So in June (2010) Rogers decided to remind Wind Mobile and Mobilicity that it exists and they should not try to “mislead” clients (read Canadians). As you know, it did this by launching Chatr; a company they said is just a “new mobile phone brand to focus on the growing talk and text category”. But we know the real focus of Rogers was to kill the fierce competition coming from the new boys in the market: Wind Mobile and Mobilicity. And if killing the competition was not the focus of Rogers, what meaning then can you make from the words of John Boynton, the Rogers’ executive vice president when he said that “Canadians want to use their handsets for voice and text only but want a network they can trust”! In other words, what did he imply by “….a network they can trust”? Was he trying to say that Canadians didn’t trust the network platforms for Wind Mobile and Mobilicity?
Rogers has managed to do what we can comfortably describe as a ruthless surgical operation on two young boys trying to enter the Canadian communication manhood. Unfortunately the “King” of this manhood (Rogers) is not ready to receive them and instead has arranged a package of vital lessons including targeting the very locations targeted by Wind Mobile and Mobilicity. Seemingly, the strategy of Rogers is to come up with plans that are lowly priced with cheap phones without compromising the quality. We sincerely apologize for positively using the words Quality and Cheap in the same sentence but hey, Rogers know better!
Unlimited Talk and Text
The Unlimited talk and text market is widely seen by the players as cheap and hence has the potential of attracting many clients due to the flexibility it presents. When Wind Mobile and Mobilicity entered the market in late 2009/early 2010, they went straight into this market and gave it 100 percent focus. The launch of Chatr with a focus on this very market was no surprise therefore, even though Rogers insist the launch and target have always been in their plans.
Why is Chatr bound to kill the competition completely?
The Rogers network gives Chatr a clean advantage and lets it trounce on the competition quite quickly. As Wind Mobile and Mobilicity concentrate on building and refining their wireless networks around the country, Chatr will be smiling on the Rogers’ network which has an extensive national coverage. John Bitove, the Mobilicity chairman is said to have threatened to file a complaint against Rogers for what he described as an attempt to kill new competitors in the wireless mobile. We cannot establish whether this complaint was filed but it is clear that by effectively using Chatr, Rogers has come out strongly to muscle out Wind Mobile and Mobilicity in an effort to fight off the competition. Industry Analysts say this is a test of Rogers’ strength and we just have to keep an eye and see how the new entrants battle it out with the giant Rogers.
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