Canada’s largest wireless operator, Rogers Communications, today announced plans to acquire Shaw Communications in a $20.83 billion deal that the former said will allow it to bolster its 5G deployment plans.

Both companies are using the same talking points that eventually swayed U.S. regulators to approve the combination of T-Mobile US and Sprint last year. The Canadian operators claim the transaction is necessary to increase investments in 5G network deployments, lower costs, and fund the delivery of broadband to less populated areas.

Canada is dominated by three large nationwide carriers in Rogers, Telus, and Bell Canada. Shaw is the country’s fourth-largest operator and has an expansive footprint across Western Canada, including the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The operators said the combination will create more jobs and investment in Western Canada while also increasing competition in the country’s wireless market. 

“We’re at a critical inflection point where generational investments are needed to make Canada-wide 5G a reality. 5G is about nation-building; it’s vital to boosting productivity and will help close the connectivity gap faster in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities,” Rogers Communications CEO Joe Natale said in a statement.

Canadian regulators and policymakers have tried in vain to position a fourth company to better compete with Rogers, BCE , and Telus, but Shaw is still a regional player that only competes with the nation’s big three operators in some markets. Shaw also operates cable and fiber networks.

The Canadian government last year, noting that the cost of wireless connectivity in Canada is the highest or second-highest among the G7 countries and Australia, put the big three operators on notice and required the companies to cut prices by as much as 25% by 2022 to avoid further regulatory intervention. The trio of nationwide operators control about 89% of Canada’s total wireless market.

Rogers and Shaw hope to close the deal in the first half of 2022, but regulatory approval could hinge on pledges to increase infrastructure investments, slash prices, and create more jobs. Rogers’ offer for Shaw represents a 69% premium over the smaller company’s previous closing price. The $20.83 billion deal also includes Rogers’ willingness to absorb $4.81 billion of Shaw debt.

“Fundamentally, this combination of two great companies will create more jobs and investment in Western Canada, connect more people and businesses, deliver best-in-class services and infrastructure across the nation, and provide increased competition and choice for Canadian consumers and businesses,” Natale said in a statement.

Rogers committed to invest an additional $5.2 billion as part of the deal, claiming the combination will speed up the deployment of 5G service across Western Canada. Those pledges include a $2 billion investment on its 5G network in Western Canada, an $800 million fund to connect more rural, remote, and Indigenous communities with broadband, and an additional $2.4 billion on other network, services, and technology infrastructure. 

The companies, both of which are majority family owned and carry the namesake of their respective founders, claim the deal will culminate in the creation of 3,000 net new jobs. “Without a doubt, my father would be proud of this moment, combining forces with the company founded by his old friend to deliver more Canadians world class connectivity, more choice, and better value,” Shaw CEO Brad Shaw said in a statement.