while its American operation climbed to $390 million in revenue from $363 million over the same period. -Reporting by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca and editing by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca

Cogeco sees “less risk” on MVNOs, but still deciding when to launch.

News | January 13, 2023

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Cogeco sees “less risk” on MVNOs, but still deciding when to launch.

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