Reactions to Rogers-Shaw deal mixed in Alberta

Shaw Communications and Corus Entertainment, the parent company of Global News, are owned by the Shaw family based in Calgary.

Reaction to the $26 billion Rogers-Shaw merger in Alberta was mixed on the day it was announced.

Bob Schulz, a professor at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business, called the merger a “win-win.”

“It’s a blockbuster deal for Canada, but it could be the rising (rural telecommunications) star for the world in the developing countries that we actually test here,” Schulz said Friday.

He noted Canada’s spread out pockets of population presents a unique operating environment for telecommunications companies, and faces competition from emerging companies like Elon Musk’s Starlink.

Shaw executive chair and CEO Brad Shaw said the deal was an “exciting new chapter” for connectivity in the country.

“In today’s telecommunications industry, we recognize that companies need even greater scale to compete and make ongoing investments for future technology,” Shaw said in a statement. “This merger will provide the scale necessary for the future success and competitiveness of the wireline business that Shaw has built over the past five decades.”

Schulz was quick to point out that while the merger would reduce two telcos into one, the stipulation that Shaw’s Freedom Mobile be sold to Quebecor-owned Videotron will help with competition in the mobile phone market.

“Consumers may think it’s a bad idea by having the two go together, but if Videotron comes in because they have lower prices, it may force the Rogers-Shaw combination to move down.”