Freedom Mobile enters Manitoba wireless market

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This article was published 23/05/2024 (496 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Freedom Mobile, the wireless service provider Montreal-based Quebecor Inc. acquired from Shaw some 13 months ago, is launching its service in Manitoba on Thursday.

The availability of Freedom Mobile will give Manitobans a fourth major wireless option (the others being Bell MTS Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp.) for the first time since Bell acquired MTS in 2017.

Freedom Mobile operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Videotron Inc., itself a subsidiary of Quebecor. Videotron operates Quebecor’s wireless service in Quebec.

Before Thursday, Freedom Mobile was only available in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.

Between Freedom Mobile and Videotron, Quebecor has 3.5 million wireless subscribers.

In a news release, the company said it will have a number of standalone stores in Winnipeg, including at CF Polo Park, St. Vital Centre, Outlet Collection Winnipeg and Kildonan Place, and a dozen other retail locations.

The company said it will be offering introductory offers for Manitoba customers for $14.50 per month for 10 gigabytes of data for six months.

Quebecor’s high-speed internet and television service, Videotron, is not available in Manitoba, but another of its subsidiaries, VMedia Inc., started servicing Manitobans in September 2022.

Earlier this month, Freedom Mobile announced it would be offering internet and television services in select areas in Ontario and then rolling out to other markets across Canada in the near future.

In a Quebecor release Thursday, president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau said: “Expansion into Manitoba marks a pivotal milestone for Freedom … As a strong and competitive telecom player in Canada, we’re proud to reaffirm our commitment to providing more Canadians with the freedom of choice and benefits that come with increased competition.”

After the lengthy regulatory process that took place before the acquisition was approved — the deal was tied to Rogers’ acquisition of Shaw — Quebecor committed to a few things, including pledging to provide wireless packages at least 20 per cent more affordable over a period of 10 years than the equivalent plans offered by the incumbents in the B.C., Alberta and Ontario markets at the time of the deal’s closing.

It also said it would maintain prices for Freedom Mobile’s existing customers at the time of the acquisition for five years. Those existing customers were also automatically to receive a 10 per cent increase in their local data limit at no additional cost.

The company also said it would invest more than $150 million to upgrade Freedom Mobile’s infrastructure enabling 90 per cent of its customers to access the 5G network using a compatible device within two years.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca