Can You Hear Me Now, Eh?

Like mobile phone services in many countries, Canada’s top networks operate as somewhat of an oligopoly, where Rogers Wireless, Bell Mobility and Telus Mobility take the lion’s share of subscribers from across the nation. Verizon, a major mobile phone company south of the border, is conspicuously absent from the scene, and is looking toward getting a piece of the market.

Canada’s  de facto oligopoly is based on the three aforementioned companies, each reaching around one-fourth of the population apiece, with the remaining quarter being occupied by companies that exist almost solely to prevent it from being a complete oligopoly and to keep prices down, usually offering fewer features and less data capability on their plans.

Verizon and its parent company Vodafone have one of the largest customer bases in the world, and the requisite cash flow to move into another country’s mobile phone market and be successful in yet another location. Verizon’s absence in the Great White North is because the Canadian government has banned foreign entities from fully owning a domestic telecom business.

It is trying to make inroads into the market, but Verizon finds the cell phone landscape of Canada saturated by the big three carriers with a smattering of the smaller carriers. It holds the capability to connect to other carriers and serve Canadian users, as evidenced by their Canada and Mexico plan, which provides service for Verizon customers who want to call Canada and to make calls in Canada, albeit with roaming charges.

One way that Verizon could make its mark in the Canadian arena is to buy into the companies that are not part of the oligopoly, such as Keewaytintook Mobile, ICE Wireless, Sasktel Mobility, etc., and own them partially, thereby circumventing their government’s protection on foreign industries owning a domestic telecom business outright, and boosting the service of the smaller telecom companies. This will continue to be debated, as the oligopoly may realize the threat these newly refurbished carriers may bring if they can offer their plans cheaper thanks to Verizon’s accumulated coffers.