Rogers will pay an estimated $150 million in credits to customers following the July 8th outage. The company announced it would credit customers for five days of service, which will automatically appear on their bills.
The telecom giant reported the estimate in its second quarter financial results for the year. Rogers says the figure is not part of its Q2 report as the quarter ended on June 30th.
In a teleconference call with analysts, Tony Staffieri, Rogers’ president and CEO, said the outage did impact subscriber numbers but didn’t share specifics.
“Since the outage of July 8th, we did see an impact on our subscriber results, but we’re encouraged by the patience our customers have shown.”
Q2 growth
Rogers says it increased its service revenue by 10 percent year-over-year, thanks to its wireless and media businesses.
Wireless service revenue increased by 11 percent due to growth in postpaid mobile phone subscribers and an increase in roaming charges as travel continues following relaxed COVID-19 measures.
The company added 509,000 postpaid mobile phone subscribers and 29,000 prepaid subscribers this quarter compared to the second quarter of 2021.
Revenue from wireless equipment decreased by six percent as fewer existing customers upgraded devices and fewer new subscribers purchased devices from the company.
Merger with Shaw and sale of Freedom Mobile
Rogers says it agrees, along with Shaw, to extend the outside date of the proposed merger to December 31st, 2022, with an option to extend this date to January 31st, 2023.
While Rogers and Shaw have received regulatory approval on the broadcast aspect of the merger, they need approval from the Competition Bureau and Science and Economic Development Canada.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the July 8th service outage would be included by policymakers when considering the company’s proposed takeover of Shaw.
The Competition Bureau filed to block the merger in May and recently asked the Competition Tribunal to push the hearing dates forward.
Rogers and Shaw are also moving forward with plans to sell Freedom Mobile to Québecor for $2.85 billion as they negotiate terms and conditions.
“Rogers, Shaw, and Québecor have put together a remedy that will create a strong and sustainable fourth carrier with proven operations that reach more than 87% of the Canadian population,” Staffieri said.
Updated 27/02/2022 8:33am ET: The article has been updated with a quote from Rogers CEO.
Source: Rogers
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