Is T-Mobile behind Niagara Networks

Okay. 

So I've mentioned before that there's rumours of T-Mobile making a bid for some of that sweet Canadian Spectrum. Trouble is, the auction rules state that the company doing the bidding has to be Canadian. 

We've also mentioned that Niagara Networks Inc. has come out of the blue to bid on a huge swatch of that spectrum.

CBC has put two and two together, and come up with a question: Is there a bigger Telecom backing Niagara? They mention both T-Mobile and AT&T as possible backers, but the official word is "No comment."

My money is on T-Mobile, just because that's the way I read the T-leaves. But I could be completely wrong. 

Any way you shake it, a new player in the Canadian market would hopefully generate a bit of competition, and rates might come down. 

The fact that both T-Mobile and AT&T have iPhone contracts in their respective countries has no bearing on my interest in this story. Honest. 

What I think'd be even more interesting would be if Apple were found to be backing a play for some spectrum. That would go a long way to helping me with my current theory that Apple doesn't really care about the Canadian Market. 

Phone issues

So, more news round the Canadian cell phone industry:

The government is auctioning off spectrum for cell phone providers. And, they are holding 40% of that in reserve, not allowing Telus, Rogers or Bell to bid on it. That opens things up to new cell phone providers. 

I've already mentioned rumours of T-Mobile, but here's some recent news.

A backgrounder on the auction. 

A list of applicants. 

Quebecor Inc says it is making a bid to be a fifth national carrier. 

Niagra Networks bid on 6,510 spectrum licenses. 

Of course, the most exciting part of this, from an Apple POV, is that there is an emphasis of GSM in this auction. I haven't found the official form yet, but it sounds like preference will be given to, or applicants must use, GSM. Which means that the iPhone may not be that far behind 

Except, of course, for me. Still. And forever. Until I move. 

100,000 new apps and nothing to put them on....

The big news of the last few days? 100,000 downloads of the iPhone SDK.

Now, I'm not expecting everyone who downloaded it to build an app (there's probably more than a few gawkers, just wanting to see what the fuss is about), but still, isn't this a bit ridiculous? Is this what passes for news? Last week, a whole bunch of sites were doing live updates from Apple's iPhone SDK event. LIVE UPDATES. For an SDK. 

I don't see what the big deal is. 

Of course, if the iPhone were available in Canada, I'da been hitting refresh on the Engadget's live update every couple of minutes (or Macworld's, just like Andy did...), but until the iPhone comes to Canada, AND until Rogers or T-Mobile comes to Tumbler Ridge (or more likely, until there is a CDMA version of the iPhone), this whole thing is about as meaningful as the whole Obama/Clinton thing. It has no effect on my life. 

85% of the people live in 15% of the country*

...so what's a boy (albeit a 6'4, slightly greying boy) who lives in the remaining 90% of the country to do? 

You see, yesterday it was rumoured that T-mobile might be entering the Canadian Telecom market. 

Which is great news for those of us who live in places like Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver...

But Canada is a big place, with a population spread out thinly, like too little butter on too much bread. What about those of us who don't live in places where the rest of us live? In rural areas. In places where the local multiplex has less than one movie a week, because there is no multiplex. Or movie theatre. 

In places like, oh, say Saskatchewan, that isn't a problem; you stick a cell phone tower on top of a really tall barn, and boom, you have coverage for half the province. (Okay; I jest. You'd need at least four or five towers to cover the whole province...)

However, that doesn't work in someplace like BC. Take a place like, oh, say, Tumbler Ridge, BC, which, by some odd coincidence is where I live.  Population? South of 5000 people. It was only two years ago or so that we finally got cell phone service, by way of Telus. While we weren't the last place in the province to get cell phone access, we were pretty far down the list. And if you drive around the corner from town, reception goes from four bars to none in about four feet.

So, even if T-Mobile comes into Canada bearing their shiny new iPhones, chances are the service will be rolled out across the country very slowly. If their roll-out is anything like Rogers, I should expect to see the iPhone in Tumbler Ridge sometime by the turn of the next century...if I'm lucky. Heck, even if Rogers brings the iPhone out, I am still left out in the cold (and believe me, it can get chilly here) until we see a CDMA version. 

Come on, CDMA....

(*That number is like, totally made up. 70% of the population live in urban areas, while another 15% live in rural-urban areas, according to the Gov't website. I am way too lazy to look up the total land area that urban areas cover, but Im thinking it's less than 15%).

Dare we dream?

Hot off the presses from the Boy Genius, a rumour that T-Mobile might be coming to Canada. 

If that were true, would they come bearing a GSM network, lower data rates, and hope above hopes, the iPhone?

Kudos to Derrick over at ehmac.ca for noticing this first.