On Monday November 8th, 2004 Rogers purchased Microcell Telecom. On that day the company that originally spawned the Fido network ceased to exist. Nothing happened immediately, but over the following year Rogers performed what they called an "integration" of the two networks. In simple terms this means that Rogers took over the old Fido cell sites and kept the ones that would enhance their own network. Fido sites that were either co-located with an existing Rogers site, or those which were just so close as to make little difference, were dismantled.
Microcell, provided wireless service to 1.2 million customers under the Fido brand name. Fido was the smallest of the 4 major wireless providers at that time, the other three being Bell Telus and of course Rogers. Fido has always been Canada's most affordable mobile service provider. They offered users a contract-free plan with basic phones at affordable and subsidized prices. But most important of all, Fido was Canada's first GSM provider. GSM is also known as Global System for Mobile Communications, or simply Global System for Mobile. A technology started development in 1985 by a French company formerly known as Groupe Spécial Mobile. Its main competitor is CDMA, currently in use by Bell Mobility, Telus Mobility and Mobility Canada carriers.
Many saw the Fido usage of GSM as a little ahead of their time. At the time of Fido's conception, GSM was a mainly European technology only offered by very few US providers and no Canadian services were available. This made Fido stand out from its competition, however since no one else supported GSM; they effectively saw their profit margin shrink. It might have been a bad choice at the time, but now it’s quite beneficial to the average customer. GSM is capa ...