Wind Mobile launches in Edmonton

Wind Mobile has launched wireless service in Edmonton, the third city in the new cellphone provider's planned national network.

The company launched service in Edmonton on Thursday with four Blockbuster Video kiosks and two stores, including one at the West Edmonton Mall. The two outlets join the company's 26 other kiosks and stores in Toronto and Calgary, which opened in December.

Anthony Lacavera, chairman of parent company Globalive, said Wind is following through on its promise to bring more choice and lower prices to customers.

"Canadians have been waiting a long time for competition," he said in an interview. "We can actually say, 'Look we're doing it.' "

Ottawa and Vancouver are next on the company's radar. Hiring in both cities is underway and service should go live in Ottawa in March and in Vancouver in April or May, Lacavera said.

After that, Wind will focus on plugging holes and expanding in its coverage in existing cities. Some customers in Toronto and Calgary have complained about dropped calls and holes in the coverage area.

"We're very focused on strengthening our coverage inside our footprint. We are aware of our challenges," Lacavera said. "The incumbents have had 20 years to build their networks and we're trying to do it within six months. It's not going to happen overnight."

Spotty Toronto coverage

National Bank telecommunications analyst Greg MacDonald said Wind's network quality in Toronto is spotty, but that is to be expected in its early days.

"This may not be too much of a surprise given that the company only recently launched service and it takes time to tweak cell site coverage footprints," he said. "However, if not addressed it will have an impact on perceived quality of service at some point."

Wind is the first of several new challengers to established cellphone providers Rogers, Bell and Telus. Globalive spent more than $440 million in a 2008 auction of public airwaves and won licences in every province except Quebec.

The company, backed and partially owned by Egypt's Orascom, was blocked from starting up last year by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, which found it did not meet Canadian control and ownership requirements.

The federal government stepped in and overruled the CRTC in December, allowing the company to begin operations.

Lacavera said he could not disclose how many customers had signed up in the first two months of operation because the company is waiting for a new round of financing to close.

More handsets expected

He said he expects to be able to announce subscriber numbers in April or May, and that the company is still on track to its goal of 1.5 million customers in its first three years.

Wind is still offering only four smartphones plus a data stick for laptops. Lacavera said more handsets, including some lower-cost non-smartphone options, will become available in the next two months.

"We knew that was a weakness at launch," he said. "A lower-cost phone is important for Canadians who don't want to spend a lot of money on a new phone."

Wind is also negotiating with Google to bring the search company's hot Nexus One phone to Canada, he said. A number of customers have bought the phone, which is available only in the United States, and have reported on Wind's website that it is working well on the carrier's network.

Google and Wind are using a similar model to sell mobile phones. Both companies are requiring customers to pay the full cost of their devices upfront in exchange for no term contracts, a practice that is the norm in much of the rest of the world.

Several other cellphone providers plan to launch service soon. Mobilicity, formerly known as DAVE Wireless, plans to start selling services in Toronto in the spring, and in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa later this year.

In Quebec, cable provider Videotron said it also plans to launch a wireless network later this year.