(At least in Quebec). It’s about time, and it had to happen. Pierre Peladeau, CEO of Quebecor just announced his intention to enter the wireless market in Quebec. With fighting words describing the existing “players in the cellphone industry as a three-headed oligopoly with no interest in providing customers with innovative products or competitive pricesâ€
He even compares Canada’s wireless penetration (unfavorably with 3rd world countries). Clearly, Pierre has been reading my blog.
The government is currently wrapping up consultation on how to auction off the next tranche of spectrum.
Lets hope they do the right thing, and set the conditions for Quebecor – or any other new entrants to enter the market.
Better yet, just send it my way…. Who wants to start a wildly disruptive all flat-rate, all-voip, carrier in the rest of Canada with me?
I don’t think the timing could be any better for disrupting this industry. You’ve got a market that’s the second from most under-penetrated in the industrialized world. You’ve got all manner of exciting and disruptive change on the horizon from new technologies from voip, web and other data services. You’ve got three competitors laden with debt, setting an absurdly high price umbrella and all hhooked on their legacy voice minute revenue.
Bring it on.
Thanks to Kevin at the Seabord group for tipping me off to this story in the National Post today.
(this post originally composed in the departure lounge of terminal 3 in Toronto, which lacking any wifi, and any piratical mobile data option, here I am posting 8 hrs later. Sometimes this country feels like the stone age.)