Manitoban cellular network operator Xplore Mobile, an associate of Xplornet Communications, has announced on its website that it is shutting down its services effective 31 August 2022. The company launched its 4G LTE network in parts of Manitoba province in November 2018 courtesy of spectrum and customer base transfers via antimonopoly conditions imposed on Bell Canada’s takeover of Manitoba Telecom Services (MTS), but the latest announcement states that the venture ‘could not overcome the cloud of uncertainty created by regulatory delays, such as those associated with the Canadian Radio-television & Telecommunications Commission (CRTC’s) mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) process and the high roaming rates that significantly exceed retail prices.’ The statement continued: ‘This was a difficult decision. We set out to provide Manitoba consumers with the option of obtaining mobile services in a simple, fair and transparent way. At Xplore Mobile, we are proud of being the first in Canada to offer innovative data rollover plans. Xplore Mobile was also the first to offer unlimited data plans on LTE at full speed to Canadians. At the CRTC, Xplore Mobile spearheaded the quest for seamless roaming to reduce dropped calls for customers.’
Xplornet Mobile acquired 24,700 subscriptions from Bell Canada upon its launch in 2018, but the Globe & Mail newspaper reports that the operator had less than 7,000 subscriptions by the time of its closure announcement.