Cogeco Inc. has launched its long-awaited wireless service in Canada, saying it plans to compete with other carriers in the market by targeting "low-to-mid data users."
The Montreal-based telecommunications company said it has already signed up an initial cohort of customers on the new mobile service following a pre-registration period for its existing Canadian wireline subscribers.
President and CEO Frédéric Perron said Wednesday that Cogeco plans to cover 12 Canadian markets in parts of Ontario and Quebec over the coming weeks, ahead of a full commercial launch of the service this fall. The company has said mobile coverage would be available across its broadband footprint.
"We're ready to go," he told analysts on a conference call discussing the company's third-quarter earnings results.
But Perron declined to share pricing details for its wireless service, saying the company wants to announce those offers to its customers first.
He noted that mobile service will remain exclusive to those also subscribed to its wireline services. By offering cellphone and internet plan bundles, Cogeco has previously described its strategy as being geared toward increasing customer retention.
Perron said Cogeco will also provide a "time-limited launch bonus" for the first wave of customers signing up for mobile service.
When asked by an analyst how "aggressive" Cogeco plans to be in terms of pricing, he reiterated that those discounts wouldn't remain in place over the long term.
"It's not a strategy to go national or anything like that," he said.
"We're a rational player. Of course, when you launch a new service, there can always be a time-limited launch offer, but that's just what it is — a time-limited launch offer."
Last year, Cogeco began offering wireless service under its Breezeline Mobile brand to customers in 13 U.S. states where it already offered broadband internet services.
In Canada, Cogeco's mobile coverage is being delivered under the mobile virtual network operator framework, which allow telecoms to offer cellphone service through rival carriers’ networks.
The MVNO framework was put in place by the CRTC. The rules set by the regulator are meant to increase cellphone competition by giving regional carriers a presence in regions they did not previously serve, with requirements to build their own networks in those areas within seven years.
"It will take some time before wireless becomes material in a positive way to our bottom line," said Perron.
The wireless launch announcement came as the company reported a profit attributable to owners of the corporation of $20.5 million in its quarter ended May 31, up from $19 million in the same quarter last year.
Cogeco said its profit amounted to $2.13 per diluted share for the quarter, up from $1.97 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.
But analysts took a negative view of the company's results, in which Cogeco also revised its 2025 guidance. Cogeco said it was lowering its revenue projections for the current fiscal year to a "low single-digit decline," compared with its previous projection from last October of "stable" revenue for the year.
It said it expects "additional pressure" on its revenue, particularly in the U.S., driven by increased competition. Meanwhile, Cogeco said it was undertaking "several cost reduction initiatives and operating efficiencies" across the organization to minimize the effect of lower than expected revenue.
For the quarter, Cogeco's revenue totalled $758.5 million, down from $777.2 million in the same period last year.
On an adjusted basis, Cogeco says it earned $2.40 per diluted share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of $3.02 per diluted share a year ago.
Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi warned that Cogeco "might need to take a more aggressive approach in the coming months to stem the subscriber bleeding" it has recently seen in U.S. markets.
"We think it is concerning that in the last 12 months, the company has lost almost five per cent of its internet subscriber base in the U.S. and close to 11 per cent of its video service accounts," said Yaghi in a note.
"As we look at the U.S. market, large cable companies have started to provide price locks and even reduced prices while offering free wireless services in order to stabilize their subscriber base. Cogeco has still not made that U-turn move yet."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2025.
Companies in this story: (TSX:CGO)
Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press
