You have seen the full page advertisements in the newspapers. You have wondered just who the big telecoms—Bell, Rogers and Telus—are trying to reach. And you also wonder why they are spending so much money in the process. It seems to all boil down to their not wanting to allow Verizon, the huge American telecom to come to Canada. Big Brother thinks that Verizon will give the Canadian telecoms some competition.
With revenues in excess of US$100 billion per year, Verizon could have the Canadian companies for lunch and be hungry before dinner. With its beginnings as Bell South in 1983 after the breakup of American Telephone and Telegraph by the courts, Verizon emerged as the giant of American telecoms. It can be compared to Bell Canada in how it parlayed its copper base into a world of fibre and wireless communications. It can also be compared to Bell Canada for its poor customer relations. Verizon is also noted for its willingness to release information on customers to federal agencies.
What Bell, Rogers and Telus do not want and what they are crying buckets about is any competition from Verizon. They are outraged that they are not being allowed to buy small Canadian competitors but Verizon can—supposedly to gain an immediate foothold in the Canadian market. The Canadian dreadnoughts are also being restricted in bidding for new radio frequency spectrum. This will prevent them from blocking Verizon as a competitor for new Canadian business.
It’s not that Bell, Rogers and Telus do not enjoy competing with each other. They are constantly swapping customers with new offers and new technologies. That is friendly competition. They feel that Harper is turning a piranha loose in the fish tank by opening the door to Verizon. Verizon does not compete, it crushes. It is Walmart dolled up with technology. It just lacks the moral standards of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
Big Brother does not know what he is doing. After many years of outrageous protectionism that made Bell, Rogers and Telus the fat cats that they are, they are getting screwed by their friend Big Brother. They forgot that he is an ideologue. It hardly matters that they love Big Brother, he wants more competition. Canadians are already paying and paying for their telecommunications needs. Despite at one time being world leaders in the technology, Canadians are now just consumer sheep to be shorn.
Bell, Rogers and Telus can continue to weep their crocodile tears if they wish. They should remember that this is their turf. They know the lay of the land and they know the quirks of Canadian customers. They can easily compete with Verizon for the Walmart class of customers while building a stronger relationship with customers who care. At one time, they did know how to treat their customers properly.
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Copyright 2013 © Peter Lowry
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