Canada is Going to Get Interesting....

Stu · 03-12-2007, 04:59

I liked the original FIDO, but the company never really seemed to be ready for prime time. It took them years to build out the system between London and Windsor. Windsor a city of 250,000 didn't get a company store for five years (and then under Rogers).

MVNOs such as Virgin seem to be making it in Canada. Clearly Canadians are taxed at a much higher rate than in the US. Clearly these cost have also caused most US carriers to cancel Canada roaming plans. The original ATT, Cingular, and Verizon all pulled their Canada roaming plans. Canadian plans that roam at no extra charge in the US are massively expensive. Similarly, wireless data rates in Canada are very high. (Bell Mobility just came out with a $7 a month data plan that might make me a liar).

MVNO's like Virgin are doing ok in Canada. Also there has been some movement in terms of free incoming on Rogers and My Faves on Rogers and Telus.

In sum, I think there is room for a well managed and well funded competitor to compete. My concern, however, is that under the guise of "preserving Canadian culture" or some other excuse, Canada will lock out a well healed and aggressive competitor and give the licenses to a home grown cludge.

I'd love to see Voda, Hutchison, etc. come in there and beat the tail off some of these incumbents. For example, I don't think one Canadian carrier offers a phone targeted at the Chinese population. Cantonese prompts, HK centered web pages, cheap roaming in HK would target a massive affluent population in Canada, but I don't think anyone is doing it.

What about something like the original FIDO which had $0.25 a minute roaming in the US?

	(#13)
Stu (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Guru Posts: 1,091 Join Date: 11 Feb 2004 Location: Detroit (formerly Dubai) Country:	03-12-2007, 04:59 I liked the original FIDO, but the company never really seemed to be ready for prime time. It took them years to build out the system between London and Windsor. Windsor a city of 250,000 didn't get a company store for five years (and then under Rogers). MVNOs such as Virgin seem to be making it in Canada. Clearly Canadians are taxed at a much higher rate than in the US. Clearly these cost have also caused most US carriers to cancel Canada roaming plans. The original ATT, Cingular, and Verizon all pulled their Canada roaming plans. Canadian plans that roam at no extra charge in the US are massively expensive. Similarly, wireless data rates in Canada are very high. (Bell Mobility just came out with a $7 a month data plan that might make me a liar). MVNO's like Virgin are doing ok in Canada. Also there has been some movement in terms of free incoming on Rogers and My Faves on Rogers and Telus. In sum, I think there is room for a well managed and well funded competitor to compete. My concern, however, is that under the guise of "preserving Canadian culture" or some other excuse, Canada will lock out a well healed and aggressive competitor and give the licenses to a home grown cludge. I'd love to see Voda, Hutchison, etc. come in there and beat the tail off some of these incumbents. For example, I don't think one Canadian carrier offers a phone targeted at the Chinese population. Cantonese prompts, HK centered web pages, cheap roaming in HK would target a massive affluent population in Canada, but I don't think anyone is doing it. What about something like the original FIDO which had $0.25 a minute roaming in the US?