There is a lot of chatter on the techy networks that Shaw Communications out of Calgary will enter the cellular wars as early as 01 Sep 11. Over the last few months the rumours have grown stronger.
An interesting facet of the latest buzz is that Shaw will bypass 3G technology and operate from the onset using 4G technology.
Shaw won frequencies in the so-called “D” band at 1735-1740 MHZ and 2135-2140 MHZ during the 2008 spectrum auction in the Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie areas.
Going directly to 4G only makes a lot of sense as it gives a major head start on the incumbents who are only in the 4G test stage. It also removes the need to expend resources on providing infrastructure on what is quickly becoming dated technology. As I noted in my post regarding the Desbarats tower, Bell is no longer installing 2G/2.5G CDMA in spite of fairly large customer base.
Unlike the other new entrants in the cellular market place such as Wind, Public and Mobilicity who are targeting basic voice and data user, Shaw is likely to take the Vidéotron approach of offering the professed holy grail - bundles with cellular/Internet/TV and landline (VoIP) all from one supplier.
It will be interesting to watch what happens over the next few months
Update: 04 Jun 11 - Shaw announced it will not be introducing cellular anywhere until 2012.
