Telus’ attempted to impact Rogers-Shaw merger [Nov. 12-18]

The Competition Tribunal has completed week two of its hearing into the Rogers-Shaw merger, and the public had a front-row seat. Chief Justice Paul Crampton started the week by addressing the hearing’s lack of transparency and unnecessary in-camera sessions, leading to once-confidential documents being available for public view. The move led to several revelations.

More on the merger, and other telecom news in Canada, is recapped below.

Business

Telus attempted to sway the outcome of the Rogers-Shaw merger. Details were shared in internal documents presented during the Competition Tribunal’s hearing. The project called ‘Project Fox’ included Telus meeting with politicians “to kill, shape and slow the deal.”

The hearing also revealed that Distributel wanted to buy Freedom Mobile and made two proposals to Rogers. Distributel made the offers before Bell announced plans to purchase the company (subject to regulatory approval).

SaskTel has added $100 million to its Rural Fibre Initiative. The project connects Saskatchewan residents with SaskTel’s infiNET Service, delivering internet speeds close to 1Gbps. The additional funds will connect 80 towns and villages.

As the demand for new phone numbers in Canada continues to grow, the Telecommunications Alliance is introducing new area codes across the country. Residents in Southwestern Ontario will see a new 382 area code in June 2023. The area code will serve areas that have access to 226, 519, and 548 area codes.

The federal government has ended its partnership with Bell Let’s Talk. The annual mental health initiative sees the telecom giant donate every time people use #BellLetsTalk on social media on the designated day.

Deals

With Black Friday around the corner, carriers have released deals on devices and services. A full rundown of all the deals is available here. Some of the discounts are highlighted below.

Freedom is offering savings on Samsung and Pixel devices for Black Friday. Learn more here.

SaskTel is putting discounts on its wireless and wireline services, including offering $100 in credit for new internet customers.

Fido’s Black Friday deals include various device discounts, such as the Google Pixel 6a 128GB with Fido Payment Program for $10/mo for 24 months. A list of discounts is available here.