Rogers & Bell to Built Joint National Network

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.cbc.ca/story/business/national/2005/09/16/inukshuk_internet20050916.html' target='_blank'>http://www.cbc.ca/story/business/national/2005/09/16/inukshuk_internet20050916.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Rogers Communications Inc. and Bell Canada are joining forces to build a massive $200 million national wireless network. The companies will create Inukshuk Internet Inc., a wireless broadband network expected to reach two-thirds of Canadians in less than three years...Customers will have access to voice, video streaming and data on the Internet via portable devices. Bell and Rogers will each have the right to use 50 per cent of the network's total transmission capacity. They will also compete for sales, marketing, customer care and billing."</i><br /><br />One of the reasons why Europe has such fantastic mobile network coverage is the number of people contained in a relatively small land mass. The US has less people and more land to cover, and Canada is even worst - we have approximately 1/9th the population of the US and even more land to cover. So for anyone that thinks mobile phone coverage is bad where they live, come visit Canada, the Truth North Strong and Free...of coverage. For that reason, I greet this announcement with a lot of enthusiasm - Rogers beefed up their coverage when they purchased Fido this year, and this move looks like it will make both Rogers and Bell a national powerhouse in terms of coverage. Good news for us Canadians! Now if only they'd make their plans more generous with minutes. :roll:<br /><br /><b>UPDATE</b>: According to Jan Innes from Rogers, whom I contacted to ask what type of network this was going to be, "It's pre-WiMAX". So it looks like this is going to be a data networking after all, and not a carrier phone network. Rogers and Bell already have many locations for cellular towers, so by adding a WiMAX radio into each of those towers, each carrier can now compete with ISPs for Internet access. It will be interesting to watch what they do with this!

[Mike Temporale]

Interesting.... So will the resulting network be CDMA or GSM? or does a wirless broadbnad connection not play off these standards?

[MrDuck85]

I purchased a Sierra Wireless CDMA card a couple of months ago for the Bell network. It is quite clearly CDMA only, so I assume that the Rogers system is likewise GSM for data. Although I have read reports that imply the next generation will be CDMA-based. Rogers has changed network technologies already... TDMA to GSM.

BTW, the population of Canada is a little over 32,800,000, the US about 295,700,000. That's about 9:1 US:CA. Source: CIA World Factbook.

[Mike Temporale]

Although I have read reports that imply the next generation will be CDMA-based. Rogers has changed network technologies already... TDMA to GSM.

I don't think Rogers is going to switch again. It would cost way too much. After all the investment they made in GSM hardware, and the purchase of Fido, it just doesn't seem right that they would toss it all out.

Adversly I don't see Bell switching off CDMA. They have a nice agreement with Telus to share networks.

I wonder if there is any way to share the same hardware for both networks?

[MrDuck85]

This morning's Toronto Star business section claims that the system will be WiMax. That certainly opens up some possibilities... and issues!

[Mike Temporale]

The article I read on Yahoo news (I think) had no mention of the network type. WiMax sounds interesting. Time to do a little research. :mrgreen:

[Jason Dunn]

BTW, the population of Canada is a little over 32,800,000, the US about 295,700,000. That's about 9:1 US:CA. Source: CIA World Factbook.

Thanks! I meant to write 1/10th, but I've never been good at math. :oops: Good to know it's about 1/9th!

[Jason Dunn]

WiMAX? Hrm...that doesn't make much sense. I'm thinking UMTS.

[Mike Temporale]

WiMAX? Hrm...that doesn't make much sense. I'm thinking UMTS.

I thought UMTS was for CDMA only? I could be wrong, but that was my understanding. :?

[Jason Dunn]

I thought UMTS was for CDMA only? I could be wrong, but that was my understanding. :?

Well, here's a description of UMTS:

http://www.umts-forum.org/servlet/dycon/ztumts/umts/Live/en/umts/What+is+UMTS_index

It does seem to be a CDMA technology. I was thinking of a technology that people were saying would be the merger point between CDMA and GSM, and that both were moving towards it...? But now I can't remember what that was exactly.

[karen]

Hmmm....shall we all guess at a price point for unlimited WiMax, with roaming across Canada...and even later, throughout the US and Canada?

My guess at unlimited WiMax in Canada: $99-129 a month

My gues at unlimited WiMax in NA?: $99-129/month, plus $6 a minute for US access. Or $6 a MB for US. Or if they are feeling very gracious, maybe $250 a month for all North America.

Oh, and most likely those of us that live on the outer edges of Toronto, but still in Toronto, will not have service. Just my guess.

These would bring follow normal telecanuck provider pricing at 3 to 4 times, after converting for exchange, that of US pricing.

Ms. Cynical