Rogers, Bell Canada team up

Bitter rivals Rogers Communications Inc. and Bell Canada have agreed to jointly build and manage a wireless high-speed Internet network that is expected to reach more than two-thirds of Canadians in less than three years.

The two communications companies will pool their wireless broadband spectrum into a joint venture called Inukshuk Internet Inc. The network will cover more than 40 cities, and 50 rural and remote communities across the country. Users will be able to access the Internet and use voice, video streaming and data applications both inside their home, as well as on the go.

The agreement comes six months after Bell initially invested in NR Communications, a shareholder in Inukshuk. Rogers, Inukshuk's other shareholder, warned at the time the move could lead to a legal quagmire. But the two sides have obviously resolved those differences with their new partnership. Bell today said it reached an agreement to buy the 50 per cent of NR Communications that it does not already own.

Rogers and Bell have traditionally been each other's biggest competitors, and their rivalry has only increased in recent months. While the two firms have competed for years for customers in the areas of wireless, television and Internet, Rogers recently started offering landline phone business in Bell's territory.

Both have also made no secret of their aspirations to be national players, and one way Rogers has been planning to accomplish that goal is by rolling out wireless broadband service. A legal fight between Bell and Rogers over Inukshuk's ownership structure would have stood in the way, according to Brian Sharwood, a communications consultant at SeaBoard Group.

“I think [Rogers] was kind of forced into it,” Mr. Sharwood said. “Ted wants to move [the technology] forward.”

The two companies will equally fund the initial network deployment costs of $200-million over a three-year period. Bell and Rogers will each have the right to use 50 per cent of the network's total transmission capacity. However, they will compete against each other for wireless broadband clients, with each company responsible for sales, marketing, customer care and billing services to their own customers.

The service will give customers in some rural areas access to high-speed Internet for the first time. In cities, clients will have the benefit of a high-speed Internet connection at home and in other locations.

“The promise of wireless broadband is here and Bell and Rogers have the expertise, resources and commitment to make it happen,” said Bob Berner, chief technology officer of Rogers. “This is a powerful tool for Canadian businesses and consumers — both of whom will benefit from the substantially increased and accelerated competition the network will bring.”

Rogers and Bell have worked together in the past. Earlier this year, the International Olympic Committee awarded the broadcast rights to the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and the Summer Games in 2012 to Rogers and CTV, which is owned by Bell Globemedia.


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