WIND to be Canada’s 4th national carrier

15th December, 2009 by adina
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The Canadian government has recently authorized Globalive to run the country’s fourth national carrier. The CRTC initially denied Globalive the right to run the WIND service due to some concerns about foreign ownership, but now Industry Minister Tony Clement claims the results were overturned and the decision was wrong, as foreign investment in the company does not necessarily mean a control that would violate ownership laws in force in Canada. The new decision takes effect on the spot and authorizes WIND to run as soon as it will be ready.

Unlike the United States, where there are four major national carriers that operate and other numerous regionalized carriers like Cellular South and Alltel, Canada’s cellular market is almost entirely dominated by three carriers – Bell, Telus and Rogers. This is the reason for high expectations to open this relatively closed market by allowing another carrier to operate. We have to mention that the three companies are all running similar HSPA 3G networks with plans that are often similar and do not provide obvious different features. Smartphone customers are often subject to limitations in Canada, as they receive fewer voice minutes for the fees and lower data rates. It is almost rare for the providers to compensate by enabling data tethering without requiring extra payment and by including SMS/MMS messaging in the package.

Although incumbents have opposed Globalive’s initiative and sustained the former CRTC decision to prevent a new competitor from challenging them the matter seems now to be closed. WIND should use its acquired 2GHz spectrum to run an HSPA-based phone network. Initial plans forecast unlimited data for smartphones and tethering included.


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