A 20-year partnership signed in 2013 by Videotron and Rogers to jointly develop a 4G LTE wireless network in Quebec and the Ottawa region is turning into a fierce commercial dispute.
In a lawsuit filed Friday by Videotron in the Superior Court of Quebec, the main subsidiary of Quebecor is claiming 850 million from Rogers, reports the National Post. Videotron accuses Rogers of breach of contract and bad faith in connection with negotiations held in the context of the agreement to operate a joint network in Quebec unveiled eight years ago.
Always according to the Post, Videotron alleges that Rogers created an impasse by setting up a parallel network covering the province of Quebec and the Ottawa region when the two companies were negotiating to update their joint network, which would violate their agreement.
At the time of publication, despite several requests, Quebecor had refused to forward a copy of the request to Press.
A major disagreement between the two parties would include, among other things, the scale of the investments needed to develop the joint network and ensure that it is competitive, according to a source familiar with the dispute who cannot be identified because it does not. is not allowed to speak publicly about the case.
Also according to this source, Rogers would have learned through the voice of the media two years ago that Videotron itself was developing a parallel network.
A partnership between Videotron and Samsung for the deployment of a 5G network was indeed announced in December 2019.
The agreement announced in 2013 was unique because it provided for the sharing of equipment, but also of frequencies. Each operator was responsible for certain regions.
“Unfortunately, Videotron has decided not to join us in investing in network improvements in Quebec. This decision is not in the best interests of our customers and is inconsistent with our goals of providing our customers with superior connectivity, ”Rogers management said in an official statement sent to Press by email Friday. At that time, Rogers had not yet been able to view the request.
“Regarding the Videotron lawsuit, we will respond to it in more detail before the courts,” he added.
Rogers also argues in its email that the company is investing billions of dollars in infrastructure to provide the “best possible service experience.” “These investments continue to grow as we improve connectivity for Quebec families and businesses and accelerate the deployment of 5G technology to connect more communities across Quebec. ”
This commercial dispute between Rogers and Videotron comes as a power struggle rages at Rogers between members of the founding family of the company and as Rogers awaits the approval of regulatory authorities to complete the acquisition of Shaw Communications.
Rogers had tried to acquire Videotron at the turn of the 2000s. Quebecor had then teamed up with the Caisse de depot et placement du Québec to buy Videotron and thus outsmart Rogers.