Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) has decided not to pursue entrance into the Canadian market, the company announced this morning (September 3).
Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said in a press conference, "We looked at [entering the Canadian market] but we never seriously considered the move, and it is off the table at this point.
"It is something that we look at, we look at a lot of different countries around the world, we will continue to do that. But it was always on the fringe for us."
This comes after weeks of campaigning by Canada's Big Three wireless providers in an effort to prevent the massive U.S. carrier from entering the market with what they say would be an unfair advantage. Current federal rules would allow smaller and foreign carriers to bid on two blocks of wireless spectrum in an upcoming spectrum auction, whereas each of the current Big Three incumbents would be restricted to one block.
Verizon Communications announced September 2 that it has reached a $130 million agreement to buy Vodafone's 45% interest in Verizon Wireless. If it goes ahead, the deal means Verizon Communications will own 100% of Verizon Wireless.
On the back of the news, Telus, Bell Canada and Rogers shares were all trading higher on the TSX this morning.
