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May 17, 2013 04:17 pm -04

Telus agrees to acquire Mobilicity for $380 million, despite Canada's push for increased mobile competition

Regulators in Canada have been making a push to enhance competition in the mobile space, with Industry Minister Christian Paradis going so far as to lay out a set of rules for the nation's upcoming 700MHz spectrum auction that he promises will give citizens "more choices and more access at better prices." Granted, that ideal world only works if the carriers can stay afloat long enough to bid. According to William Aziz, Mobilicity's own chief restructuring officer, the operator has been "losing a significant amount of money every month." To that end, he reckons that an "acquisition by Telus is the best alternative," and he seems to think that the $380 million deal will receive a hasty approval considering the circumstances.

The purchase price is thought to be high enough to cover the debts looming over Mobilicity, and it'll give its 150 employees a secure job at Telus. If it sails through, a quarter-million Mobilicity customers should see no interruption in service as the integration takes place. Of course, a secondary benefit for Telus is gaining access to the spectrum Mobilicity currently uses. The end result for customers in the world's nicest country? We'd love to say that one fewer player will result in better service, lower prices and greater fulfillment for all... but something tells us that's probably wishing for a bit much.

[Image credit: Andrew Currie, Flickr]

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Source: Telus


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