Rogers Wireless Agrees To Purchase Fido/Microcell For $1.1B

[Mike Temporale]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=19673' target='_blank'>http://rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=19673</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Canadian telecommunications provider Rogers Communications Inc. reported that its wireless subsidiary Rogers Wireless Communications Inc. has agreed to an all-cash acquisition of competitor Microcell Telecommunications Inc. for approximately $1 billion. The deal is expected to close by the end of this year and will propel Rogers Wireless ahead of Bell Mobility as Canada’s largest wireless operator with more than 5.1 million total subscribers. The move usurps a previous attempt by rival Telus Corp. to acquire Microcell for approximately $800 million that was initiated in May and extended three times. Microcell’s board of directors recommended the company’s shareholders refuse Telus’ offer before agreeing to Rogers Wireless’ bid."</i><br /><br />It's a sad day for Fido customers. This merger will bring Rogers customer base to over 5.1 million. Unfortunately, Rogers pricing for voice and data rates are overly expensive compared to Fido. I feel this is a sad day for the mobile professional in Canada. :cry:

[Jason Dunn]

Damn damn damn damn. :evil:

I just had a client who moved from Rogers to Fido because Rogers didn't have a flat-rate GPRS plan. &lt;sigh> :roll:

[groan]

will they absorb the company or are htey just buying it for the income?

IE are they going to kill fido or let it run?

i was on clearnet when it changed to telus,and it didnt change my rate. i think i am still on that rate!

[lewdvig]

Blame the stupid f'ing government - foreign ownerships laws prevent a T-Mob or Voda takeover. We would have enjoyed good phones and rates.

[Mike Temporale]

will they absorb the company or are htey just buying it for the income?

IE are they going to kill fido or let it run?

They plan to "merge" the two companies. I give it a year, and anything Fido will be gone. Could even be done sooner, like by Christmas. :(

Since they are both GSM based, you can expected a lot of cuts to come out of this. There would be a lot of dupicate cell towers, jobs, and stores.

[Mike Temporale]

foreign ownerships laws prevent a T-Mob or Voda takeover. We would have enjoyed good phones and rates.

I would like to have seen a T-Mobile takeover. That would have rocked! :rock on dude!:

Sadly, we are now down to 3 mobile carriers. 2 of which are CDMA, and the other one is half GSM. :?