Verizon Canada?

Yes, you read this correctly! In fact, Verizon’s links to Canada go back many years. In late 2004, the company sold its 20.5% stake in Telus, the Canadian telecom formed in 1995 with the acquisition of the Edmonton Telephones Corporation (EdTel) by Alberta Government Telephones (AGT) and the subsequent merger three years later with BCTel as well as QuebecTel in 2004. But, on February 14, 2005, Verizon agreed to acquire MCI Inc., formerly WorldCom, thus signalling its return to this country.

Almost ten years on, it comes as no surprise to us that Verizon Wireless might be interested in expanding north of the border. This despite the Verizon Vodafone shareholder agreement that would seem to prevent investment in wireless outside the continental U.S. After all, such agreements can be changed, particularly if there appeared to be a business case for doing so. This past week there were rumours of Verizon appearing as the white knight to rescue Wind Mobile and Mobilicity in the wake of Vimpelcom’s decision not to (re) invest in the former and Industry Canada’s veto of Telus’ proposal to acquire the latter. Other potential suitors might include AT&T but, since that company seemed to show no interest in re-aquiring Allstream from MTS, we assume there’s no appetite for investing in Canadian wireless either.

If Verizon (or AT&T) did acquire either (or both) these two wireless companies, there might be an added benefit for all Canadians. We’re referring to U.S.roaming charges that, in our opinion, are scandalously high and reminiscent of the equally scandalous long distance settlement charges of yesteryear. The (U.S.) towers, cell sites and networks are already in place and being paid for by that country’s investors and service customers. The imposition of roaming charges on Canadian cellular subscribers is unnecessary and probably contributes little to the bottom line. It’s time for the border to be truly seamless so that customers in both countries can purchase North American unlimited use plans for both voice and data at reasonable prices.