Randy McKay has been an MTS cellular customer in Thompson for more than 15 years. He’s been happy with the service, but he’s glad to see an alternative now that Rogers is in town.
“I think it’s good having competition, and that’s for both sides – not even just for Rogers, but for MTS,” says McKay, who owns a General Motors dealership on the city’s east side. “Both are going to benefit from this because competition is good. It’s better for the buying public, too. We’ll at least be able to make a choice now.”
Rogers Communications launched its expanded 3G+ wireless voice and data network across Manitoba on March 31. That’s exciting news for cellphone users in Thompson, Flin Flon, The Pas and other northern communities where Rogers Wireless was previously unavailable.
It used to be that Rogers Wireless coverage in the province went no further north than Swan River. MTS Allstream had a monopoly in wireless services north of that town.
“We're pleased to offer a new network to new customers that switch to Rogers and existing customers that will enable them to connect to what matters to them, anywhere within our new coverage area, anytime, on any device,” says Laura Kwiatkowski, general manager for Rogers in Manitoba.
SPEED AND POWER
The expansion is made possible by an agreement Rogers inked with MTS in 2009 for a shared High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) wireless network. HSPA is broadband technology that improves the ability of wireless devices to upload and download data.Kwiatkowski notes that the two telecom firms remain competitors while partners in the HSPA network. “It is a joint venture regarding the build of the network expansion, so we’re sharing the infrastructure,” she says. “But as competitors we will continue to have our own billing, our own devices – everything else is separate.”
Consumers stand to benefit substantially from the competitive partnership. “A few things are going to happen now in northern Manitoba,” Kwiatkowski says. “The first thing, the most obvious thing, is that people now have a choice in the carrier that they choose to go with.
“They’ll definitely experience faster network speeds on their devices. They’ll actually be able to experience Internet surfing at a speed comparable to DSL. And they’ll have a very wide selection of devices to choose from.”
The network means “3G+” or “3.5G” wireless service – simply put, far faster and more powerful service than was available to northerners before – is now available to every major community in Manitoba, at a peak connection speed of about 21 megabits per second.
“This is a network that will give customers an upgrade to surf the Internet and not get frustrated waiting for a response when they’re trying to download, whether it’s something from YouTube or it’s a webpage about the weather or whatever it is,” Kwiatkowski remarks. “They’ll be able to do that in very quick order.”
Rogers has been offering wireless phone service in Canada since 1985, in Manitoba since 1988. But until now that service hasn’t extended to northern hubs such as Thompson and Flin Flon. This new development means Rogers 3G+ coverage is available to 96 per cent of Manitobans.
The new network’s fast download speeds give gadget fiends the chance to get the most out of leading-edge smartphones, tablets and mobile broadband devices available at Rogers stores.
“There’s a wide selection of devices that we have to offer,” declares Kwiatkowski. “I would encourage people to have a look at our website or stop by a Rogers store, have a look at the really big selection of devices that we have.” That selection includes android-powered devices such as the Xperia PLAY and the HTC Magic phones, and the BlackBerry PlayBook and other popular tablets.
“We have great prices on devices,” says Kwiatkowski. “We also have a new data-sharing plan that is exclusive to Rogers. I think this is something that will interest people, especially in the new markets.
“Data sharing allows people to seamlessly share a bucket of data across multiple devices. So you can have a smartphone as well as a netbook and/or a Rocket Stick, and that bucket of data can be used across all of those devices. It makes it more affordable, and it makes things more flexible as well for users.”
A Rocket Stick is a small device you can plug into your laptop to access the Internet when you’re away from home.
Here’s what may be the best part of this story: Northerners will get a truly fair deal, as Rogers won’t be charging them way more than it charges Winnipeggers for wireless service.
“It definitely will be a blanket fee,” Kwiatkowski told Flin Flon’s Reminder newspaper in February. “We’ll have similar pricing throughout the entire province.”
That news, too, must bring a smile to Randy McKay’s face.
