Glentel

Canadian telecommunications retailer

Glentel Inc.

Company type| Joint venture
Industry|

* Wireless
* Retail

Founded| 1963; 61 years ago (1963)
Headquarters|

Burnaby, British Columbia

Canada

Number of locations

| 350+

Area served

| Canada

Key people

| Ravi Nookala (CEO & president)
Owners| BCE Inc. (50%)
Rogers Communications (50%)

Number of employees

| 2,000+
Website| glentel.com

Glentel Inc. is a Canadian telecommunications retailer based in Burnaby, British Columbia, jointly owned by BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications.

In Canada, the company operates over 350 wireless outlets under the Tbooth Wireless (La cabine T sans-fil in Quebec, formerly The Telephone Booth) and WirelessWave (Wave sans fil in Quebec) brands, particularly in mall kiosks. The company operates store-within-a-store kiosks at Canadian Costco locations under the Wireless etc. banner. Glentel outlets sell services from Bell Mobility and Rogers Wireless, their respective subsidiary brands (such as Chatr Wireless, Fido, Lucky Mobile, and Virgin Plus), and SaskTel in Saskatchewan.

For a time, it operated the Target Mobile kiosks at Target Canada locations until the chain's closure in 2015, and owned the Australian wireless retail chain Allphones, and U.S. Verizon retailers Diamond Wireless and Wireless Zone.

On November 28, 2014, BCE Inc. announced that it would acquire Glentel for $670 million, pending regulatory approval, in an effort to boost its retail presence.[1] After a dispute with Rogers, who argued that due to supply agreements it was contractually required to consent to any change in ownership of the company, Bell announced that it would divest a 50% stake in Glentel to Rogers upon the closure of the acquisition, turning the company into a joint venture between them.

## History

[edit]

The company has its origins in Speedy Celtel, the company founded by Alan and Tom Skidmore as a retailer of Cantel, the country's first cellular carrier. In 1989, the company bought Glenayre, that was provider of business wireless hardware, and was re-named Glenayre Technologies. In 1992, the company's retail arm was spun-out as Glentel, and in 1997, it opened a Rogers dealer at Metropolis in Burnaby known as WirelessWave.[2] WirelessWave subsequently grew into a larger chain.[2]

In 2005, Glentel acquired its Montreal-based rival Cabtel Corp., which operated as La Cabine Telephonique in Quebec, and The Telephone Booth in Alberta and Ontario. The deal added 49 stores to its holdings.[3][4] In 2007, Glentel reached a multi-year agreement with Costco Canada to operate wireless kiosks, branded as "Wireless, etc." at its locations.[2][5]

In 2010, the company first expanded into the United States with its acquisition of Diamond Wireless, a chain of Verizon Wireless retailers.[6] In 2012, it acquired an 83% majority stake in AMT Group, an Australian operator of mobile retailers under the Allphones and Virgin Mobile brands.[7] That year, Glentel acquired the U.S. firm Automotive Technologies Inc., doing business as Wireless Zone, which operated 421 Verizon Wireless retailers, for $83.3 million.[8] Glentel also reached a deal to operate Target Mobile kiosks at the short-lived Target Canada chain.[9]

### Acquisition by Bell and Rogers

[edit]

On November 28, 2014, Bell Canada announced that it would acquire Glentel for $670 million, pending regulatory and shareholder approval, in an effort to boost its retail presence. Bell also operates first-party retail outlets for its services, and owns The Source, a Canadian electronics store chain that also sells Bell services. The company planned to continue serving as a retailer for non-Bell brands after the acquisition was completed.[1]

On December 17, 2014, Rogers Communications filed for an injunction against Glentel in the Ontario Superior Court, seeking to have the acquisition blocked. It argued that pursuant to Glentel's supply agreements with the company, Rogers had to consent to any change in company ownership. The company also foresaw the possibility of Glentel's retailers showing favouritism towards Bell brands following the merger. Glentel CEO Tom Skidmore disputed Rogers' complaint, stating that "Rogers has the right to remove their products from our Canadian stores if they choose to terminate its agreement with us, but has no right under its agreement to block the acquisition of Glentel."[10]

On December 24, 2014, Bell announced that it had agreed to divest a 50% stake in Glentel to Rogers upon its completion of the acquisition.[11] The acquisition was completed on May 6, 2015.[12]

In 2016, Wireless Zone was sold to Round Room, LLC.[13] Diamond Wireless was also sold to A Wireless.[14] In February 2017, Allphones went into receivership after being sold to a "Canadian shareholder" in May 2016.[15]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "BCE to buy wireless retailer Glentel for $594-million". The Globe and Mail. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
2. ^ a b c "Glenayre, Wireless Survivor". BC Business Online. January 6, 2010. Archived from the original on March 15, 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
3. ^ "Burnaby firm takes mall business model to the bank". Business in Vancouver. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
4. ^ "Glentel opens new stores". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
5. ^ "Glentel to sell cellular products in Costco stores across Canada". Business In Vancouver. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
6. ^ "Glentel looks south, snaps up U.S. chain". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
7. ^ Tan, Gillian (2012-09-26). "Canada's Glentel Buys Majority Stake In AMT Group". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 2020-08-11. Retrieved 4 August 2017.(subscription required)
8. ^ "Wireless Zone Acquired; Will Keep Name, Headquarters". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on 2017-08-05. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
9. ^ "Glentel to handle Target's wireless offerings in Canada". Canadian Press. Archived from the original on 31 December 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
10. ^ "Rogers turns to courts in attempt to block Glentel sale to BCE". The Globe and Mail. 17 December 2014. Archived from the original on 31 December 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
11. ^ "Rogers, BCE to form joint venture for control of Glentel Inc". Canadian Press. 24 December 2014. Archived from the original on 25 December 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
12. ^ "Bell completes acquisition of mobile phone distributor GLENTEL and will later today divest 50% of GLENTEL to Rogers". Retrieved 2 June 2015.
13. ^ "Round Room Snaps Up Wireless Zone". Wireless Week. 2016-11-10. Archived from the original on 2017-08-05. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
14. ^ "Round Room Snaps Up Wireless Zone". Electrical Engineering News and Products. 2016-11-10. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
15. ^ Battersby, Lucy (2017-02-07). "18 stores closed and 70 staff sacked as Allphones goes into administration". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2017-08-09. Retrieved 2017-08-04.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

BCE Inc.

Corporate directors|

* Mirko Bibic (CEO)
* André Bérard
* Anthony S. Fell
* Ed Lumley
* John H. McArthur
* Jim Pattison
* Michael Sabia
* Paul Tellier
* Richard Currie
* Robert Pozen

Fixed-line
telecommunications|

* Bell Aliant (Atlantic Canada)
* Bell Canada (urban ON & QC)
* Bell Internet (ISP)
* Bell MTS (MB)
* Distributel (ISP)
* DMTS (Dryden, Ontario area)
* EBOX (ISP)
* NorthernTel (northern ON)
* Northwestel (northern Canada)
* Ontera (northern ON)
* Télébec (rural QC)

Mobile
telecommunications|

* Bell Mobility
* Bell MTS Wireless (MB)
* Inukshuk Wireless
* Lucky Mobile
* NorthernTel Mobility
* Northwestel (including Latitude Wireless)
* PC Mobile (prepaid)
* Solo Mobile
* Télébec Mobilité
* Virgin Mobile Canada

Television services|

* Bell Fibe TV (IPTV – urban ON & QC)
* Bell Mobile TV (mobile IPTV)
* Bell Satellite TV (satellite)
* Cablevision (northern QC)
* FibreOP (IPTV – Bell Aliant regions)
* MTS TV (IPTV – MB)

Other properties|

* AlarmForce
* Bell Media 1
* Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (28%)2
* Montreal Canadiens (18%)
* The Source
* Glentel (50%)

Advertising and
sponsorships|

* Bell Centre
* Bell Let's Talk
* Bell MTS Iceplex
* Place Bell
* Frank and Gordon
* Kids Help Phone
* TIFF Bell Lightbox

Related|

* AT&T Corporation
* Nortel
* Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada v. Bell Canada
* Telesat Canada

2An additional 9.5% interest is held by the BCE Master Trust Fund (Bell's pension plan).

* v
* t
* e

Rogers Communications

People|

* Edward S. Rogers Sr.
* Ted Rogers

* Corporate directors:
* Edward S. Rogers III
* Loretta Anne Rogers

Fixed-line|

* Rogers Cable
* Rogers Hi-Speed Internet
* Rogers Telecom

Mobile|

* Chatr
* Cityfone
* Fido Solutions
* Rogers Wireless
* Shaw Mobile

Television|

| Citytv|

* CITY-DT Toronto
* CHMI-DT Winnipeg
* CJNT-DT Montreal
* CKAL-DT Calgary
* CKEM-DT Edmonton
* CKVU-DT Vancouver
* Citytv Saskatchewan

|

Omni|

* CFMT-DT Toronto
* CHNM-DT Vancouver
* CJCO-DT Calgary
* CJEO-DT Edmonton
* CJMT-DT Toronto
* Omni Regional

Sportsnet|

* Sportsnet 360
* Sportsnet regional channels
* East
* Ontario
* West
* Pacific
* Sportsnet One
* Sportsnet PPV
* Sportsnet World
* WWE Network4

MLSE|

* NBA TV Canada

Others|

* Bravo
* Cable 141
* CPAC
* FX
* FXX
* Rogers TV1
* TV Rogers (French)1
* TSC
* Shaw PPV
* Shaw Spotlight1

Radio stations|

| AM|

* CFAC
* CFFR
* CFTR
* CISL
* CJCL
* CKAT
* CKGL
* CKWX

|

FM|

* CFGP-FM
* CFLT-FM
* CFRV-FM
* CHAS-FM
* CHBN-FM
* CHST-FM
* CHDI-FM
* CHEZ-FM
* CHFI-FM
* CHFM-FM
* CHMN-FM
* CHTT-FM
* CHUR-FM
* CHYM-FM
* CIKR-FM
* CIKZ-FM
* CIOC-FM
* CISQ-FM
* CISS-FM
* CITI-FM
* CJAQ-FM
* CJAX-FM
* CJCY-FM
* CJDL-FM
* CJET-FM
* CJMX-FM
* CJNI-FM
* CJOK-FM
* CJQM-FM
* CJQQ-FM
* CJRQ-FM
* CJRX-FM
* CKBY-FM
* CKFX-FM
* CKGB-FM
* CKIS-FM
* CKKS-FM
* CKMH-FM
* CKOT-FM
* CKQC-FM
* CKSR-FM
* CKXC-FM
* CKY-FM
* CKYX-FM

Networks|

* Jack
* Kiss
* Sportsnet
* CityNews

Other assets|

* Glentel (50%)
* Hockey Night in Canada2,3
* Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (37.5%)
* Rogers Bank
* Rogers Sports & Media
* Shaw Broadcast Services
* Shaw Direct
* Spring Fishing Show
* Toronto Blue Jays
* Vuguru

Facilities|

| Owned|

* 33 Dundas Street East
* Rogers Building
* Rogers Centre
* Rogers Park

|

Sponsored|

* Rogers Arena
* Rogers Place

Former|

* 545 Lake Shore Boulevard West

Acquisitions|

* Aurora Cable Internet
* Cable Atlantic
* CHUM Limited (Citytv only)
* Maclean-Hunter
* Mobilicity
* Moffat Communications (CKY-FM & CITI-FM)
* Seaside Communications
* Selkirk Communications
* Newton Cable
* Score Media
* Sprint Canada
* Shaw Communications

Defunct|

* Classicomm
* CityNews Channel
* Fundy Cable
* Graham Cable
* G4
* GolTV
* Mountain Cablevision
* MSNBC Canada
* Rogers Plus
* Shaw Multicultural Channel1
* Shomi
* Source Cable
* Texture
* Viceland
* Viewers Choice
* Trillium Cable

Some assets listed above are or were only partially owned by Rogers Communications. Refer to each individual article for detailed information.

* 1Community channels owned (or part-owned) by Rogers Cable
* 2Brand used under license from the CBC.
* 3Part-time network broadcast over the same stations as CBC Television
* 4U.S.-based service owned by TKO; Rogers handles Canadian distribution

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