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TORONTO, June 3 (Reuters) - Rogers Communications Inc, Canada's biggest wireless company, and Vodafone GroupPLC, the global telecoms group, announced a new marketagreement on Tuesday to broaden the services they offer eachother's customers.
They did not provide many details on the scope of thepartnership or the terms, but said the nonequity deal will makeRogers the exclusive partner of Vodafone Canada, and that theywill explore new business opportunities.
Vodafone, the world's largest mobile phone company withnetworks from Australia to India, in the Middle East and acrossEurope, said its scale will allow Rogers to make more money andcut more costs.
Canaccord Genuity analyst Dvai Ghose said the deal likelycements existing roaming agreements, but is positive for Rogersbecause the Canadian company has been challenged by thedevelopment of a shared next-generation network built bywireless competitors BCE Inc and Telus Corp.
The agreement, presumably, will also help Rogers winmultinational corporate customers with business in Canada, Ghosewrote in a note to clients.
Rogers' new chief executive officer, Guy Laurence, whojoined the Canadian company late last year from Vodafone's UKunit, said the partnership will give Rogers access to resourcesand expertise, allowing it to improve services for itscustomers.
Shares in Rogers rose 0.3 percent to C$44.58 on the TorontoStock Exchange. Vodafone was down 0.75 percent at 207 pence inLondon. ($1=0.597 British pounds) ($1=$1.09 Canadian) (Reporting by Euan Rocha and Alastair Sharp; Editing by PeterGalloway)