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Real Wireless Competition in Canada?
By Mark Evans | October 30, 2008
Canada’s comfortable - and profitable - wireless oligopoly (Rogers, Bell and Telus) could - and I stress could - be in a rude awakening when several new rivals enter the fray over the next couple of years.
The newest player is BMV Holdings, which jumped into the spotlight today by announcing the hiring of ex-Rogers and ex-Bell executive Alek Krstajic as its CEO. BMV spent a modest $53-million during the spectrum auction but didn’t appear on the radar of analysts or the media because it focused on G Band, which was not seen as particularly prime or useful wireless real estate.
BMV, however, believes it can launch a CDMA network offering flat rating pricing plans with unlimited talk and text services. BMV plans to get going using technology from Qualcomm and Nortel before migrating to LTE in a few years.
Krstajic is no stranger to the low-cost wireless world. After leaving Rogers in 2003, he joined BCE as chief marketing officer before becoming CEO of Bell Mobility in 2006. At Bell, he helped create a new business called Bell Vanguard Inc. that was going to roll out a low-cost wireless service in Canada. Bell Vanguard has funky office space downtown, a large staff and TV commercials ready to roll when BCE abruptly cancelled the project. (More details can be found here.)
BMV’s investors include Columbus Capital, M/C Partners, Charles River Ventures and Rho Ventures.
The big challenge facing BMV and the other new wireless entrants is whether they can establish a viable foothold amid the Big Three. Canada’s “fourth” wireless carrier, Fido, struggled to compete even though its no-cost service was popular, especially with younger consumers. Fido (aka Microcell) filed twice for bankruptcy protection before it was acquired by Rogers.
BMV is betting that not blowing its brains out on spectrum purchases will give it more financial wiggle room to build the network and attract customers. As well, it must be confident that consumers want simple plans, and that it can go head-to-head against players such as Solo (Bell), Fido (Rogers) and Virgin Canada.
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Topics: Wireless |