Last year we saw the release of the revolutionary 3G network in Canada. Just recently however, Verizon wireless announced they would be launching a 4G network in the United States by the end of 2009. Following suit, Rogers recently announced the release of their 3.5G network – it is currently available in the top 25 markets in the country and will cover 75% of the population by the end of December 2008.

Faster networks offer features like easier communication with mobile software and surfing the Internet from anywhere at speeds that are comparable to a broadband connection. The challenge however is that because 3G technology is still new in Canada, it's only available in limited devices - only phones with the proper technology can actually make use of these speeds. This creates an inconvenience to consumers who wish to keep up with quickly evolving technology.

As more and more phones are now available with data plans, internet browsing on the go has never been easier. The question is: are you willing to go out and buy new technology every time network speeds increase? Do you think 4G+ networks are necessary?

Thanks for your continued feedback. For those of you who have been asking when we will be launching – the plan is still for us to launch service in late 2009 in Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, Edmonton and Calgary. We will be rolling out service across the rest of the country (except Quebec as we do not have licenses there) over 2010, 2011.

This week, I want to get your thoughts on distribution. I'm curious if anyone has any ideas on where they'd like to see cell phones sold - other than the standard retail outlets carriers tend to use. What do you think of buying a phone online - do you need to touch and feel the phone to buy one? On that note, what's the most important thing you consider when you go to purchase a phone - is it the look and feel of the phone, the cost of the phone, or the features? How important is the service /minute plan?

Look forward hearing your thoughts.

Thanks,

Tony

Cell phone as personal trainer?

Just in time for the holiday season up ahead AT&T and Trimble (a GPS provider) have teamed up to help our American neighbours lead a healthier lifestyle with the help of their phones. Using GPS technology, wireless users will soon be able to track their physical activity on select phone models.

For a small monthly fee, users can track their time, distance and calories burned for many outdoor activities. The information from each workout is saved so you can track your progress - perfect for people looking to improve their performance.

A community has also been established on the site where subscribers can upload their outdoor routes, customize the routes of others and even download maps of routes to their phone so they can “race” the person who created the route.

Do these types of recreational and community oriented applications interest you? Would you like to see this kind of service brought to Canada?

Making payments with your cell phones in Canada just took one step closer to being a reality. Yesterday Visa, Royal Bank of Canada and Rogers agreed to run a mobile phone payment pilot that will let customers make payments with their cellphones. The project is scheduled to launch mid next year at select stores and fast-food restaurants in downtown Toronto. The process will involve transferring customers' credit card information to the SIM cards on their cellphones.

Given this new development, my question is this... would you feel safe making payments in this way? How concerned are you about fraud? Would you prefer this method of payment to debit or credit card?

There have been a lot of recent comments on Wireless Soapbox about MyScreen. If you're not familiar with the technology, it's a mobile service that delivers targeted, unobtrusive advertisements to handsets at the end of a call. We find this type of service exciting because displaying ads on phones will give us the opportunity to offer a lower price point to customers that choose to opt in and provide an easy way for people to reduce their cell phone bills if they so chose.

So far, some people have indicated that it's a great idea and others just aren't interested in having ads running on their phones. Either way, we all agree that it should be up to you whether or not you see ads. Rest assured MyScreen will be an opt-in service. In no way will our customers be obligated to view ads on their phones.

This topic of course leads me to the question -would you opt in to this type of service each month if it resulted in savings on your monthly phone bill?

Thanks for your feedback.

Tony

While reading over the comments on the site, I’ve noticed several
posts suggesting demographically targeted plans for groups such as seniors and students. Interesting idea.

With an aging population and constantly changing technology, it is no surprise that seniors demand unique wireless services. They want easy to use phones and plans that are simple and straightforward.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have students - a younger group of wireless users. This group uses their phone as their main form of communicating, especially through text messaging and would benefit from multimedia packages, including multimedia texting and phones with great features like cameras and MP3 players.

Besides seniors and students, what other specific groups do you think could affect the future of wireless? What kinds of features would they
like to see?

Smartphones (and their features) are becoming extremely popular - almost
the norm when it comes to wireless. And with technology evolving so
quickly, users are expecting mobile features to be updated faster.

To feed this demand, wireless companies have created online stores
filled with hundreds of applications. Ranging in price from free to
upwards of several hundred dollars, these programs are designed to
heighten the capabilities of your phone. Applications are available to
suit any need - be it entertainment, music, sports or finance. So -
given all that's out there - which ones appeal to you the most or do you
find most useful with your wireless device?

Although these programs are limited to select phone models, providers
and manufacturers are releasing more compatible programs, making this
technology more available. Are there any new technological integrations
you see involving wireless and applications?

Tony

Many of you have commented that roaming and long distance charges are a huge setback when trying to keep connected while traveling in Canada and abroad. From my own cross-country travels in the last few weeks, I know that these fees can turn cell phone bills into an absolute nightmare.

Right now, European and Asian cell phone providers offer customers the opportunity to buy an unlocked phone and purchase SIM card. Many Canadians have suggested providing the same in Canada, solving the problem by offering freedom while abroad.

In an era where Globalization has an increasing impact on our daily lives - it makes sense that Canadians are asking wireless providers to stop limiting this progress with hefty long distance and roaming charges.

Just when you thought the Apple iPhone was the latest and greatest mobile technology, Google has decided to launch an open software platform and operating system for cell phones called Android.

The system will be launched next week in the US and UK under T-Mobile.

However, unlike the iPhone which is built and operated exclusively by Apple, Android will be run on devices that are part of The Open Handset Alliance (comprised of Google, several phone manufacturers and wireless networks) created to develop open standards for mobile devices.

In simpler terms, this means that Android will soon be able to run on a variety of mobile devices rather than just one exclusive phone. In many ways future of wireless is turning what was once just a mobile phone into a hand held, all-in-one, mobile computer.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you find it exciting? Does it matter to you?

With security becoming a much higher concern these days, people are looking for more ways to maintain their safety.

As of now, the most common forms of personal safety do not include your mobile device, with the exception of dialing 911. The only issue with this of course, is taking the time to dial the number.

It would be amazing to see phone manufacturers implement a panic or safety button into phones which directly connects to an emergency contact or 911.

What do you think about the future of mobile integrated personal safety?

Location Based Services use cellular GPS technology to make use of the geographical location of the mobile device to identify a person or thing such as the whereabouts of a friend, the nearest bank machine, a package (via tracking codes), or even local weather. These sorts of information and entertainment services are quite popular in other countries and with mobile GPS technology becoming more widespread in Canada, I'm wondering if Canadians would like to see these kinds of offerings.

Blackberry and iPhone already have this feature, I think it would be great if we could implement it into more affordable phones and not just limit it to Smartphones.

What are some of your thoughts on wireless plans that included this location based services?

As a regular (every few minutes!) mobile user myself, I find the internet experience really needs to be improved - we need faster connection and a better experience overall in how websites work.

Has anyone thought about the potential to use mobile phones for a lot more than just calls, browsing, and texting? A lot of mobile operators around the world have point of sale integration in place with retailers to permit all different kinds of mobile payments - I think this could work well in Canada to pay for any road/bridge tolls, parking meters, and anything else we all need to carry change around for!

This is an amazing start. We've already had about 7,000 visitors who have posted 1,300 original ideas.

It is great to see how many care about wireless in Canada and have taken the time to post your ideas, thoughts and concerns. I want you to know that I plan on commenting regularly and we are actively reviewing all of the posts.

The big issues for people so far seem to be network type, affordable data plans and contract length. Keep the ideas coming!

And, in case you haven't looked, we posted this on the blog this afternoon:

"Hello everyone!

The past 24 hours have been extremely exciting and busy for us; WirelessSoapbox.com has been flooded with activity and we couldn't be happier!

So far, we've received over 1,300 original ideas which have been commented on 600 times.

We've been reading your comments and there are several recurring themes Canadians are bringing up when expressing their wants and needs for a wireless company. The top 6 are:

1. No System Access/Hidden Fees
2. Fixed Pricing for Unlimited Options (Minutes, Data, Texting, Long Distance)
3. Cheap, Basic Plans with ability to upgrade/customize
4. Shorter/No Contracts
5. GSM/3G Network
6. Improved Customer Service (Less waiting time, talk to live people, talk to people in Canada rather than outsourced customer service reps)

Thanks for letting us know your thoughts and keep visiting the site!"

Hi there! Welcome to WirelessSoapbox.com.

Today is the day we’ve been waiting for - we've finally launched!

We’re thrilled to be up and running and even more excited to begin hearing your thoughts and ideas on the state of wireless in Canada.

What do you like about cell phone companies? What don't you like? Who in the world is doing it right? Let us know.

We’re expecting a lot of activity, so check back often to see what others have to say about their cell phones and, of course, add your own thoughts, comments and opinions to the site.