Xplornet buying NetSet Communications

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This article was published 24/10/2017 (3110 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon-based NetSet Communications is being sold.

The privately held telecommunications company is being purchased by Xplornet Communications Inc., which is headquartered in Woodstock, N.B.

The agreements have been signed and the closing is set for Oct. 31.

Locally owned and operated since its 2001 incarnation, NetSet co-founder and CEO Charlie Clark said that the decision to sell was a “tough call to make.”

“The industry is evolving at a very, very fast pace, and while we’ve done a fantastic job of keeping up with the demands of the consumers to this point, I think that a national company such as Xplornet is better suited; a better solution for customers overall moving forward,” he said.

Earlier this year found Xplornet given the Competition Bureau’s go-ahead to expand its existing rural internet services to also include cellular devices in an effort that came as a result of Bell Canada’s acquisition of MTS opening up a spot for competition.

Xplornet representative James Maunder said the absorption of NetSet would not result in any layoffs and that customers would not notice a change in service or billing.

Further to that, he said that they shouldn’t see any changes at all, with the “NetSet Communications” name remaining in place under Xplornet’s umbrella.

“There were never any discussions about us not retaining all of the employees,” Maunder said.

“NetSet knows what they’re doing and they get things right and we have no intentions of disrupting that work or pulling it back. We want to push it forward, and in order to do that all employees in the company now are going to be an important part of that process.”

The NetSet headquarters at the southeast side of Brandon will serve as Xplornet’s regional office, and Maunder said they would also retain NetSet’s Winnipeg office.

Although “virtually” all of NetSet’s 85 employees will remain on board after Xplornet takes over the company at the end of the month, Clark will join NetSet co-founder and COO Tami-Rae Rourke and business partner Donovan McIvor in starting up a new company named TowerCo Canada.

With Clark retaining ownership of the NetSet office building and approximately 200 telecommunications towers across the province, TowerCo will manage the real estate that Xplornet uses.

Clark said that he’d remain with NetSet in an advisory capacity to help ensure a smooth transition.

These past 16 years have been a wild ride, during which Clark said that NetSet continually surpassed what they considered milestones of success, expanding into the incarnation they are today.

The Xplornet deal has been in the works for more than a year, Clark said.

NetSet had kept up within the ever-changing world of rural internet, but he said they had to “do the right thing for our staff and our customers” looking toward the future.

“Sometimes it’s best to join forces with someone who’s already done it so you don’t have to recreate the wheel,” Rourke said, adding they knew even back in 2001 that they would eventually have to borrow a “whole bunch of money” or partner with another company.

Maunder said that Xplornet plans on launching its mobile cellular service some time next year as well as introduce retail outlets in both Brandon and Winnipeg, with specific locations yet to be firmed up.

Also serving as president of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce, Rourke said Xplornet’s purchase of NetSet would serve the region’s economy well through the company’s continued expansion.

» tclarke@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB