TORONTO – Starting today, dotmobile members can provide individual feedback on planned features, vote for the ones they like and even collaborate with other members and the dotmobile team.
“We’ve seen the problems that many Canadians face with their current providers. There’s so much that can be done to improve efficiency, experience, and affordability – and our members are by far the best people to validate our ideas,” said dotmobile co-founder and CXO Alex Bauman. “With our new Build it! page they can weigh in on concepts, designs and eventually even test out prototypes.”
Dotmobile plans to be an MVNO, and is being built as a smartphone application. “The all-digital model, modern cloud infrastructure, and reduced operational complexity will bring significant savings to its members,” reads its release. Cartt.ca profiled it here earlier this year.
“Rather than thinking about where to put another tower or antenna, we are looking at the best way to deliver a SIM card (physical or over the air with eSIM), building robust cost control tools, pay-per-gig data with perpetual rollover and other smart features that will help optimize the total amount spent on wireless service,” says Algis Akstinas, co-founder and CEO.
The company also submitted proposals to Canadian mobile network operators during the Canadian Telecom Summit, “focusing on the needs of moderate, transient, and temporary users,” says the release. We'll have more on that soon.
According to a late 2018 report from the CRTC, 99% of Canadians have access to fast LTE networks, 51% are on moderate plans that include 2GB or less of wireless data and unexpected data overage charges make up 10% of an average $65.33/month wireless bill, the company added.
“The spectrum licenses held by the big telecoms require them to share their networks with each other, at a wholesale rate of about 1.4 cents per MB. This goes all the way back to 2015. As Minister Bains said this week at the summit, we will find a threshold that works for MVNOs,” added Akstinas.
“At dotmobile we believe there is more to the issue than just price. That’s why we are asking Canadians to collaborate with us on our Build it! page and help design a wireless carrier that fits their needs instead of the other way around,” said Bauman.
