Wirelessnorth.ca

Here’s what we know. Globalive (our only new nationwide entrant) has partnered with Alcatel in the west and Nokia in the east to build them a cellar network. The bad news is they are, reportedly, still in phase of locating acquiring tower real estate. To make life a little more difficult, Globalive is also catching some flack for using a lot of US labour (really Alcatel’s labour) rather than hiring the local talent apparently ready/able to do the work. Take that for what you will.

This is, of course, funny because our government -over much lamentation of the incumbents- mandated something called “tower sharing” in the recent spectrum auction. Meaning that the existing carriers were supposed to share space on their towers with the new kids whenever “reasonable”, “safe” and “practical”. Unfortunately None of the new entrant CEOs we’ve spoken with have particularly optimistic about tower sharing arrangements.

You would thing that after burning through the better part of two billion in a slugfest of an auction last summer, that the hard part would be over for Canada’s new Wireless Entrants. Word is though, that the rollout of wireless coverage across a country this size isn’t so easy either. Leaving aside the obvious challenges of the vast geographies, lets not mention the global economic collapse (not a fun time to be going back to the well for more capital) the new entrants current challenge is finding tower space. Or urban spaces for new towers.

Elsewhere in the world this wouldn’t be as difficult a problem. In the US, europe and many civilized countries, a majority of towers and cell sites are owned by 3rd party companies, vertical wireless hotelling/hosting businesses.

Theoretically, it’s really nobodies interest to have a lot extra tower sites. Municipalities and locals don’t like it, towers and antennas are usually ugly. Finding real estate, building the tower, routing power and data backhaul is expensive so it makes for considerable scale advantages to share.

In Canada though, we don’t have an independent, competitive tower industry. The towers are , by and larger, all owned by the big three. They do share or trade tower space amongst themselves. By share, our sources tell us, you mean “grudgingly” and “like children”.

Contacts a certain big red carrier have been suggesting they will be doing all they can to fill up their towers with equipment, any equipment, just to not leave space for the new entrants. Don’t be surprised if you see the Rogers’ family own toaster-oven staplegunned to a cell tower near you, and so forth.

Altogether, signs don’t point to “likely” that we’ll see meaningful new wireless coverage in Canada this year.