Beginning One of the first two telephone subscribers in Manitoba was Winnipeg businessman
James Henry Ashdown in 1881. The
Crown corporation became Manitoba Telephone System in 1921, and eventually took over all private telephone operations in the province.
1940s MTS announced in late 1947 that it would modernize its long-distance equipment in both Winnipeg and Brandon, using
Siemens Brothers switching equipment, Initial communities to be set up with the new long-distance hardware included Boissevain, Deloraine, Dauphin, Kenton, Melita, Waskada, Lyleton, Tilston, Portage la Prairie, Pierson. Also in the late 1950s, MTS located one of its administrative offices on Empress St. near the newly opened
Polo Park Shopping Centre complex. In 2000 these employees were moved to 333 Main St., commonly known as
MTS Place, where 1,500 employees now work. This formed part of the Province's
Downtown First strategy.
1970s In the late 1970s, similar to policy changes implemented by
AT&T in the U.S., MTS allowed its customers to purchase their own telephone equipment and with this, provided free installation of
RJ11 telephone jacks. In July 1979, MTS announced that it would be a pioneer in
Telidon-based two-way electronic information services. The trial was called "Project IDA" and ran from 1980 to 1981.
1980s MTS was a pioneer in offering videotex at the commercial level. In 1981, it partnered with
Infomart (then owned by the Torstar and Southam newspaper chains) to create the
Grassroots service, providing information relevant to farmers on the Canadian prairies. Customers paid $47.50 per month to subscribe to Grassroots, plus connection fees to
DATAPAC. Terminal equipment was manufactured by
Norpak. They opened
MTS Phone Centre stores in shopping malls to sell residential and business phones and services, and in 1984 opened two
MTS Business Centre locations (Commodity Exchange Tower lobby and Empress St. office) to provide sales of business-level equipment. In the mid-1980s, MTS started a subsidiary known as MTX, which had invested in telecommunications in Saudi Arabia. However MTX was forced to shut down after controversy about the company back in Manitoba after MTX lost $27 million on the venture. In the late 1980s MTS launched MTS Mobility providing cellular and paging services in Manitoba after competitor
Cantel was allowed to set up the cellular radio infrastructure and market the service before MTS.
1990s In 1996, the Provincial government of Premier
Gary Filmon decided to sell the Manitoba Telephone System to private shareholders. The decision to privatize was seen as controversial, as it marked a significant departure from the
Progressive Conservatives' earlier position that MTS should remain provincially owned. In January 1999, MTS partnered with
Bell Canada to form
Intrigna, a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) which was created to expand telecommunications options for the business market in Alberta and British Columbia. As part of the deal,
Bell Canada gained 20% ownership of MTS. They set up a jointly operated office in Calgary. By the summer of 1999, fibre optic cable had been laid in
Edmonton and
Calgary, and later extended to
Vancouver, British Columbia. In August 1999, MTS completed work on a new trunked (digital) radio system known as
FleetNet 800, technology licensed from neighbouring
SaskTel. Cellular telephone service is currently available to 98% of the population in the province. In 2003, MTS purchased the naming rights for the True North Centre in downtown Winnipeg, renaming it the
MTS Centre. The 10-year deal between
True North Sports & Entertainment and MTS, which was MTS's single largest advertising expenditure, was extended when the arena became a
National Hockey League venue in 2011. In February 2004, MTS sold its 40% stake in Intrigna to Bell Canada for $230 million. In April 2004, MTS acquired
Allstream, the successor to the transcontinental railways' telegraph businesses. It renamed the main subsidiary to
MTS Allstream Inc. until 2012, when it was split as
MTS Inc. and
Allstream Inc. On December 7, 2005, former BCE executive Pierre Blouin was named
chief executive officer of Manitoba Telecom Services and of
MTS Allstream, replacing longtime CEO Bill Fraser.
2010s In March 2011, MTS unveiled a new, animated version of their mascot, Morty the Bison. On March 31, 2011 MTS officially launched a HSPA+ wireless network along with the availability Apple's iPhone series of smartphones starting with the
iPhone 4. The wireless network had claims it would provide data speeds up to 21 Mbit/s. In September 2012, MTS launched LTE, with it initially rolling out in the cities of Winnipeg and Brandon. MTS' older
CDMA network continues to work with CDMA handsets. According to the MTS website, MTS plans on shutting down its CDMA service by the end of 2016. In May 2013, Allstream was to be sold to Accelero Capital, with the deal expected to close by the end of the year. However, on October 7, 2013, the Canadian government blocked the sale over national security concerns, declining to mention the specific concerns. In November 2014, Jay A. Forbes was appointed as CEO effective January 1, 2015. On November 23, 2015 it was announced that Allstream Inc. would be sold to
Zayo Group in a cash transaction deal worth $465 million. The deal faced criticism for the possibility that it would result in a higher cost of services. Due to the market positioning of MTS as a fourth major wireless carrier in the region, the three major national carriers have historically offered lower prices in Manitoba to remain competitive. As such, with the removal of a competitor, there would no longer be an incentive to do so. A survey by the
Angus Reid Institute found that 61% of those surveyed moderately or strongly disapproved of the deal. On December 20, 2016, the CRTC approved the sale of MTS's broadcast distribution undertakings to Bell. On February 15, 2017, the deal was approved by the Competition Bureau and
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. To relieve concerns over the reduction of wireless competition in Manitoba post-merger, Bell additionally agreed to divest 24,700 customers, 6 retail locations, and wireless spectrum to
rural internet provider
Xplornet so it may launch its own competing wireless business. Bell will provide Xplornet with "expedited access" to its towers for five years, as well as roaming and handset stock. This aspect of the deal will maintain the presence of four competing wireless providers in Manitoba, with the fourth being a new entrant to the market. The acquisition closed on March 17, 2017; at this time, Dan McKeen (who led the integration of
Bell Aliant into the company's national operations) was installed as the new head of the division, replacing the outgoing Jay Forbes. Along with the closure of the deal, Bell launched LTE service in
Churchill, Manitoba. Bell stated that it intended to maintain MTS's existing wireless pricing structure for at least a year after the closure of the acquisition. The MTS Centre was renamed to
Bell MTS Place on May 30, 2017, following
Bell Canada’s acquisition of MTS. In October 2018, Bell MTS began to integrate its wireless subscribers into the national
Bell Mobility business. In late August 2019, Bell MTS announced that it will no longer serve some rural communities with wireless Internet service via the "rural Internet program" because of a decrease in wholesale fees mandated by the CRTC. On June 15, 2021, following the expiration of Bell MTS’ naming rights,
True North Sports & Entertainment, the operator of
Bell MTS Place, announced that the naming rights to the arena had been sold to
Canada Life under a 10-year agreement. ==Facilities==