Mobilicity
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Mobilicity (formerly Data & Audio Visual Enterprises Wireless or DAVE Wireless) is a Canadian
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...
wireless telecommunications provider. Its name is a portmanteau of the words "mobility" and "simplicity".
History
Originally formed as DAVE Wireless by Canadian businessman John BitoveJohn Bitove
John I. Bitove, is a Canadian-Macedonian businessman and sportsman. He is the major shareholder and chairman of Scott's Real Estate Investment Trust and Sirius XM Canada. While controlling several public and private businesses, he has recently expanded into telecommunications with a company he...
, the company entered the 2008 spectrum auction for AWS
Advanced Wireless Services
AWS-1 or UMTS band IV, is a wireless telecommunications spectrum band used for mobile voice and data services, video, and messaging. AWS-1 is used in the United States and Canada...
frequencies. DAVE spent $243 million on 10 Mhz of AWS spectrum blocks largely covering southern and eastern Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Victoria, Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
and Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
..
As Mobilicity, the company began offering service to the public on 15 May 2010. At the time of launch only the city of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
had coverage. On November 17th, 2010, service was launched in Edmonton and Vancouver, and on November 18th, 2010, the company launched their service in the Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
and Gatineau area. Coverage in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
went live on 28th April 2011. The company currently has no spectrum access within the province of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
.
The company is faces close competition from already established Rogers Communications
Rogers Communications
Rogers Communications Inc. is one of Canada's largest communications companies, particularly in the field of wireless communications, cable television, home phone and internet with additional telecommunications and mass media assets...
via their new brand called Chatr
Chatr
Chatr is a Canadian wireless service provider targeting price-conscious customers It is the third wireless service network owned by Rogers Communications, after Rogers Wireless and Fido Solutions. The provider launched their network in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and now Montreal ...
which offers similar services at much the same price points. Bell Mobility
Bell Mobility
Bell Mobility is a CDMA and HSPA+ based wireless network and the division of Bell Canada which sells wireless services in Canada...
and Telus Mobility
Telus Mobility
Telus Mobility is a division of Telus Communications which sells wireless services in Canada on its numerous networks. They currently have three different networks based on three different technologies: CDMA and HSPA+ on its mainstream networks, plus iDEN via its Mike division...
, two other major Canadian carriers, have also launched similar services. Bell added City plans to its Virgin Mobile Canada
Virgin Mobile Canada
Virgin Mobile Canada is a cellular telephone company that was launched on March 1, 2005 as a joint venture between Virgin Group and Bell Canada. Since May 7, 2009, it is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Bell Mobility. - Pre-launch :...
and Solo Mobile
Solo Mobile
Solo Mobile is a mobile brand in Canada started by Bell Mobility in 2000. Solo is considered a discount wireless brand, offering low price monthly plans with some unlimited options in certain cities...
brands, while Telus has done likewise with its Koodo Mobile
Koodo Mobile
Koodo Mobile is a mobile brand in Canada started by Telus in 2008. Koodo differs from its parent Telus by not requiring a fixed term contract. Koodo offers all its services on a month by month basis. Koodo uses the concept of a Tab which allows customers to build credit towards new phones...
and Clearnet
Clearnet (Telus Mobility)
Clearnet is a division of Telus Mobility launched in April 2011 which sells landline and mobile phone bundles in Western Canada. It is a revival of the Clearnet Communications brand name, an independent cellular provider that was merged into Telus Mobility in 2000...
brands. Mobilicity contends that the plan is aimed directly at their service. Rogers later paid a fine of $10 million for Chatr's misleading advertising. Bell has withdrawn its Solo brand from the market in October 2011, while the Clearnet brand from Telus remains only available in two western cities.
Network
Mobilicity's network was built in 2009 and currently maintained by EricssonEricsson
Ericsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
. The company also has a cell-site sharing agreement with Bell Mobility
Bell Mobility
Bell Mobility is a CDMA and HSPA+ based wireless network and the division of Bell Canada which sells wireless services in Canada...
to share cell tower space in all Mobilicity zones. The network uses the UMTS IV frequency band
UMTS frequency bands
The UMTS frequency bands are radio frequencies used by third generation wireless Universal Mobile Telecommunications System networks.They were allocated by delegates to the World Administrative Radio Conference held in Málaga-Torremolinos, Spain between February 3, 1992 and March 3, 1992...
, also known as AWS
Advanced Wireless Services
AWS-1 or UMTS band IV, is a wireless telecommunications spectrum band used for mobile voice and data services, video, and messaging. AWS-1 is used in the United States and Canada...
, to provide UMTS
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System is a third generation mobile cellular technology for networks based on the GSM standard. Developed by the 3GPP , UMTS is a component of the International Telecommunications Union IMT-2000 standard set and compares with the CDMA2000 standard set for...
(with HSPA
High Speed Packet Access
High Speed Packet Access is an amalgamation of two mobile telephony protocols, High Speed Downlink Packet Access and High Speed Uplink Packet Access , that extends and improves the performance of existing WCDMA protocols...
) service. Using this band, user equipment transmits at 1710–1755 MHz, and receives at 2110–2155 MHz. AWS is the same frequency as Wind Mobile
Wind Mobile
Wind Mobile is a Canadian wireless telecommunications provider operated by Globalive Communications Corporation. The company initially launched mobile data and voice services in Toronto on December 16, 2009 and two days later in Calgary...
and Videotron
Vidéotron
Vidéotron GP is a Canadian integrated telecommunications company active in cable television, interactive multimedia development, video on demand, cable telephony, wireless communication and Internet access services. Currently, the company primarily serves Quebec, as well as the francophone...
in 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 T-Mobile USA
T-Mobile USA
T-Mobile USA, Inc. is an American mobile-network operator, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, that provides wireless voice, messaging and data services in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company is the fourth-largest wireless carrier in the U.S. market with 33.73...
. Like WIND, Mobilicity does not have a 2G, EDGE, GPRS 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...
Network.
Mobilicity's network is compatible with the same handsets and devices as Wind Mobile
Wind Mobile
Wind Mobile is a Canadian wireless telecommunications provider operated by Globalive Communications Corporation. The company initially launched mobile data and voice services in Toronto on December 16, 2009 and two days later in Calgary...
and Videotron
Vidéotron
Vidéotron GP is a Canadian integrated telecommunications company active in cable television, interactive multimedia development, video on demand, cable telephony, wireless communication and Internet access services. Currently, the company primarily serves Quebec, as well as the francophone...
networks, and UMTS handsets and devices offered by T-Mobile USA
T-Mobile USA
T-Mobile USA, Inc. is an American mobile-network operator, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, that provides wireless voice, messaging and data services in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company is the fourth-largest wireless carrier in the U.S. market with 33.73...
.
Products
Numerous products are available at Mobilicity. While the carrier mostly sells various smartphoneSmartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
s, other types of products are also available. There is a 14 day period for return or exchange on newly purchased products. The time period previously consisted of 30 days.
Feature phones
Mobilicity offers a small selection of feature phoneFeature phone
A feature phone is a mobile phone that, like smartphones, combines the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone.Today's models typically also serve as portable media players and camera phones with touchscreen, GPS navigation, Wi-Fi and mobile broadband access.Feature phones is...
s. Two models are available:
- LG Wink
- Samsung Gravity Touch
All feature phones in Mobilicity's current lineup include a 365 day warranty.
On the day of Mobilicity's launch, the Huawei U7519
T-Mobile Tap
The T-Mobile Tap is a mobile phone manufactured by Huawei, Inc. and marketed under the T-Mobile brand and service. It is also known as the Huawei U7519.- Features :...
, Totem and Sony Ericsson TM506 feature phones phone were available. All are officially discontinued, although , "Unlimited To Go" packages for the TM506 are still available at select HMV
HMV Group
HMV is a British global entertainment retail chain and is the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company also operates in Hong Kong and Singapore. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE Fledgling Index...
and Zellers
Zellers
Zellers Inc. is Canada's second-largest chain of mass merchandise discount stores, with locations in communities across Canada. A subsidiary of the Hudson's Bay Company , it has 273 locations across the country....
.
Smartphones
Mobilicity currently carries ten smartphoneSmartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
s:
- BlackBerry BoldBlackBerry BoldThe BlackBerry Bold 9000 is a line of smartphones developed by Research in Motion. The family includes the 9000 , the 9700 , the 9650 and 9780, both of which were released in 2010, 9788 released in 2011 and the 9900/9930, the first touchscreen Bold, released in August 2011...
9900 - BlackBerry CurveBlackBerry CurveBlackBerry Curve is a brand of entry level smartphones manufactured by Research In Motion since 2007.-Curve 8300 Series:The BlackBerry Curve brand was introduced in 2007 with the Curve 8300 series...
9300 - BlackBerry Curve 9360
- BlackBerry Curve 9380
- GoogleGoogleGoogle Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
Nexus SNexus SThe Nexus S is a smartphone co-developed by Google and Samsung and manufactured by Samsung Electronics. It was the first smartphone to use the Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" operating system, and the first Android device to support Near Field Communication in both hardware and software... - HTC Amaze 4GHTC Amaze 4GThe HTC Amaze 4G is a smartphone developed by the HTC Corporation. It was released by T-Mobile in the United States on 10 October 2011.. It was first released in Canada by Telus on 04 November 2011...
- HTC Panache 4GT-Mobile myTouch 4GThe T-Mobile myTouch 4G is a smartphone designed and manufactured by HTC Corporation for T-Mobile USA. HTC's name for the device during development was "Glacier". This is T-Mobile's second "4G" phone, after the T-Mobile G2, and the third smartphone by T-Mobile that runs Android 2.2 Froyo software...
- Nokia 500Nokia 500The Nokia 500 is a Symbian Anna smartphone. It was made available in Q3 2011, with some models planned to be released in Q4.-References:*...
- Nokia E73Nokia E72The Nokia E72 is a smartphone from the Nokia Eseries range that manufactured in Finland. It is the successor to the Nokia E71 and is based on a similar design and form factor, and offers a similar feature set...
- Samsung Galaxy MiniSamsung Galaxy MiniThe Samsung Galaxy Mini, is a smartphone manufactured by Samsung that runs the open source Android operating system. Announced and released by Samsung in spring of 2011...
All smartphones in Mobilicity's current lineup have a 365 day warranty.
Mobilicity is also the exclusive carrier of the Mobiflip smartphone in Canada. A variant of the T-Mobile Sidekick LX 2009, Mobilicity launched it on December 22, 2010. In less than a week, the operator sold the entire stock of two Mobiflip shipments. it is now discontinued. The Samsung Gravity Touch feature phone
Feature phone
A feature phone is a mobile phone that, like smartphones, combines the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone.Today's models typically also serve as portable media players and camera phones with touchscreen, GPS navigation, Wi-Fi and mobile broadband access.Feature phones is...
is similar and succeeds the Mobiflip.
On the day of Mobilicity's launch, the BlackBerry Bold 9700
BlackBerry Bold 9700
The BlackBerry Bold 9700 is a smartphone developed by Research In Motion.-External links:* * *...
, HTC Snap and Nokia 5230
Nokia 5230
The Nokia 5230 Nuron is a low-cost smartphone from Nokia that is manufactured in South Korea and is famous and commonly used in India, Brazil, Indonesia, etc. It is a candybar style phone similar in shape to the 5800 but does not have a secondary camera, has less internal storage and is not...
smartphones were available. All are officially discontinued, although , "Unlimited To Go" packages for the 5230 are still available at select Mobilicity dealers and third-party dealers such as Zellers
Zellers
Zellers Inc. is Canada's second-largest chain of mass merchandise discount stores, with locations in communities across Canada. A subsidiary of the Hudson's Bay Company , it has 273 locations across the country....
. All remaining stock of the Bold 9700 and 9780, plus the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10
The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is a smartphone in the Xperia series designed by Sony Ericsson. It is the first Sony Ericsson smartphone to utilize the Android operating system. The phone was shipped with Android 1.6, but an upgrade to 2.1 was made available starting October 31, 2010, with a gradual...
, has been cleared out during Black Friday
Black Friday (shopping)
Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. On this day, most major retailers open extremely early, often at 4 a.m., or earlier, and offer promotional sales to kick off the shopping season, similar to Boxing...
sales. These smartphones were sold at the cost of $199.99 each.
Internet access devices
Currently, Mobilicity sells two devices that are exclusively designed for mobile broadbandMobile Broadband
Mobile broadband is the marketing term for wireless Internet access through a portable modem, mobile phone or other mobile device.-Description:...
:
- Huawei E1691
- Huawei E383C
The E1691 is an USB mobile broadband modem that is officially supported by computers using the Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
10.4 or higher, or Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
operating systems. The E583 is a portable device, similar to the MiFi
MiFi
MiFi is a line of compact wireless routers produced by Novatel Wireless that act as mobile Wi-Fi hotspots. MiFi stands for 'My Wi-Fi'. The MiFi can be connected to a mobile phone carrier and provide internet access for up to 5 devices...
, that allows any Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
device to connect to mobile Internet. The E1691 and the E583C can download at speeds up to 7.2 Mbit/s.
There are also accessories available for these devices. The Huawei WS320 is a Wi-Fi signal repeater, while the Huawei D105 is a Wi-Fi dock which requires a USB mobile broadband modem.
Other
Mobilicity carries the 16 GB and 32 GB variants of the BlackBerry PlaybookBlackBerry PlayBook
The BlackBerry PlayBook is a tablet computer by Research In Motion , best known for the BlackBerry smartphone. It competes against Apple's iPad and a slew of Android-powered tablets....
. They also sell various Bluetooth cordless phones, designed for use at home in conjunction with a mobile phone.
Voice plans
Mobilicity entered the Canadian market on May 15, 2010 with six mobile voice plans at $15, $25, $35, $45, $55, and $65 monthly. These included lower-cost plans with limited features and an all-inclusive plan with unlimited talk, text and data. The $15, $55 and $65 have since been eliminated, while the remaining $25, $35 and $45 plans have been improved. Plan features can only be used within a Mobilicity unlimited zone.The $25/month plan includes:
- Unlimited local calling
- Unlimited Mobilicity to Mobilicity calling
- Unlimited sent and received SMSSMSSMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
and MMSMultimedia Messaging ServiceMultimedia Messaging Service, or MMS, is a standard way to send messages that include multimedia content to and from mobile phones. It extends the core SMS capability that allowed exchange of text messages only up to 160 characters in length.The most popular use is to send photographs from...
to Canada and continental USA - Caller IDCaller IDCaller ID , also called calling line identification or calling number identification or Calling Line Identification Presentation , is a telephone service, available in analog and digital phone systems and most Voice over Internet Protocol applications, that transmits a caller's number to...
The $35/month plan includes all features found in the $25/month plan, plus:
- Province-wide long distance
- Call waitingCall waitingCall waiting , in telephony, is a feature on some telephone networks. If a calling party places a call to a called party which is otherwise engaged, and the called party has the call waiting feature enabled, the called party is able to suspend the current telephone call and switch to the new...
, call forwardingCall forwardingCall forwarding , in telephony, is a feature on some telephone networks allowing an incoming call to a called party to be redirected to a third party. For example, the third party may be a mobile telephone, voicemail box or other telephone number where the desired called party is situated. It was...
, conference callConference callA conference call is a telephone call in which the calling party wishes to have more than one called party listen in to the audio portion of the call. The conference calls may be designed to allow the called party to participate during the call, or the call may be set up so that the called party...
and voicemailVoicemailVoicemail is a computer based system that allows users and subscribers to exchange personal voice messages; to select and deliver voice information; and to process transactions relating to individuals, organizations, products and services, using an ordinary telephone...
features
The $45/month plan includes all found in the $35/month plan, plus:
- Canada and USA long distance
- Unlimited sent and received SMS worldwide
Wind Mobile
Wind Mobile
Wind Mobile is a Canadian wireless telecommunications provider operated by Globalive Communications Corporation. The company initially launched mobile data and voice services in Toronto on December 16, 2009 and two days later in Calgary...
's plans are very similar to Mobilicity's.
Data plans
For feature phoneFeature phone
A feature phone is a mobile phone that, like smartphones, combines the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone.Today's models typically also serve as portable media players and camera phones with touchscreen, GPS navigation, Wi-Fi and mobile broadband access.Feature phones is...
s and smartphone
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
s, unlimited mobile broadband
Mobile Broadband
Mobile broadband is the marketing term for wireless Internet access through a portable modem, mobile phone or other mobile device.-Description:...
Internet access can be added at the regular price of $10 per month. Tethering is also allowed. BlackBerry
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
users must instead pay $15 per month to use unlimited BlackBerry Internet Service
BlackBerry Internet Service
The BlackBerry Internet Service is a service that provides BlackBerry smartphone users with access to Internet browsing, allows email messaging, instant messaging using the BlackBerry Messenger service, and more.The service also allows...
.
There is also a $40 monthly plan that works exclusively with connect card
Connect card
A mobile broadband modem, also known as a connect card or data card, allows a laptop, a personal computer or a router to connect to receive Internet access via mobile broadband.-History:...
s. Like the phone add-on, it also provides unlimited mobile Internet access. This plan is also available for $20 per month when combined to any regular priced voice plan.
Both plans can only be used within Mobilicity's coverage area. Customers must also follow the operator's Fair Use Policy, which prohibits "causing network instability", as well as illegal "copyright-protected or patent-protected material" transfered without the owner's permission. Those who breach the Fair Use Policy may face consequences, such as throttled Internet speeds or termination of service. As an example, former Mobilicity president and CEO Dave Dobbin tweeted: "you've downloaded 5 gig today, but now your speed is slow - please don't [complain]."
Roaming
When outside of the local Mobilicity coverage areas, subscribers have access to the T-Mobile USAT-Mobile USA
T-Mobile USA, Inc. is an American mobile-network operator, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, that provides wireless voice, messaging and data services in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company is the fourth-largest wireless carrier in the U.S. market with 33.73...
3G network and 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...
EDGE network, where they are charged roaming
Roaming
In wireless telecommunications, roaming is a general term referring to the extension of connectivity service in a location that is different from the home location where the service was registered. Roaming ensures that the wireless device is kept connected to the network, without losing the...
rates. Pay-per-use calls cost 20¢ per minute and SMS
SMS
SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
costs 10¢ per message. There are also bundles which include 30 minutes for $5 per month, or 60 minutes for $10 per month. In both cases, the resulting rate for the minutes included is 16.6̅¢ per minute, after which the regular rate of 20¢ per minute applies. Customers accessing the Internet via these networks will be charged $1.50 per megabyte, which is equivalent to $1536 per gigabyte.
Advertising
In 2011, Mobilicity began using two computer animated aliens to advertise their products. As a result of a naming competition the company had on the social networking site FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, the characters were named "Otis" (green male) and "Alexis" (purple female).
External links
- Mobilicity
- Mobilicity launches handsets and plans for Toronto WhatsYourTech.ca