ICE Wireless is a cellular network

Cellular network

A cellular network is a radio network distributed over land areas called cells, each served by at least one fixed-location transceiver known as a cell site or base station. When joined together these cells provide radio coverage over a wide geographic area...

 operator in northern Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 and the only alternative to Bell Canada

Bell Canada

Bell Canada is a major Canadian telecommunications company. Including its subsidiaries such as Bell Aliant, Northwestel, Télébec, and NorthernTel, it is the incumbent local exchange carrier for telephone and DSL Internet services in most of Canada east of Manitoba and in the northern territories,...

 north of the 60th parallel

60th parallel north

The 60th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 60 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean....

. ICE Wireless was the first GSM

Global System for Mobile Communications

GSM , is a standard set developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute to describe technologies for second generation digital cellular networks...

 carrier in Yukon

Yukon

Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....

 and the Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...

, in the extreme north of Canada. They currently provide coverage in Inuvik

Inuvik, Northwest Territories

Inuvik is a town in the Northwest Territories of Canada and is the administrative centre for the Inuvik Region.The population as of the 2006 Census was 3,484, but the two previous census counts show wide fluctuations due to economic conditions: 2,894 in 2001 and 3,296 in 1996...

, Yellowknife

Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

Yellowknife is the capital and largest city of the Northwest Territories , Canada. It is located on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, approximately south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the outlet of the Yellowknife River...

, Behchoko

Behchoko, Northwest Territories

Behchokǫ̀ , officially the Tłı̨chǫ Community Government of Behchokǫ̀ is a community in the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Behchokǫ̀ is located on the Yellowknife Highway , on the northwest tip of Great Slave Lake, approximately northwest of Yellowknife...

 and services soon for the community of Hay River

Hay River, Northwest Territories

Hay River , known as "the Hub of the North," is a town in the Northwest Territories, Canada, located on the south shore of Great Slave Lake, at the mouth of the Hay River. The town is separated into two sections, a new town and an old town with the Hay River Airport between them...

. The ICE Wireless network covers 70% of the population of the Northwest Territories http://www.icewireless.ca/media.htm.

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 up with Rogers Wireless

Rogers Wireless

Rogers Wireless is a wireless telecommunications provider offering mobile phone and data services throughout Canada using Global System for Mobile Communications and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System technology. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rogers Communications...

to offer a wider coverage area for its customers and vice versa. At a charge of $0.35 a minute, a customer just takes his/her phone on travel, calls as usual, and sees the charge(s) reflected in a later billing statement.