Wind hiring retail staff as prepares to launch in two cities

New Canadian wireless operator Wind Mobile is hiring retail outlet staff in Edmonton and Ottawa as it prepares to roll out services in those markets on its HSPA-technology based network.
The company, owned by Globalive Holdings, already counts more than 700 employees and said it expects to add another 600 this year. Sales managers, associate managers and retail associates are being recruited for the upcoming launch in the two Canadian cities, said Marietta Mendoza, head of recruitment at the carrier. Full-time and part-time positions are available. Mendoza said the company is looking for about 100 employees who have a passion for helping people and are interested in having a dialogue with prospective customers. Employees are trained before they sell. The Edmonton and Ottawa markets could launch as early as February, the carrier said. The company just launched Microsoft Surface, a multitouch interactive computing platform that responds to hand gestures, in most of its stores. The tool helps shoppers compare devices and service plans.
Wind is trying to bring a different wireless experience to Canadians, and as such does not charge activation fees or make its users sign contracts. Three-year contracts are required in Canada for customers who want to get the greatest handset subsidy. Wind plans to offer services in four cities this year and plans to augment its buildout with roaming agreements for nationwide service. Globalive paid $442 million CND for an AWS license in 2008 as part of a government auction to increase competition in the country, where Rogers Communications Inc., Telus Corp. and Bell Canada Inc. dominate the telecom market. Incumbents petitioned the government for the ownership ruling last year, arguing that Globalive did not meet Canadian telecom ownership requirements. The carrier was allowed to launch in December, following Industry Canada’s ruling that it met those requirements.
The carrier just partnered with Movius Interactive Corp. to use its visual voicemail solution as part of its messaging application. In related news, Bell Mobility announced today plans to use Comverse to deploy a visual voicemail and multimedia messaging solution.