TORONTO – Globalive took its first step into the consumer consciousness this week with the launch of www.WirelessSoapbox.com, a web site where anyone can share their thoughts, ideas and opinions about wireless services.
And hopefully gain a soft spot for Globalive, too, which is aiming at a launch of its new consumer wireless service in the first half of 2009.
"WirelessSoapbox.com is about starting a dialogue with people who care about wireless in this country and are invested in making sure the next provider gets it right," said Anthony Lacavera, chairman and CEO of Globalive Communications, in the press release. "We are going to give Canadians the best wireless service in the country, so we’re exploring their likes, dislikes and, basically, what they want to see from Canada’s next wireless provider.
"We’re asking everyone with an opinion on wireless to get up on our ‘wireless soapbox’ and we plan to use what we learn to build a smarter and more informed new Canadian wireless company,” he added.
“Through www.WirelessSoapbox.com, Globalive is hoping to hear from a wide range of Canadians on everything from what their ideal cell phone plan looks like to their biggest pet peeve about their current monthly cell phone bill. Globalive is also hoping to hear from technically savvy ‘arm-chair engineers’ who are interested in sharing their advice on network design and architecture, wireless vendors and supplier relationships,” reads the release.
Lacavera will himself be an active participant in the online forum discussions. In addition to the forum, www.WirelessSoapbox.com will also feature a blog, surveys, quick polls, RSS feeds, widgets and have an off-site presence including Facebook and Twitter.
All of which will help the company build awareness, and likely, a list of potential customers.
"After the end of the wireless auction, I spent days calling customers from Vancouver to St. John’s to ask how they felt about their cell phone service and I was amazed at how much people had to say," said Lacavera. "Wireless is an issue that Canadians are extremely passionate about, because they have a true stake in it."
As reported by Cartt.ca extensively this summer, Globalive Wireless Management Corp. was successfully declared a provisional winner of sufficient spectrum to build a new cross country wireless network (with the exception of Quebec) in Industry Canada’s recent wireless spectrum auction, which concluded in July. They have now paid in full for those licenses (to the tune of $440 million-plus) and “intend to build out offerings that will provide more choice and feature rich offerings to Canadians,” says the press release.
