Some Euro airlines allow cellphones: Is North America far behind?
Do you hate the sound of crying babies and incessant, idle chatter on a flight?
If so, you’d better invest in a good pair of noise-cancelling headphones because the volume level on some flights in Europe and the Middle East will be louder in future.
The Canadian equivalent of Transport Canada approved earlier this week all non-3G mobile calls aboard aircraft registered in the United Kingdom, although the country’s aviation authority may still have to approve each airline’s in-flight cellphone usage plan.
Net result: flights on the other side of the Atlantic are about to get a whole lot noisier.
The day when cell phones are allowed on flights in Canada and the United States likely isn’t far off. Air France is already testing cell phone usage on some of its flights while Emirates Airlines allows its passengers to use wireless devices.
Will the Canadian airlines follow suit? The short answer is probably (over the long run).
The reason? People love their cell phones; soon most people with any kind of disposable income will own one, making it more likely that airlines will be pressured to let its customers use their precious devices on flights.
I had a discussion with a senior WestJet manager at a conference in Orlando last month. The manager told me the airline is examining the possibility of internet access via satellite for its passengers; it may look at cell phone use on its flights in the future.
She said the airline, Canada’s scrappy No. 2 to incumbent Air Canada, is doing so because of customer demand.
Pico-cell technology helps airlines overcome what had been a hurdle - ensuring signals that originate in the sky don’t interfere with those from the ground. Pico-cell technology allows carriers to route the calls through a receiver on the plane which relays transmissions to the ground via a separate air-to-ground network.
Though technical problems with cellphone calls in the sky have largely been overcome, there will be a strong movement to preserve the status quo. Besides the obvious annoyance factor, airlines and passengers for that matter fear terrorists could use mobile phones as explosives on planes.
I’m more worried about my sanity frankly. Hopefully, measures will be taken to curb cellphone usage on flights, so as to prevent incidents of “air rage.” One great way to curb usage may start with the cell phone service providers; perhaps Rogers, Bell and Telus can prices blast the already-exorbitant rates we pay to the moon for those that want to yak away in the air.
Technorati Tags: Pico-cell, Rogers, Bell, Telus, Air Canada, WestJet, Emirates, Air France, airlines
Microsoft & News Corp to buy Yahoo? Or will AOL?
After weeks of inaction, a battle for control of Yahoo Inc. appears to be on the horizon.
The New York Times is reporting that Microsoft is examining the possibility of a joint bid for the beleaguered Yahoo with News Corp.
In contrast, the Wall Street Journal says Yahoo is ready to be bought by AOL, a surprising twist for the beleagueared Internet services company which was all but relegated to the MSN division of Microsoft when the software giant made its initial $44.6-billion offer for Yahoo.
News of a possible Yahoo-AOL tie up is a surprise given AOL’s diminished stature in the tech world. Yahoo, of course, needs to find other options so that it can either wring more money out of Microsoft or hop into bed with what it likely sees as a more suitable bed partner.
AOL could very well be a better strategic and cultural fit than Microsoft and Yahoo, but it wouldn’t do much to restore Yahoo’s fortunes over the short term, it may in fact worsen the company’s situation.
A Microsoft-Yahoo combination would take a long time to iron out too; the acrimony between the already bitter rivals intensified over the weekend as Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer and Yahoo founder and CEO Jerry Yang had a testy exchange over the value of the company. Microsoft doesn’t want to take this to a proxy fight but it may now have to if Yahoo is determined to run into the arms of AOL.
The most popular school of thought at the time of Microsoft’s initial offer for Yahoo was that the two companies would eventually come together in matrimony, once the software giant made a second or third offer for the company. Microsoft has said it may lower its bid.
Gamesmanship or not, the staredown has lasted long enough that Yahoo may have managed to find a somewhat viable alternative to Microsoft.
I still say it’s for naught. Credit to Yahoo for finding something resembling a white knight and for its patience. However, it only seems to have bolstered the mighty Microsoft’s resolve.
Its determination will probably leave Yahoo with one less potential suitor to call on should News Corp. buddy up with Microsoft in an attempt to take over t he company.
The deep-pocketed News Corp. also allows Steve Ballmer and co. to up its offer for Yahoo. Watch for it in the coming weeks.
Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Yahoo, News Corp., AOL
The iPhone design ripple effect
After Apple’s iPhone received rave reviews last year, developers at Nokia and Research In Motion must have been told to go back to the drawing board.
That’s the only conclusion one can draw after reading reports of the company’s forthcoming smartphones.
Nokia’s Tube, pre-announced earlier today, bears a striking resemblance to the iPhone and incorporates its touch features. One major difference; the Tube will have Java built in to the device so users can run a variety of applications that may not run on the iPhone.
Nokia, which hasn’t set a price for the Tube or a release date, is calling it the company’s first “touch device.”
As for RIM, the 9000 series not coincidentally has iPhone-like curves, and a completely revamped user interface. The cramped menu and cartoon-like icons are gone in the 9000 series of devices apparently.
Net result? The BlackBerry 9000 series looks pretty damn good. If it works as well as the Curve, it’ll be a killer consumer device.
Remember, RIM’s now going trying to grab a great number of consumers - the 9000 will help its cause with the oh-so fickle and fashion-conscious group.
While Nokia vice-president Tom Libretto dismissed Apple’s impact on the smartphone industry, saying the company ships Apple’s entire user base (e.g. 5 to 6 million phones) in a weekend. But Apple’s impact on the smartphone market is undeniable; the evidence will soon be found in the Tube and the BlackBerry 9000 series.
Now if we could only have those devices made available in Canada.
Technorati Tags: iPhone, Nokia, BlackBerry
Koodo Mobile: 3 things I kinda like & 3 things i hate
Now that the Koodo Mobile youth-oriented wireless service is available, I thought it’d be a good time to generate first impressions of the pseudo-MVNO launched by Telus last month.
This being Canada, there’s not a ton different about Koodo than its youth brand competitors Rogers/Fido and Bell/Virgin Mobile/Solo. Kudos to Telus for picking itself off up the mat after the $7.5-million it injected into Amp’d Mobile and the subsequent partnership it struck blew up in its face last year.
Koodo looks like a far smarter way to appeal to Canadian youths though the timing does seem kinda odd. How long have Solo, Virgin Mobile and Fido been in Canada?
Anyway, there are some notable points I felt merited commentary.
3 things I kinda like about Koodo.
1) Long distance prices. Telus, er, Koodo, has pushed the envelope in so far as a Canadian carrier pushes the envelope on prices with its wireless rates - Koodo offers a $20 unlimited Canadian wireless long distance plan. Considering the fact a call from Toronto to Burlington, Ont., a suburb, is considered LD by the carriers, that’s a decent plan.
2) Koodo’s Web site. It’s simple and easy to use; a nice change from the mazes its parent Telus and the other national wireless carriers have constructed for users that want to find information.
3) I can’t think of another one.
3 Things I HATE About Koodo
1) The ads; they are borderline deceitful. Unless you’re going to offer serious overall discounts to competitors, please don’t pretend like my bills are going to be significantly better.
2) The handsets. They are in a word awful. Koodo by my count offers exactly three handsets; Motorola’s w385 and the MotoKRZR as well as Samsung’s U410, not exactly selling points for the iPhone generation. Barf in fact. To be fair the handset selection from Solo and Virgin Mobile isn’t much better.
3) Lastly, the name kinda annoys me. I’m probably not in the target demographic of Koodo/Telus but it really does seem kinda silly. I’m sure the company has done extensive market research to test the veracity of its new youth brand.
Overall, Koodo seems like a ‘me-too’ service, that will nonetheless help Telus bring some youth into the fold. If Telus wants to make some wireless noise, it needs to better differentiate the Koodo offering from Fido, Solo and Virgin Mobile.
Technorati Tags: Telus, Koodo, cell phone service
The iPhone in Canada? Take a box of salt with those launch rumours
Maybe it’s the spring thaw that’s started here in Toronto; perhaps it’s just plain ol’ wishful thinking.
Anyway, the iPhone isn’t coming to Canada anytime soon no matter how often the rumour is circulated in Canadian tech circles.
It’s even been suggested that Apple has a bias against Canada. We Canucks can be offensive after all!
While that’s a stretch, it’s fair to say that Apple will wait to introduce the iPhone in Canada until Rogers or an upstart carrier agrees to introduce AT&T or Vodafone-like data plans; the revenue generated from the net new iPhone subscribers added is to be shared with Apple of course. This is the case in the United States and Europe where Apple has deals with the aforementioned carriers.
That’s not going to happen anytime soon. Rogers has no reason to lower its extraordinarily high data prices (relative to international peers) and Apple has bigger fish to fry in larger countries right now.
Remember the iPhone only runs on GSM networks and Rogers is the only service provider that owns that type of network in Canada. Apple has to work with Rogers if it wants to sell the phone in the Great White North anytime soon.
But neither Rogers or Apple wants to blink, assuming there have even discussions over the terms and conditions of an iPhone introduction in Canada.
There’s also a trademark dispute with Comwave, a VoIP service provider, waiting for Apple if and when it decides to enter the country.
Not a lot of incentive for Apple to rush into Canada.
Apple may need the help of a new wireless entrant to get the iPhone in the hands of the masses here, an increasingly likely scenario. Industry Canada is in the process of auctioning off airwaves, some of which will be reserved so new wireless service providers can enter the market.
Perhaps a potential new entrant to the wireless field, such as Data & Audio-Visual Enterprises Wireless (DAVE), Videotron, Shaw or another wireless player will be only too happy to give Apple the terms and conditions it so covets.
Meantime, Apple knows full well Canadians like yours truly have travelled and will travel across the border to buy an iPhone or simply buy an unlocked iPhone from an eBay seller.
Apple Inc. for the short term is more than happy to sell the hardware to Canadians albeit indirectly; the cut of the data sales as from deals with Canadian carriers will come later.
So if you’re a Canadian, why wait? Unlocked iPhones aren’t hard to find online. The wink-and-nod agreement Rogers has with its customers now allows people to use the device on its network.
You’ll of course choke when you see your wireless bill at the end of the month but boy will you look cool in front of your friends.
Enjoy.
Mesh U and Mesh comin’ atcha May 20-22
My friend Mark Evans and his talented organizer buddies are hosting their third annual Mesh conference, Canada’s premier Web event, in Toronto on May 20th.
The conference kicks off with something called meshU, an innovative day full of small focused workshops for developers, designers and other fashionable propeller heads (the day before the conference starts.)
Among the notable speakers/workshop leaders on meshU day are Daniel Burka, a creative director with social networking site Digg and a co-founder of Pownce as well as John Resig, a JavaScript evangelist with Mozilla.
Oh BTW, another cool thing about meshU is the fact the conference crew are still accepting submissions for presentations. So if you have a great idea for a meshU workshop, throw your idea over the proverbial wall.
This year’s intriguing meshU addition should be a good way for technical types to kick off Canada’s Webopalooza. If it’s anything like the conferences of past, it will be a success.
That means space will be hard to come by so entrepreneurs, investors, media and assorted others that are interested should snap up tickets and submit workshop ideas ASAP.
Spectrum auction horse race update
Only the strong survive. That’s the theme of the spectrum auction as the May 27 Canadian final bid date comes ever closer.
Notable players dropped out of the race Monday afternoon to buy airwaves from the government and ultimately offer cell phone service to Canadians or showed lesser interest.
Niagara Networks, the company that sent an $880-million letter of credit to Industry Canada mere weeks ago, withdrew without comment. Obviously, it’s backers didn’t come through or perhaps Doug Evashkow, the president of Niagara, simply wanted to have his 15 minutes of fame.
The Ghermezian brothers, the founders of the West Edmonton Mall, contributed a mere $11-million. That’s a sharp contrast to the first round of bidding earlier this month when they submitted a $144-million letter of credit.
There are now 27 players that can potentially buy spectrum from Industry Canada, which gives Canadians a better idea as to what companies will become the next generation of domestic cell phone service providers.
So why are potential cell phone service providers dropping out of the race almost as soon as they enter it? The wireless divisions of Bell, Telus and Rogers contribute most of each company’s top-line growth after all; seems like a lucrative opportunity.
The most likely reason, in the case of Niagara was that its presumed foreign backers came to their senses and realized what a poor business case chasing after a relatively small group of tech laggards is in a small country like Canada. These are the remaining 35%+ of Canadians that don’t own a cell phone. Traditionally, these are senior citizens, the poor, kids and others that generally don’t get ARPU-oriented telco executives excited.
It’s possible for new entrants alike to fight for the business the wireless incumbents - Bell, Rogers and Telus - own but that’s a fool’s game. That’s especially true if you’re a small company with no other levers to pull in the market unlike Videotron, Shaw or MTS Allstream.
Some independent parties, such as Data & Audio-Visual Enterprises Wireless, the Paul Allen-backed venture, could very well buy Canadian spectrum. But over the long term, it’s a lot tougher for a company that provides only cell phone service to survive in a market that almost requires providers to offer the quadruple play of services.
All these factors add up to a rather boring spectrum auction. Expect other interested parties to drop out of the race as the process continues through to the end of May and beyond.
Ultimately, Canadians will end up with a smattering of independents and the cablecos, such as Videotron, competing against the incumbents for the business of remaining cell phone less citizens.
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