TORONTO – New low-cost wireless carrier Public Mobile officially launched today in Toronto with a demonstration that its phones will work on the G-Band spectrum it purchased.
The company, BMV Holdings, is helmed by former Bell Canada and Rogers Cable executive Alek Krstajic.
Public Mobile “feels wireless services are a right, not a luxury for Canadians and will offer an unlimited flat-rate talk and text package, with no term commitment, no credit checks, no fine print and no surprises to residents in both provinces when it launches later this year,” says today’s press release.
The goal of Public Mobile is to address the 38% of Canadians without a mobile phone. “I believe everyone has the right to fairly priced, inexpensive wireless phone service,” said Krstajic. “At Public Mobile we want everyone to be able to be part of the wireless revolution without feeling left out because they can’t afford the high costs associated with most Canadian mobile phone companies. If you have something important you need to express right now, or someone you need to talk to right away, Public Mobile wants to help you do just that.”
At its launch event in downtown Toronto, the company also unveiled a working handset over the G Band frequency. Utilizing a Nortel base station, Prestige Telecom installation services and ZTE Corp. handset, Krstajic placed and received calls on the PCS G Band frequency purchased by Public Mobile at last year’s spectrum auction.
Despite doubters who said G Band spectrum wouldn’t work, Public Mobile will show it is just like all other PCS spectrum, and can be addressed using commercially available CDMA handsets currently being sold by a number of North American carriers. With only a simple software change to a commercial handset, Public Mobile completed the first call on their G Band spectrum.
“All along we’ve been saying spectrum is spectrum and that G Band is completely viable,” Krstajic says. “There is now no doubt that G Band is a viable, cost-effective option that can bring wireless services to the underserved public.”
Formerly known as BMV Holdings, Public Mobile was created in July, 2008, following its purchase in Industry Canada’s wireless spectrum auction of PCS G Band covering almost 19 million Canadians in the Windsor to Quebec City corridor across Ontario and Quebec. G Band spectrum is an extension of the existing PCS spectrum in the 1.9 GHz range and shares the same characteristics as spectrum currently used by wireless carriers across North America. At a price of $52 million, the PCS G Band spectrum will enable Public Mobile to deliver a cost-efficient consumer wireless across the two provinces.
The company will commence its services late in the third quarter of this year, adds the release.
