London-based MVNO Lycamobile is in talks with Canadian telcos over launching its low-cost international calls service in the country.
Canada’s wireless market is dominated by Bell, Rogers Communications and Telus. Of the big three, only Rogers…
London-based MVNO Lycamobile is in talks with Canadian telcos over launching its low-cost international calls service in the country.
Canada’s wireless market is dominated by Bell, Rogers Communications and Telus. Of the big three, only Rogers operates a GSM network – the type Lycamobile has traditionally used – and hosts the most MVNOs in Canada at the present time.
However, Lycamobile CEO Milind Kangle told TelecomFinance: “We can support both GSM and CDMA – we have no technology preference.”
That means Telus and Bell, who share a CDMA network that already hosts some MVNOs, could also be an option.
Regardless of which network it uses the operator will be entering a competitive mature market. But Kangle argues that there is space for Lycamobile.
“Canada is a growing economy with a significant expatriate and immigrant community,” he said. “We know from our success in our 14 other markets that there is significant pent up demand for the Lycamobile proposition within these communities.”
To date Lycamobile has invested £250m (US$390m) in its growth, the CEO said. The company’s investment in Canada will be in the tens of millions of dollars, with a 2013 launch planned.
The company is also preparing for operations in the US, Kangle said. “We are already in the launch phase of the Lycamobile business in the USA with technical testing underway. We are planning our consumer launch in the next few months. “
