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Canada gets real wireless competition as a key carrier adds LTE
Canada was supposed to get proper, national-level cellular competition when Wind Mobile hit the scene in 2009, but that's not quite how it panned out. You see, Wind hasn't had LTE all those years -- if you wanted fast data beyond a regional carrier, you still had to go with one of the three main providers (Bell, Rogers or Telus) that have a tight grip on the industry. At last, though, you don't have to choose between low prices and high performance. Wind Mobile is rebranding as Freedom Mobile, and it's launching its first LTE networks in Toronto and Vancouver on November 27th.
Canadian cable company Shaw just bought a phone network
Shaw Communications has announced that it's going to pay $1.6 billion CAD for Canuck carrier Wind Mobile. As MobileSyrup reports, there were rumors of a Verizon purchase back in 2013, but the US carrier ended up courting some internet company or something. Shaw will pick up Wind's mobile spectrum that covers Ontario British Columbia and Alberta. CEO Brad Shaw says the company plans to offer converged network solutions, which is the unsexy way of saying Canadians will be able to bundle their wireless needs in with their cable and internet -- if they like what Shaw's offering. The deal still needs to pick up approval from Canada's Competition Bureau, but Shaw expects the deal to go through by late 2016.
Canada's Wind Mobile offers unlimited US roaming for $15 extra per month
Canadians frequently have to pay through the nose to use their phones in the US; at best, they'll get a paltry 50MB of data per day. They won't have that problem for long, though, since Wind Mobile is launching an unlimited US roaming plan on February 3rd. For $15 extra per month, subscribers will get to use as much data, text messaging and voice as they like while visiting their American neighbors. This isn't as sweet a deal as T-Mobile USA's free basic data, but it's still a huge bargain for traveling Canucks who'd rather not deal with an outrageous phone bill when they get home.
Wind Mobile to participate in Canada's 700MHz wireless auction (update: more providers)
Wind Mobile apparently isn't worried that it has to fend without Verizon's help: the carrier has confirmed to MobileSyrup that it will participate in Canada's 700MHz wireless auction. While the provider doesn't have much more to share at this stage, it sees the LTE-friendly spectrum bid as proof of a "long-term commitment" to the country. The company will still have to win spectrum to better compete with Bell, Rogers and Telus, but its entry should assuage Canucks worried that only the incumbents can afford to buy more bandwidth. Update: EastLink and Public Mobile are also committed to the auction. Mobilicity, however, has yet to reveal its plans; if it doesn't announce its participation in the auction before noon today, it's out of the running.
LG G2 ships to six Canadian carriers on September 27th
Canadians won't have to wait long for their version of the LG G2. The 5.2-inch smartphone is now due to reach Bell, Rogers, Sasktel, Telus, Videotron and Wind Mobile on September 27th, two days after it launches on T-Mobile in the States. The carriers haven't yet divulged pricing, although we're not expecting Bell, Rogers or Telus to charge much more than $200 on contract, like some of their American counterparts.
Wind Mobile reportedly near acquiring Mobilicity's subscribers
Mobilicity lost out on its chances of a rescue from either Telus or Verizon, and there's now talk that the ailing Canadian carrier has run out of options. The Financial Post claims that Wind Mobile has nearly completed a deal to acquire Mobilicity's cellular subscribers for little to no cash. Mobilicity would only hold on its wireless spectrum and tax losses in the hopes of selling those separately. Neither of the involved companies has commented on the rumor. However, any handover would be relatively painless; when the two carriers have similar coverage and frequency support, customers almost wouldn't notice the difference. [Image credit: Andrew Currie, Flickr]
LG G2 coming to six major Canadian carriers this fall
LG was unsurprisingly silent regarding a Canadian launch for the G2 at its New York City event, but it's making up for that today with initial release details for the country. As in the US, LG plans to support most larger carriers: its 5.2-inch phone will be available this fall through Bell, Rogers, SaskTel, Telus, Videotron and Wind Mobile. There are no mentions of pricing at this stage, although the Canadian G2 will share the American variant's 3,000mAh battery and 32GB of storage. It will at least offer more variety in the local smartphone selection -- when the G2 ships, many Canucks will see at least two Android flagships on their network of choice.
Verizon shelves Wind and Mobilicity acquisitions, ponders Canada's 700MHz auction
Verizon's insatiable appetite for spectrum is legendary. The company's most recently been eyeing Canada's valuable 700MHz airwaves and even shown interest in acquiring troubled carriers Wind Mobile and Mobilicity. (Especially after the CRTC rejected Telus's attempt to purchase the latter.) The Globe and Mail now reports that VZW's chosen to delay its potential acquisitions of the two carriers until after next year's 700MHz auction and that the US company is considering a bid for the spectrum directly. It's unclear if Verizon is attempting to buy time, trying to push the price of the struggling operators down or simply losing interest in the Canadian market. One thing's for sure -- if the company bids in the auction it won't be able to negotiate any deals with other applicants until next year. [Image credit: Andrew Currie, Flickr]
Mobile Miscellany: week of August 5th, 2013
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week brought a smartphone inspired by TopGear's 2012 supercar of the year, leaks of a water-resistant handset for T-Mobile and an Android smartphone from LG that sells for under $100 outright. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore all that's happening in the mobile world for this week of August 5th, 2013.
Verizon reportedly offers more than $600 million to buy Wind Mobile
Verizon's curiosity about entering the Canadian market could represent more than just a brief fascination: Reuters claims that Big Red has made a "tentative" bid for Wind Mobile. While the exact price would depend on what Verizon finds in Wind's accounting books, the estimated value ranges from $600 million to $800 million. Neither party is commenting on the rumor, although Verizon may still be open to alternative deals -- it supposedly approached Mobilicity about a potential acquisition. Verizon will likely need permission from both the Canadian government and Vodafone to make any takeover attempt official, but the reported bidding suggests that the company is willing to brave the gauntlet for some 700MHz spectrum and a presence up North.
Mobile Miscellany: week of June 17th, 2013
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week, Ting went rogue and all but confirmed the HTC Tiara, Boost Mobile did the obvious and announced a phone that's long been rumored in its pipeline and Wind welcomed a new, compact Samsung handset into the fold. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore all that's happening in the mobile world for this week of June 17th, 2013.
Verizon reportedly considers purchasing Canada's Wind Mobile (updated)
Competition in the Canadian cellphone space is on shaky ground when Wind Mobile faces an uncertain future. If The Globe and Mail's sources are accurate, however, Wind may get a lifeline from an unexpected source: Verizon. The US carrier has reportedly held "exploratory" talks for a possible takeover of Wind that would help the Canadian firm bid in the upcoming 700MHz auction, improving its chances against local giants Bell, Rogers and Telus. Mobilicity is also a potential acquisition target following Telus' failed buyout, according to the tipsters. None of the involved parties are commenting at this stage, although Verizon couldn't just walk into the Canadian market. The provider would have to deal with foreign ownership rules as well as the investment limits of its Vodafone partnership -- and neither obstacle is likely to disappear overnight. Update: The answer is "maybe:" Verizon CFO Fran Shammo has confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that his company is exploring an entry into Canada, but won't say if that involves Wind or another existing carrier.
iPad and iPad mini coming to Rogers and Telus, iPhone 5 nano-SIMs reach Wind
While it's been easy for Canadians to get data plans for the iPad and iPad mini, they haven't had the luxury of picking one up at a carrier store like their American neighbors. They will soon, however: Rogers and Telus say they'll be selling the LTE versions of both iPads sometime in the "coming weeks." Details are scarce, although the two networks promise that they'll keep offering contract-free data plans. We've reached out to learn whether or not Bell is following suit. There isn't any talk of similar offerings with smaller providers, although Wind Mobile is offering an olive branch to iPhone owners. The carrier is now selling $25 nano-SIM cards for those who've bought an unlocked, AWS-friendly iPhone 5 through Apple. These customers won't have LTE, but they'll get HSPA+ data on less expensive (and less restricted) plans. Hit Wind's Facebook page to learn just which devices qualify.
Mobile Miscellany: week of April 8th, 2013
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week, we were treated to a peek at the Lumia 928 in white, Canada's upstart carriers made waves, BlackBerry users got a new free calling option and the Lumia 520 spread its wings to more carriers in the UK. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore all that's happening in the mobile world for this week of April 8th, 2013.
Fongo makes a very public bid for control of Wind Mobile
Canadian carrier Wind Mobile has faced no small amount of tumult in recent months, culminating in direct control by Orascom and talk of shopping the provider around to the highest bidder. We didn't entirely anticipate just who would take up the offer, however: Fongo, best known for its former Dell Voice initiative, has made an overt bid for Wind. The VoIP provider wants to extend Wind's network network across the country while moving subscribers over to Fongo within the space of a year, theoretically creating a perfect match between cheap cellular access and free internet calling. Before anyone pops champagne corks, we'd warn that there's heavy amounts of publicity and symbolism involved in the acquisition attempt. Fongo is offering $1 and a 49 percent stake in its own venture -- that draws attention to its service, but might not hold up in a fierce bidding war. There may be more involved, but we'll have to wait before we know just how serious the move could be. Wind's parent Globalive has declined comment, while Fongo tells us it's waiting on a formal response before putting more of its cards on the table.
Apple's updated iPhone 5 for T-Mobile goes through FCC testing
An iPhone native to T-Mobile USA has been the stuff of legend for so long that we still have a hard time believing it's real, even after the carrier confirmed it in no uncertain terms. We're a little more credulous now that Apple has run the iPhone 5 through some class permission changes at the FCC. True to the words of Apple and T-Mobile, the updated A1428 is now clear to use 42Mbps HSPA+ data on the AWS frequencies that the UnCarrier uses (along with smaller Canadian providers, we'd add). The refreshed iPhone doesn't have any surprises lurking underneath -- the LTE was already in place -- although that in itself isn't surprising. It's a mid-cycle tweak meant chiefly to expand Apple's market reach, and we wouldn't expect much more iPhone-related FCC action for awhile. Brad Molen contributed to this report.
Sony Xperia ZL coming to a swath of Canadian carriers in April
It's not quite a US launch, but it's close: Sony is bringing the more compact of its two 5-inch smartphones, the Xperia ZL, to Canada in April. While that's already good news for locals who like their Xperias extra-large, the real perk will be a change in Sony's tendency toward limited launches in North America. The release will put the ZL on several of the more significant Canadian networks, including heavyweights Bell and Rogers as small-but-significant carriers like Mobilicity, MTS, Videotron and Wind Mobile -- the only major exceptions appear to be Telus and the big providers' budget brands. There's no word on pricing, although we're not expecting a radical break from the norm. We're mostly just left wondering whether the Xperia Z will appear as well, and just which if any of Sony's 1080p flagships will cross the border to the States.
Wind Mobile to lose CEO, come under Egyptian telco's wing
We're only a few days into 2013, but that's not stopping Canada's Wind Mobile -- the Great White North's fourth largest carrier -- from announcing big changes for the year ahead. The firm just struck a deal with Egypt's Orascom that'll see the foreign telco gain control of the company through a stock deal and have Wind's founder and CEO, Anthony Lacavera, step down from his post. Barring hiccups in regulatory smell tests, the pact is expected to be rubber-stamped by the end of the year. As for Lacavera, he'll stay onboard as honorary chair and will spearhead a new effort dubbed Globalive Capital to invest in budding technology, telecom and media companies.
Huawei Honor 2 passes through the FCC with North America-capable 3G, not much else
Huawei upped its ante in the smartphone games with the Honor 2 just weeks ago, but with few mentions of where the phone maker might place its bets outside of its native China. An FCC filing has at least raised the slim chance that Huawei might look to North America. The newly-tested device doles out HSPA+ support on the 850MHz, 1,700MHz and 1,900MHz bands, letting it work with the 3G of just about any American or Canadian GSM carrier. Without any LTE to speak of, though, the Honor 2 variant is more likely to appear on a smaller network that doesn't yet have access to the faster data, such as T-Mobile or Wind -- if it shows up at all, that is. As FCC approvals only occasionally spoil a launch, we'll mostly be waiting to see if Huawei or carriers step forward before anticipating the mid-tier phone on this side of the Pacific.
HTC Windows Phone 8S hits the FCC with North American 3G, gives the US a horrible tease
Unlike Nokia, all of HTC's Windows Phone effort in the US this fall has been centered on the high-end, through the Windows Phone 8X. That makes the FCC appearance of its budget cousin, the 8S, borderline cruel for American fans of HTC's hyper-colorized design. The phone getting clearance has support for both AT&T and T-Mobile HSPA bands without the LTE that either American carrier would want. Given that the 8S is officially destined for Canada (and not the US) without a named carrier, we're most likely looking at an example for a budget Canuck provider such as Mobilicity or Wind. At least the frequencies will be a comfort to gray market US importers who want HTC's Windows Phone aesthetic on the cheap.
