The Simon Tonekham Statesman

I stumbled upon reading a message board topic down at HowardForums.com and one thread that has caught to my attention that leads me to a news article.

According to an article posted on CBC.ca, a new report produced by a Montreal-based telecommunications consulting firm called Seaboard Group has stated that a new (if not, many) cell phone carrier(s) might be up and running by next summer as opposed to a 12 to 18-month timeframe as produced by other analysts. With the wireless auction about to take place in Canada starting on May 27th and lasting for a month, many customers are waiting for a moment like this.

A similar spectrum has recently wrapped up in the United States, in which Verizon won the piece of that pie. It’s currently moving forward on upgrading their network to LTE (Long Term Evolution) making future phones work around the world. I’m not sure if Verizon will have SIM (subscriber identity module) cards for their LTE phones, but it’s anyone’s guess.

Anyways, to view the list of bidders for the Canadian wireless auction, please click here. Many companies out there are trying to fight back against so-called System Access Fees, Activation fees and those lousy cancellation fees (penalties). One provider, Koodo Mobile has decided to take back the approach on marketing as “fat-free mobility”. I’ve created two posts about Koodo mobile. You can view them here or here.

Virgin Mobile on the other hand, now offers some monthly plans (known as the myPlan) that roughly follows on the same trail as Koodo. The only drawback is that you can only make long distance calls to the U.S., but still text message to other destinations (including the U.S.). As for U.S. roaming, you can do that with myPlan, but it’s the opposite of Virgin Mobile’s prepaid plans (for prepaid – a.k.a. Pay-as-you-go plans). You CANNOT roam your phone down to the states if you are prepaid customer. Maybe someday, Virgin Mobile Canada will work on this any day…..

There are many other providers out there that many people have never heard of. The list goes on (i’ve put some hyperlinks on those providers so you can do some research about them):

The providers that many people have not heard of are:

• Solo Mobile
• PC Mobile
• Petro Canada mobility
• 7-Eleven speak out (unofficial page *or official one)
• Primus
• SearsConnect
• SimplyConnect (only for Scotiabank VISA customers)
• uWho Wireless
• DCI Telecom
• Videotron (Quebec Only)
• CityFone

These providers either run on the big three’s (Rogers, Telus, Bell) networks or have it’s own dedicated network.

* = Editor’s note: at the time of blog posting, the 7-Eleven official website is undergoing maintenance. I couldn’t provide the official link at this time..

The providers that you people may (or might) know are:

• Rogers
• Telus
• Fido
• Bell Mobility
• Solo Mobile
• Virgin Mobile
• MTS
• Sasktel

Anyways, based on my original blog postings, I thought that the auction is taking place as of now, but I heard it’s going to start on May 27th, 2008 – not end on that date. I vaguely apologize for any misunderstandings that I have made to you, guys. I hope you understand it by now.

I can’t wait on who will get the piece of the 2GHz spectrum…..

References:

“New cellphone carriers by next summer: report.” CBC.ca. 9 May 2008. 12 May 2008 <http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/05/09/tech-cellphones.html>

“City man part of major wireless bid.” Peterborough Examiner. 10 May 2008. 12 May 2008 <http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1022558>

“Canada’s Wireless Crisis.” Geist, Michael. 7 May 2008. 12 May 2008 <http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/2907/135/>