Xplornet Launches Wireless Service in Manitoba with Acquired Bell Customers

The rural Internet provider, Xplornet Communications Inc., will launch a wireless service in Manitoba later this month, starting its new business with 20,000 subscribers acquired from BCE Inc.

Xplornet, headquartered in Woodstock, New Brunswick, received undisclosed prices under an agreement with the Competition Bureau relating to BCE's acquisition of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. beginning of 2017, at an undetermined cost.

The competition watchdog was concerned that the takeover would reduce competition in the wireless and drive up prices in the province, where the regional telephone company MTS provided a powerful rival to dominant national wireless companies such as BCE, Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp.

In 2016, prior to the takeover, MTS held approximately 47% of the wireless market in Manitoba, followed by Rogers (38%), BCE (9%) and Telus (7%). The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has not yet released any market share data for 2017.

About a year and a half after the conclusion of the MTS agreement, Xplornet announced Monday the launch of Xplore Mobile on November 14th. To attract new customers, he announced the possibility of transferring all unused mobile data to the end. from one month to the next.

The company began the process of transferring selected ECB subscribers and said in a press release that she acknowledged that "even positive change can be stressful". She opened three retail stores in Winnipeg and Brandon, with plans for more, to help deal with customers' issues.

"This chosen group of customers will be transferred in stages to a new, state-of-the-art, state-of-the-art mobile network," the company said. "Customers who have received a welcome letter from Xplore Mobile can expect a transition from their account and services, depending on their schedule. Xplore Mobile will focus on the transition with appointments and additional staff between November 2018 and March 2019. "

BCE was to transfer subscribers to Xplornet one year after the agreement was signed, but the companies got approval from the Competition Bureau in January to delay the deal. The agreement also required BCE to help Xplornet access cellular towers, roaming and handsets.

When the Competition Bureau and the federal government approved the takeover of MTS in February 2017, BCE also committed not to increase the prices of its wireless services for at least one year after the conclusion of the transaction. BCE's first price increases in the province since then came in July of this year, when Xplornet was not yet ready to launch its wireless brand.

Xplornet is the largest Internet access provider in rural Canada. More than 350,000 homes across the country benefit from fixed wireless or satellite technology, which uses communication towers and a wireless spectrum to transmit broadband signals to customers.