It’s a carrier in the U.S., like Leap Wireless, that’s made a go of it by offering unlimited usage cell phone plans, to consumers in select metropolitan markets for a fixed cost.

What a concept!

Also check out Leap’s Cricket plans.

There is definitely room in Canada for a provider of the same ilk, perhaps even one that offers low-cost data services too.

Microcell had the right idea with its CityFido plan, it had started to gain traction too before the Rogers takeover.

Kevin

What I’d love to see is no auction at all and declare the spectrum available for general use provided any service adheres to published standards. (There are of course congestion issues, so there’s an upper limit for the number of carriers, but I think it’s more than three!) I’d like to see the barrier to entry for a tiny 3G carrier offering data exclusively (ie: VOIP reliable Mobile IP) reduced to the cost of putting up a tower and figuring out the billing model. Not that I expect this to ever happen, but is it too much to hope for a GSM pico-cell in a prominent chain of coffee shops? I call it the “Revenge of the CLEC” model, or the cringe-worthy “CLEC 2.0″.

Apologies for the rant.

The only solution I can see is to lift the ban on foreign telco ownership (or perhaps just lift it for wireless) and allow multiple operators on desirable frequencies (for GSM these would 1900 and 2100). What I’d love to see is a credit union-like association of small (and large!) municipal service providers offering innovative calling plans and data services. Maybe the upcoming 3G spectrum auction will help, or maybe it will just further entrench the three ‘competitors’. The irony is I’m a Rogers customer, I like their phones and I’d probably stick with them even if a slightly more affordable competitor appeared. The alternative is the future will pass us by. Again.