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WIND Mobile Launched Too Hastily, Says SeaBoard Group

7:07 pm on March 9, 2010 | Category: Business, Telecom Services, Wireless

Canada’s newest cell phone carrier, WIND Mobile, may have jumped the gun when it launched services in Toronto and Calgary last December, according to a new report by the SeaBoard Group.

Customers have reported problems with the company’s wireless network and billing system, which suggests that WIND may not have tested its systems adequately.

“We believe that it shows evidence of a company under extreme pressure to get to market before it was fully ready and a flawed launch plan,” said SeaBoard managing director Iain Grant.

So far, WIND has signed up less than 30,000 subscribers in Toronto, Calgary, and Edmonton, which have a combined population of around 9 million people. Grant says this could be due to the fact that the company only offers four handsets, and none under $100.

But early difficulties should not discourage WIND, or other new carriers entering the Canadian market, the report says. “We think that one stumble does not make a fall,” Grant explained. “For the other new entrants, the early WIND chapter should be looked at as a cautionary tale.”

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