Coming to Canada this Winter - some (MORE) new cellular competition

We've already introduced you to two of the other new wireless companies, Public Mobile and Wind Mobile, in previous posts, and armed with little information (as Dave hasn't disclosed much as of yet) let's see what we can figure out about  Dave Wireless.

Dave (Data & Audio Visual Enterprises), a Toronto-based company, brings high speed (HSPA+) and affordability to the estimated 8 million potential subscribers that are either mired in an ugly contract with one of the incumbents, or those Canadians that don't have a cell phone yet.

Dave's mission seems to be one of simplicity and honesty, promising a healthy atmosphere of customer service, internal and external.  Their newly launched website reflects this simplicity.  No flashy banners, no outlandish promises, and no ostentatious logos are found here - it's basically just the Dave team saying "This is who we are, and this is how we will treat you"

Dave's acting President is Dave Dobbin, previously of Toronto Hydro Telecom.  For those that live in the Toronto area you might remember Dave from his radio ads urging customers to come to one of his seminars on network security. Incidentally, the fact that DAVE Wireless and DAVE Dobbin both share the same name are completely coincidental, although very convenient. DAVE is headed up by John Bitove, controlling shareholder of XM Radio in Canada, and KFC Holdings, Director of Priszm Brands, which owns KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell franchises across Canada.

The fortune tellers are predicting that the new entrants into the Canadian wireless industry will be vying for the over 8 million new subscribers by 2014.  Through lower prices and faster technologies, the Dave Wireless team wants to make themselves stand out from the competition.   Dave's Wireless is implementing HSPA+ for now, with an eye on LTE down the road.

The Dave wireless team says that they are on track to launch their product line in early 2010 in 5 Canadian cities: Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa.  By opting to roll out HSPA+, the Dave team is hoping to be able to offer speeds of 21 megabits/sec.

Keep your eyes open to find out what Team Dave is going to bring to the market.  With no information about pricing and plan options on their website, the Dave mobile team is going to be answering a ton of questions prior to the launch. .  But don't watch for Dave Wireless by name, because when they come to market there will be a new name for this Canadian company - hopefully they live up to the promises made on their website.

The good news - this new competition should result in lower prices for all of us. The bad news for the carriers - we're in for some fairly aggressive predatory pricing by: the incumbents who will fight extremely aggressively, and the 2 other new players, who will fight equally aggressively, for any new market share.

This won't be an easy market to enter - fortunately senior management at Dave Wireless is filled with some excellent talent. But, it looks like they will be last to enter the market, and haven't disclosed much by way of early marketing information. It looks like they are going to keep us guessing - hopefully for them, not for too much longer !

More: You can read about the other two new cellular companies coming to Canada. TheTelecomBlog.com has profiled:

Coming to Canada this Fall - profiling Public Mobile
Coming to Canada this Fall - profiling Wind Mobile

Written by: Jeff Wiener. www.digitcom.ca. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com by: RSS, Twitter, Identi.ca, or Friendfeed