BISM 450 Project: A Comprehensive Evaluation of Fido's E-Business

This case study provides an in-depth evaluation of Fido's e-business strategy, analyzing its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats within the Canadian telecommunications industry. It highlights Fido's strong market position as the fourth-largest mobile service provider in Canada, its well-established network, and robust brand recognition. The analysis also addresses weaknesses such as the impact of economic slowdowns and intense competition from rivals like Bell and TELUS. Opportunities for expansion into external markets and threats from regulatory uncertainties and the rise of over-the-top (OTT) services are examined. Furthermore, the study includes a PESTLE analysis, covering political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors affecting Fido's operations. The study concludes that while the Canadian market offers potential, strategic policy amendments are necessary for sustained growth and competitiveness.

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Fido
Student’s Name
Institution Affiliation

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Introduction
Fido was the pioneer in providing a network that was supported by a GSM standard. As
of 2004, during Fido’s acquisition, it had more than 1.275 million subscribers (Singh, 2013). In
mid-2013, the company had a customer base of 3.3 million subscribers, and this led to it being
ranked as the fourth largest wires carrier in Canada. Fido solutions have annual revenue of $10.8
billion.
Strength
It is the fourth largest provider of mobile services based on subscribers. It has more a
customer base of more than 3 million in Canada (Fido, 2020). Thus, this makes it among the top
service providers in Canada. It is this strong position that provides various benefits to Fido, such
as financial leverage, increased capacity to absorb shocks, and an enhanced capacity to steer the
market direction.
Well established and advanced network
Though Fido is not the trailblazer of LTE network inception in its operational regions,
Fido deployed LTE and high-speed networks in most areas of its operation. Fido network has
more than 97% coverage, which translates to most Canadians getting coverage (Fido, 2020).
Also, one can make a call or text via Wi-Fi, assisting one to remain connected in various places.
The EXT feature is a plus and a boost to users of Fido as they can use Fido in any part of Canada
due to extended coverage. Fido roam allows mobile subscribers to remain connected while using
this network through the use of Fido Roam, where one is charged $8 per day.
Robust brand recognition

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The use of aggressive strategies, innovative advertising, and improve customer service,
coupled with worker-friendly policies, have played a vital role in cementing Fido’s place among
the trending brands in Canada. Thus, it becomes easy for Fido to win new subscribers while
maintaining the existing pool. Fido content destination is a great feature that allows subscribers
to get the latest updates on music, arts, travel, and functions (Fido, 2020). Thus, with this feature,
consumers can get news regarding their entertainment preferences based on their needs.
Credit cards
Fido has a MasterCard in connection with Rodgers bank that is accepted and functional in
more than 44 million places globally (ROGERS bank, 2020). The card accords users of their
wish to benefit from various rewards such as purchasing Rodgers products. The MasterCard can
also be used in filling gas, paying bills in a restaurant, and facilitating daily purchases. For those
traveling, they can use the Mastercard to book flights and reserve mega ticket purchases, among
other services.
Weaknesses
The sluggish economy in Canada
Fido suffered when the Canadian economy was feeble in the past few years. The lower
disposable income exacerbated by high unemployment compelled subscribers to cut down their
expenditure with regards to phone bills. Though Canada is displaying signs of recovery, the
journey to recovery seems long.
Cutthroat rivalry

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Bell is the leading competitor of Fido. Bell was formed in 1880 and competed in the
telecommunication infrastructure industry. Bell generates $2.8 billion more in revenues
compared to Fido Solutions. The second rival is TELUS, which has its headquarters in
Vancouver and was formed in 1993.TELUS revenues are 97% of those by Fido.
Opportunities
Venturing in external markets such as India, Turkey, and Africa
Countries where people still lack mobile phones or use the 2G feature devices provide
excellent platforms for business development. India offers vast opportunities to be tapped into. A
country such as Turkey has not attained the 100% penetration of mobile phones where more than
a third of its population lack 3G enabled phone devices. Africa is not left behind as it has an
untapped market.
Threats
Uncertainty regarding regulatory climate
The policy regarding telecommunication, coupled with regulation, has been a challenge
in Canada, and this adversely affects Fido. For instance, in Canada, there a significant issue, such
as declining mobile termination rates and subsidized roaming rates (Indrayan, 2014). It is
imperative to note that what is good for the consumer may not work for the service provider. A
favorable policy is a massive boost for mobile operators such as Fido. Allowing consolidation
practices that would enable many operators in the country could stir healthy competition.
The advent of over-the-top (OTT) services

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One of the menaces for the mobile wireless operators is the increase of users of OTT
(Indrayan, 2014). The concept regarding OTT is simple as people can talk and see their loved
ones across the globe using Wi-Fi, eliminating the need to use phone minutes. Moreover,
WhatsApp and Skype have identical mobile apps that have removed the need to rely on the
cellular network. Forecasting in the future, it may get worse. Thus, it would be imperative if Fido
partnered with OTT services and use the bundled plans to reduce the extent of damage control.
PESTLE Analysis
The Government of Canada is political in that it uses the commissions responsible for
Radio, television, and communications as the management body that is the only provider of
licenses and bandwidth. Thus, the wireless industry is heavily regulated, with only three mega
oligopolies acting as primary operators. However, in 2008, the government of Canada made a
significant move by auctioning the AWS spectrum for about $4.26 billion, where some spectrum
blocks were booked for new entrants (Singh, 2013). Gobalive came forward and was able to
procure the 10MHz range in Toronto. Quebecor also acquired a similar spectrum in Montreal. It
is this liberalization by the government that can have various repercussions for the
telecommunication industry.
Economic
The current global recession has slowed down the progress of the wireless sector in
Canada. Such recession plays a crucial role as it impedes carriers from making significant
investments with regards to capital expenditures recommended for high-speed networks,
extensive coverage, and improved services. It is the continuity of the weakness in the economy
that adversely affects customer demand and supplier bases from 2010. However, the economic

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recovery as of 2011/2012 was convenient as it provided the needed boost for the industry
following the announcements of the launching of LTE networks in early 2012.
Social
The increasing number of Canadians who spend significant time on social network
platforms such as Facebook, which has gained popularity since its inception, is alarming.
According to a report in 2010 by eMarketer, it indicated that approximately 15 million
Canadians visited social networking sites monthly, and this was to increase to 18 million
Canadians by 2014 (Singh, 2013). It has also been reported that Canadians below the age of 30
have employed social networking as a component of their communication operations. This
change in the behavior of the consumers is due to the advent of changes in mobile technology
that have made it possible to communicate through the use of various apps with the use of
feature endowed smartphones.
Technological
The recent advancements in technology in sectors such as processing capacity,
nanotechnology, and the size of the storage have facilitated real ubiquitous mobile ease of
access. Thus, the baby boomers have access to advanced wireless networks with peak and off-
peak data rates with high speeds as 150Mbps (Singh, 2013). Hence, with such technology, other
innovative mobile services such as health monitoring, track-based services, mobile commerce,
and mobile government have sufficed.
Legal
The legislation by the government in the wireless industry can substantially increase
barriers to entry via setting rules and regulations associated with infrastructure, distribution

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mediums, and networks. Local laws also may discourage potential new entrants where some
parties may be legally forbidden from entering the industry, as was the case with Huawei and
ZTE as they were Chinese infrastructure vendors who failed to compete favorably for tenders in
the U.S.
Environmental
Canada is a sparsely populated country, except for metropolitan cities. The population
density is four people per sq.km in relative to Europe, which has 70 individuals per square
kilometer or the U.S., which has 30 individuals per square kilometer. Thus, such a geography
command higher capital expenditure for mobile operators. However, the International Agency
for Research on Cancer warned that radiations transmitted by cellphones and wireless
communication devices could potentially become carcinogenic to people. Such a study by the
research center could have lasting impacts on the mobile telecommunication industry.
In conclusion, it is crucial to note that the SWOT analysis for Fido points to the strengths
and weaknesses that amidst competitors. However, the Canadian environment for mobile
wireless operators seems conducive for business with slight policy amendments, and any
operator would be willing to venture in such a market.

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References
Fido. (2020). Why Fido. Retrieved from fido: https://www.fido.ca/consumer/why-fido
Indrayan, G. (2014, July 28). SWOT Analysis of Vodafone – World’s second largest mobile network
operator. Retrieved from Wireless and Mobile Telecommunications:
https://wirelesstelecom.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/swot-analysis-of-vodafone-worlds-second-
largest-mobile-network-operator/
ROGERS bank. (2020). Fido MasterCard. Retrieved from rogersbank:
https://rogersbank.com/en/fido_mastercard_details?
utm_source=banners&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=Fido.ca-
PromoPage&utm_content=EN-ApplyNow&campaignsource=FIDCOM
Singh, A. (2013, September 29). Canadian Telecommunication Industry:Voice and data networks.
Retrieved from SlideShare: https://www.slideshare.net/AjaySingh227/canadian-
telecommunication-voice-and-data-networks