Ice, Iristel team up to bring telco competition to Canada's North

YELLOWKNIFE - Ice Wireless and Iristel are joining forces to offer telecommunications and Internet services in the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut this summer. Privately-held VoIP provider Iristel, which is a major shareholder in Ice, has been licensed by the CRTC as a carrier since 2000. It will go head-to-head with Bell-owned incumbent Northwestel on a range of telephone services including VoIP and wholesale long distance. Iristel and Ice Wireless president Samer Bishay said that the competition will go a long way toward ending the "digital divide" between Canada's northern communities and populated areas in the south. "Northwestel's monopoly is...