Cingular Wireless is one of the biggest assets that AT&T; is seeking to gain in its acquisition of Bell South. We can expect that this will result in the re-launch of the AT&T; Wireless brand in the US and permit an improved focus for Cingular.
It seems to me that the new AT&T; Wireless could be just what Industry Canada wants to shake-up the Canadian marketplace. It has been rumoured that Ottawa would like to see a fourth wireless carrier. Of course, if that is true, it makes you wonder why these folks approved Rogers’ acquisition of Microcell.
That aside, many have wondered who is breaking down the doors shouting for a liberalization of foreign ownership restrictions. Who would be willing to invest substantial dollars in Canadian telecom?
Well, it wouldn’t take an outrageous amount of money for AT&T; to shake up the Canadian wireless industry. Set up a bit of network in downtown Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver just to cut into the zillions of dollars being spent in roaming for American visitors and you can bet that the repercussions will be felt throughout the land.
Introduce a little bit of US style pricing and suddenly the comfortable oligopoly (as Industry Canada calls it) will start to operate a little differently.
I’d call it a Cingularly elegant way to shake things up a bit.