ICE Wireless is a cellular network operator in northern Canada and the only alternative to Bell Canada north of the 60th parallel. ICE Wireless was the first GSM carrier in Yukon and the Northwest Territories, in the extreme north of Canada. They currently provide coverage in Inuvik, Yellowknife, Behchoko and has announced plans to expand to Hay River. The ICE Wireless network covers 60% of the population of the Northwest Territories.
In January 2007, the company shut down its Whitehorse, Yukon service, saying it could not compete with the territory's other two providers, both owned by Bell Canada. Since that time the Inuvik-based company has operated in the Northwest Territories only.
In August 2008, the company partnered with Rogers Wireless to offer a wider coverage area for its customers and vice versa. At a charge of $0.35 a minute, a customer takes his/her phone on travel, calls as usual, and sees the charge(s) reflected in a later billing statement.
In May 2012, Ice Wireless announced a partnership with Iristel, a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) with one of the largest VoIP (Voice over IP) networks in Canada and a major shareholder of Ice Wireless. Together, the two companies will be able to offer a range of telephone services that compete directly with Northwestel for local telephone and wireless services. The announcement came five months after the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) ordered that other competitive telephone companies be allowed to enter the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut markets starting May 1, 2012. Samer Bishay, president of both Ice Wireless and Iristel, considered it to be the official end of Northwestel's long standing monopoly in northern Canada.
Read more about ICE Wireless: Services
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