Network sharing continues to expand across Canada, as regional carrier MTS said it has extended an arrangement with nationwide operator Rogers to share the cost of deploying and operating an LTE network in Manitoba. Both carriers currently operate a similar arrangement for HSPA+ services.
MTS noted that it planned to expand LTE coverage to six new markets in the province this year, with plans to cover 90% of Manitoba’s population over the next five years. MTS’ LTE service is currently available in Winnipeg and Brandon.
The new arrangement with Rogers will also allow MTS customers to roam across Rogers’ LTE network at some point in the future.
“MTS will continue to obtain competitive roaming rates as part of a long-term agreement with Rogers that enables MTS to cost effectively support the growing national and international roaming requirements of its customers,” the carrier noted in a statement.
Earlier this month, Rogers announced a deal with regional carrier Videotron to pool resources across the provinces of Quebec and Ottawa to build out and operate a shared LTE network. Financial terms of the 20-year agreement call for Rogers to pay Videotron $93 million and for Videotron to pay Rogers $200 million over a 10 year period. Both carriers will share the cost of deploying and operating the LTE network while maintaining independent business operations.
Canadian operators Telus Mobility and Bell Canada also operate an LTE network sharing arrangement, with Telus Mobility operating networks covering western Canada and Bell Canada handling eastern Canada.
The Canadian government recently announced plans to infuse more competition into the wireless space, including measures to ensure that customers had at least four choices in each region of the country. As part of that initiative, Industry Canada rejected plans by Telus to acquire 1.7/2.1 GHz spectrum licenses from Mobilicity citing the initial requirement of those licenses to be used by new entrants into the market. The government also delayed its planned auction of 700 MHz spectrum licenses until early next year.
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