Worst of the Week: Oh Canada!

Hello!
And welcome to our Thursday column, Worst of the Week. There’s a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCRWirelessNews.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way. We hope you enjoy it!
And without further ado:
So, as I’m sure most of you know there is a country to the north of the U.S. called Canada. This place is very similar to the U.S. in that they drive on the right side of the road, like to eat bacon and have a history of tension with people who speak French.
However, unlike in the U.S. – where today’s date is May 29, 2008 – in Canada it is not that same date. And it’s not because of some crazy time-zone/date-line thing where it’s either one day later or earlier. No, you see in Canada certain things from the past live on as if in some sort of time warp. People up there – I believe they are called Canadianites – still say hello to each other like people in the U.S. used to do back in the ’60s. And not just to people they know, but they say hello to perfect strangers. And in some cases these people even say hello back.
As further proof to the time warping going on in Canada, this week the country is having a spectrum auction for airwaves similar to the advanced wireless services auction the U.S.’ Federal Communications Commission conducted several years ago. And for a further retro theme the auction also includes some spare PCS spectrum the country had lying around. You remember PCS spectrum don’t you?
(Typically I would not even have noticed there was a spectrum auction going on in Canada despite the fact that these auctions are a big draw for readers and have a big impact on the wireless industry that we cover, but I have been itching for a new auction to follow ever since the recent conclusion of the 700 MHz auction in the U.S. and at this point I will take whatever I can get.)
The Canadian auction – being run by Industry Canada, which is similar to the FCC but also handles polar bear attacks and the de-icing of rural highways – began on Monday with 24 bidders (how quaint) and by Thursday morning had run through six rounds and generated nearly $900 million in Canadian money in revenues. (I would provide a conversion for this in U.S. dollars, but I don’t believe you can convert Canadian money into U.S. dollars.)
The licenses up for grabs are a mix of 10 megahertz and 20 megahertz spectrum blocks covering the country, including the major metro areas like Red Deer, Moose Jaw and Grande Prairie. (All places where I am sure this “hello to stranger” activity is rampant.) The top draws were licenses covering big name places like Montreal, Toronto and something called Southern Ontario.
Top bidders for licenses so far include such awesome Canadian companies and telecom powerhouses like Rogers, Telus and Bell Canada, as well as even more awesome companies like 6934579 Canada Inc., 6934242 Canada Ltd. and the ever-fearsome Jaguar Wireless. (No sign of true Canadian staples like Tim Hortons or Labatt, but we can only assume they are involved in some form or another.)
In the end I say good luck to Canada and its ongoing auction, and I hope that responsible bidders eventually win and build out worthwhile networks designed to serve Canadianites and their need for wireless communications. And I also hope that the increased use of wireless services in Canada will have a similar impact as it has in the U.S., where people have grown increasingly frustrated with others loudly talking on their cellphones in public places, talking on their cellphones while driving, and in general creating a nuisance of themselves to the point that they no longer want to say hello to perfect strangers.
Plus, if things go as planned, I do have the Canadian 700 MHz auction to look forward to in about 11 years.
OK! Enough of that.
Thanks for checking out this Worst of the Week column. And now, some extras:
–Interesting news out of Japan this week as the government released a study recommending that children limit their exposure to cellphones. The Japanese government is citing fears that kids are getting too attached to the social-networking aspects of mobile devices, which could have a negative impact on their soft minds, but I think we all know that the real reason is that they fear an outbreak of Ultraman-like super-children. The effort seems to be getting a boost from Japanese super-carrier NTT DoCoMo, which announced it would begin offering over-the-air downloads of songs from Napster. And if there is something kids hate to do, it’s listening to music. Good to see business and government working together on this one.
–Speaking of kids and cellphones, word came out this week that Kids Station Toys International Ltd. is recalling 1 million Little Tikes Chit ‘N Chat toy cellphones because of a possible choking hazard. That choking hazard will then pass along to the kid’s parents when the child finally gets a cellphone and racks up hundreds of dollars in texting overages.
–And finally, our favorite disposable phone company Hop-on unveiled a new $10 “anti-phone” that the company proclaims “loses the display, gains convenience.” The best bit of information from the release touts “a tactile numeric keypad with Braille markings, offers reassuring buttons that touchscreen cellphone users are longing for.” Looks like Hop-on is throwing down the gauntlet against its most likely cross-shopping foe the iPhone. Let’s get it on!
I welcome your comments. Please send me an e-mail at dmeyer@crain.com.