Big 3 Canada telecom stocks surge as Verizon threat fades

Shares in Canada's big three telecom companies are surging on news that U.S. giant Verizon said it'sno longer interestedin entering Canada's wireless market.

Stock in Rogers soared the most inafternoon trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange and closed up7.2 per cent, or $3.00, to $44.59.

Telus bounced up6.7 per cent, or $2.18, to $34.50 at the close, while BCE was up3.8 per cent, or $1.67, at $44.86.

Rogers, Telus and Bell say they've had a cumulative loss of $14.7 billion on the capital markets since the news broke in June that Verizon was considering entering Canada.

But with Verizon no longer interested in moving north, it leaves the federal Conservatives with no obvious source of serious competition to the existing big three players.

Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said on the weekend that speculation that his company might try to compete in Canada was "way overblown."

His remarks came after Verizon announced it was spending $130 billion USto buy out the 45 per cent stake held in the company by U.K.-based Vodafone.

Shares in another Canadian telecommunications giant, BlackBerry, also rose Tuesday on separate news that Microsoft had made a deal to buy Nokia Corp's handset operations.

BlackBerry shares were up about two per cent,gaining21 cents to trade at $10.85 in early afternoon trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange. They closed up nine cents at $10.21.

The Microsoft-Nokia deal raised investors' hopes thattheWaterloo, Ont.-based company could bepurchasedby another technology firm, though it also means Microsoft is unlikely to participate as a bidder.

BlackBerry is in the midst of a review of its "strategic alternatives," which could result in the sale of its operations or an agreement to take the company private, though so far no potential bidders have publicly emerged.