Contracting for cellular services

January 25, 2017

An article in this morning’s National Post suggests that the federal government will be among the first to benefit from wireless number portability.

There is an RFP on the street for supplying the government with about 100,000 mobile devices (cel phones and PDAs) The government contract will be split between two providers, one bidder getting a guaranteed 60% of the business and the other 20%. The remaining 20% will be apportioned between the two.

An observer is quoted, suggesting that this approach is politically motivated:

… the contract’s structure suggests influence from political lobbying. If the government wanted to spur competition between providers and drive its cellphone bill lower, it should be looking to award its services to one company rather than two.

“It’s totally political… maybe the western half of politicians and government workers want to see Telus there and the eastern folks want to see Rogers or Bell. This is probably a compromise to avoid a lot of in-fighting that’s going on.”

I disagree.

Splitting the contract is an excellent way to buy communications services, especially mobile wireless, where network realities have proven that not all networks provide identical coverage. Under this type of contract, PWGSC will have the ability to ensure the suppliers stay sharp and competitive – always trying to increase their share of the 20,000 lines that are up for grabs.

If smart contracting is “totally political,” then I like those politics.

Wireless number portability moves on

November 23, 2006
Yesterday, the CRTC approved a number of planning documents that were prepared by industry-wide committees concerned with solving issues surrounding the implementation of Wireless Number Portability.

The process is continuing to move along toward a March 2007 implementation. Included in the documents was a listing of areas that will not be ready on the national launch date, mainly because there isn’t portability in place for wireline competition in those exchanges.

With all the new models of phones out this Christmas, many people are signing up to multi-year contracts in order to take advantage of deals to upgrade. How many people will actually be in a position to switch when portability becomes available?

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Cabinet VoIP discussions

November 22, 2006
Coat of ArmsI mentioned last week that I would examine the VoIP Order in Council in a little more detail. You can access the full text on the Privy Council website.

When I look at the details of the Order, it makes me wonder how the folks from Industry Canada were able to present the proposal to the other members of Cabinet. Considering how poorly understood the Order was initially, as evidenced by the coverage in the press and my blogging colleagues, I have to congratulate the folks who explained the details of the Order to a diverse group of public officials with no telecom background.

This ties to the the challenge of how do we raise the profile of telecom policy issues for the general public.

How do you talk ‘access-independent VoIP’ to politicians who have no other exposure to telecom technology and policy? Look at the major elements in the preamble:

Whereas the Governor in Council considers that retail local access-dependent and access‑independent VoIP services are quite different from each other;

Whereas retail local access-dependent VoIP services are services for which access and service are both provided by the same provider, and can be provided by changing the underlying technology of the local access network from circuit-switched to packet-switched;

Whereas for retail local access-independent VoIP services – in which access and service may be provided by distinct providers – the service provider is not required to provide the underlying network on which the service rides and is not required to obtain the permission of the network provider to offer the service to customers on that network;

Whereas the Governor in Council considers that retail local access-dependent VoIP services are typically indistinguishable from traditional local telephone services, while retail local access‑independent VoIP services are very different, as they require high-speed Internet access as well as special handsets, adapters or the use of a computer, and may be more susceptible to service deterioration or disruption;

Interesting to see this level of sophistication in the Order. Will the Government maintain its interest in telecom policy enough to move forward on the report of the Telecom Policy Review panel? How much can be expected from a minority government?

Can all the parties – political and telecom stakeholders alike – develop a consensus under a minority government framework to create an ever better implementation?

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Dell embeds TELUS wireless internet

January 25, 2017
DellTELUS and Dell Canada have announced an agreement to embed TELUS mobile broadband capabilities on select Dell notebooks and mobile workstations, including its Latitude models D420, D620 and D820, XPS M1210 and the Dell Precision M6.

Exclusive to TELUS clients across Canada, the mobile broadband option will enable the units to access the Internet with broadband-like download speeds using the TELUS Wireless High Speed (EVDO) service.

TELUS’ EVDO-based Wireless High Speed service is available in 21 areas across the country, including all major urban centres. The embedded cards can also access TELUS’ 1X network covering areas with 94% of the Canadian population.TELUS

Dell offers its HyperConnect service in the US through Verizon, Sprint and Cingular and Dell provides a comparison of the three.

For global roaming, the Cingular version leverages GSM/EDGE standards. TELUS offers US roaming which operates at 1X speeds.

Interesting that T-Mobile, with its network of WiFi hotspots and its mobile data network, does not have an agreement with Dell.

The agreement to embed a TELUS wireless card in Dell business-grade machines follows a TELUS promotion that provides a free Dell desktop computer to TELUS residential high speed internet subscribers when they subscribe to 3 year plans. Perhaps the relationship is a side benefit of Dell’s presence in the TELUS Plaza in Edmonton.

How will Rogers and Bell respond?

Apple’s iPhone

January 25, 2017

Om Malik has recently written about speculation regarding plans for Apple to launch an unlocked GSM iPhone, combining its iPod with cel phone capabilities.

The phone would allow Apple to compete with the MP3-enabled phones that are now standard at all the carriers. This would in turn permit Apple to continue to dominate the music downloading business.

Implications for carriers? Part positive and part negative. As Om notes, carriers will like the change in the usual paradigm of carrier subsidized handsets. On the other hand, with no handset subsidies, customers may be more likely to take month-to-month contracts. In Canada, there is only one choice of GSM carrier, so Rogers will have the possibility of a significantly lower cost of acquisition and means to reduce churn.

As a negative, an iPhone that integrates into Apple’s iTunes may cut into music downloading revenues for the carriers. Unless… hmmm… call me for this idea.

Update: [January 9, 2007 9:15 pm]
Apple has launched the iPhone at Macworld. For a more complete description with real photos, visit the new posting on January 9, 2007.

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