Shaw

A year after Rogers Communications Inc. RCI-B-T announced a blockbuster, $26-billion deal to buy Calgary-based telecom Shaw Communications Inc., SJR-B-T the ...

“All the companies that tried to set up a mobile-only operation failed – all of them,” Mr. Jetté said at Scotiabank’s telecom, media and technology conference last week. Have the Top Business Headlines newsletter conveniently delivered to your inbox in the morning or evening. “You can try to do the four-players-in-each-market thing for a while,” Mr. Lawford said in an interview. Shaw’s Freedom Mobile, which operates in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, has close to two million wireless subscribers, making it the country’s fourth-largest mobile carrier. Earlier this month, Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne made it clear that he won’t allow Rogers to acquire all of Shaw’s wireless licences, as doing so would be incompatible with Ottawa’s desire for competition in the sector. Executives at rival Bell have spoken publicly about the challenges that a divested Freedom Mobile would likely face. “However, when asked, [Mr. Péladeau] on the call noted that acquiring Freedom from the Rogers-Shaw (as part of the potential remedy divestiture) is still a consideration,” he added. The federal government’s quest for a fourth national wireless carrier began more than a decade ago, when Stephen Harper’s Conservative government set aside wireless airwaves for new entrants during a 2008 auction. Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron Ltd., which has made no secret of its interest in Freedom, is absent from the talks, according to another source whom The Globe is not identifying. Toronto-based Rogers has initiated talks with a number of prospective buyers interested in Freedom, according to two people familiar with the discussions. “This is, I think, the dilemma,” Mr. Lawford said. Your time is valuable.