After some very public Wi-Fi woes, Toronto Tempo guard Marina Mabrey suddenly has Canada’s biggest telecom companies competing for her business, with faster internet or even free service on the table.
The WNBA all-star guard first took to social media Saturday to air her frustration with Rogers, saying her Wi-Fi “literally doesn’t work” and adding the company never answered her calls. Her complaints continued through the ensuing days, and apparently caught the attention of the competition.
On Thursday evening, Bell entered the race to become Mabrey’s new internet provider with what it called a “Wi-Fi trade proposal.” The communication giant said the offer included “Up to 8 Gbps download and upload speeds. We answer your calls. It literally works.”
Seven minutes later, Mabrey quote-tweeted Bell and wrote “Call me” with several eyes emojis.
By Friday afternoon, Telus had decided it wasn’t going to let Bell negotiate uncontested, posting a video to its Instagram account saying “we wanted to put an in offer before the trade deadline.”
“We’re not going to talk your ear off about our super-fast, amazing, pure-fibre internet,” said a spokesperson wearing a Tempo jersey in the video. “We’re just going to give it to you for free, as long as you stay in Toronto. So Marina, what do you say?”
Mabrey commented “This is insane lmao” within the hour, to which Telus responded “we mean it” with a winking emoji.
It is not clear whether either telecom company has managed to successfully poach the star guard .
After Mabrey’s complaints Saturday, she told reporters Monday that the troubles continued after a Rogers field technician visited her apartment. About two hours after the technician left, she said, she was watching a WNBA matchup when her Wi-Fi cut out once again with 13.3 seconds left in the game.
“I don’t want to be part of it. I want my Wi-Fi to work. I’m sick to death. I can’t order anything from Skims, Fashion Nova; I can’t order nothing. I can barely FaceTime,” Mabrey said.
Mabrey became the first WNBA player to receive a million-dollar contract after she signed with the Tempo in April for a two-year max contract worth $2.4 million.
