Wireless starup Mobilicity will add a second Alberta city to its network April 28 when it starts service in Calgary.
The Toronto-based company said it will have 70 distribution locations in the city, including corporate stores, exclusive dealers and other outlets.
“It's time Calgarians stopped paying among the highest wireless rates in Canada,” Mobilicity president and CEO Dave Dobbin said in a news release. “A better alternative to Bell Mobility, Rogers Wireless and Telus Mobility is on its way. Mobilicity provides reliable talk, text and data capabilities without outrageous extra charges and fees that eat into peoples' savings.”
Mobilicity also serves the Toronto area (including Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan and Markham), Ottawa, Edmonton and Vancouver. It began service 13 months ago after speding $243 million on AWS spectrum in the 1700/2100 MHz blocks in the 2008 spectrum auction. Mobilicity also bought spectrum covering Red Deer, Alta., (half way betwen the two Alberta cities), Victoria, B.C. It could also extend its network on either side Toronto to run from Windsor, Ont. to the Quebec border. However, the news release says the Calgary launch will mark the last of the carrier's current market roll-outs.
Dobbin has said the company is targeting people who live in the country's biggest cities. It doesn't want to build a national network. However, it wants to be an active bidder for the upcoming 700 Mhz spectrum auction, expected to be held in 2012. In a submission to Industry Canada, the carrier has asked for either all of the spectrum to be set aside for companies like itself that have less than 10 per cent of the market, or for restrictions on the ability of incumbent wireless carriers to buy spectrum. The rules are needed to protect new entrants, it says. For their part incumbents like Telus Corp., Bell Mobility and Rogers Communications are vigorously objecting to any limits on their ability to bid on spectrum.