Magic 8-Ball Says the Big 3 Carriers are Ready to Duke it Out

For ages, there have been three main wireless carriers in Canada: Bell, Rogers and Telus. There has been one major GSM carrier: Rogers. There has been one world standard: GSM. Do the math, and you can figure out which company has gotten its hands on the latest and greatest devices first, while the other two tap their fingers patiently awaiting the development of a CDMA version of that handset; or at least something like it.

Fast forward the magic crystal ball to November 2009, and Bell and Telus have fast-tracked the development of their own next-generation HSPA 3G networks, which will run overtop their existing CDMA networks. As if to mark a sign of things to come, both carriers will also offer the highly popular iPhone, up until now a Rogers exclusive device, on the very day their respective HSPA services are up and running. What does this mean for consumers?

For one, it means that Bell and Telus customers will no longer roll their eyes at the first rumours of the latest and greatest smartphones. The mindset has always been that "obviously" this phone will be available through Rogers once it hits Canada. Not so anymore. Chances are we'll see more and more devices come to market from all three at the same time.

This, in turn, means that the customer will truly have the opportunity to choose the best service provider. Often times, highly-coveted devices like the iPhone were enough to sway a customer to one carrier or the other. If you wanted the iPhone up until now, you'd have to sign up with Rogers, whether you preferred one of the other carriers or not. And since number portability, which allows you to switch your existing 10-digit phone number from carrier to carrier freely, is available in Canada, we could see a lot of power go back into the consumer's hands.

Which means, we might also see pricing come down. Rogers has always had an upper hand in that the carrier could essentially offer any plan pricing it wanted and not worry about a Bell or a Telus under-cutting it; especially if you wanted a GSM-only phone. Now, pricing wars could ensue. Imagine what the Bell vs. Rogers and vice versa ad campaigns will look like now with some added ammunition for the former! Pricing might not vary on the handsets themselves, but plan options could become more attractive, as could bundled deals with cable and/or Internet and/or home phone services in an effort to keep customers engaged on the wireless end.

But wait, there's more. By early 2010, several new carriers will be entering the race as well. WIND Mobile plans to offer voice and data packages that could rival all three; especially when leveraging existing handset relationships with the Italian/Greek brand of the same name (and owned by the same foreign investor, Orascom Telecom, which is working in tandem with Canadian-owned Globalive Wireless.) While the company hasn't revealed much about its plans, DAVE Wireless has said that it will offer both voice and data plans, along with, of course, a selection of smartphones. Both companies, while not national, have significant coverage throughout Canada.

Does this mean 2010 is the year of the Big Five? Throw Public Mobile and Videotron in there as well, and seven could very well be next year's lucky number.

Should we get on the boxing gloves for a true fight in the wireless industry? Maybe things won't be quite as dramatic as I'm implying they could be. But when it comes to the situation being a buyer's market for the next little while come Christmas-time, all signs are pointing to "yes."