CityFido: It's Alive
CityFido is apparently alive and well, although you may have a tough time
recognizing it in the future. Rogers rolled CityFido into Montreal
yesterday, and quietly raised the price of the “local line killer” to $51.95
from $45 by slapping on a $6.95 a month charge for network access. What is
now offficial is the days of any semblance of price wars in the Canadian
wireless market are long gone. Microcell was the one rebel willing to play
the discount game - a practice that drove Telus, Rogers and Bell wild.
Anyone who believes Virgin Canada will fill the void will be disappointed
given Bell owns a 50% stake. It is interesting to see Virgin has lost all
kinds momentum with its decision to shift its launch from the key
fourth-quarter to some time early next year. Virgin claims its delay has
nothing to do with the billing problems that hurt Bell Mobility in the
third-quarter, or a examination being done by the Ministry of Canadian
Heritage into downloads of ringtones. There's noise that all's not well
between Virgin and Bell.
