TORONTO – While Telus declined to make any response, a weekend report that said the company may spend as much as $500 million to swap its wireless technology to the GSM standard, set markets buzzing Monday.
Right now, Both Telus and Bell Canada operate CDMA wireless networks, which to many, are more limited technologically than GSM, due in no small part to the fact that most of the rest of the world is GSM-dominated. Network and handset gear manufacturers build to the GSM standard first, such as the Apple iPhone, which is a GSM product.
Rogers is the lone GSM provider in Canada and benefits substantially from the fact that anyone travelling to Canada from beyond North America who uses their wireless device will be on the Rogers network – and the company collects multi-millions of dollars in roaming charges. And Rogers often gets new handsets first.
Driven perhaps in part by the Toronto Star report on Saturday, RCI shares dipped 4% on Monday’s trading.
When contacted by Cartt.ca on Monday, a Telus spokesman declined to comment.
