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Jan. 26, 2010

Making good on its promise it made last month, Wind Mobile says it is hiring retail staff in Edmonton and Ottawa to help it develop new customers in those two markets. In Edmonton and Ottawa, Wind Mobile's network is based on HSPA technology.

Wind Mobile is owned by Globalive Holdings, and already counts more than 700 employees and said it expects to add another 600 in 2010.

Sales managers, associate managers and retail associates are being recruited for the upcoming launch in the two Canadian cities, said Marietta Mendoza, head of recruitment at the wireless carrier.

Mendoza said the company is looking for about 100 new employees who have a passion for helping people and are interested in having a dialogue with prospective customers. Employees are trained before they sell. The Edmonton and Ottawa markets could launch as early as February, the company said.

Wind Mobile just launched Microsoft Surface, a multitouch interactive computing platform that responds to hand gestures. The tool helps shoppers compare MIDs (mobile Internet devices) and service plans.

The company is trying to bring a different wireless experience to Canadians, and as such does not charge activation fees or make its users sign any contracts.

Three-year contracts are required in Canada for customers who want to get the greatest handset subsidy. Wind plans to offer services in four cities this year and plans to augment its buildout with roaming agreements for nationwide service.

Globalive Holdings paid $442 CND for an AWS license in 2008 as part of a government auction to increase competition in the country, where Rogers Communications, Telus and Bell Canada currently dominate the wireless and telecom markets.

Incumbents already petitioned the Canadian government for the ownership ruling last year, arguing that Globalive did not meet Canadian telecom ownership requirements.

The wireless carrier was still allowed to launch in December however, following Industry Canada's ruling that it met those requirements.

The wireless carrier just partnered with Movius Interactive Corp. to use its visual voicemail solution as part of its messaging application.

While Wind Mobile didn't immediately say what its exact pricing strategy will be, the newly-created wireless services company did say that its system won't charge any network access fees.

Network access fees are currently a hotly contested topic and one that irritates many mobile phone subscribers.

The new company has launched stores in the Toronto area in December and says it plans to open more in Vancouver and Montreal.

Yesterday, Bell Mobility announced plans to use Comverse to deploy a visual voicemail and multimedia messaging solution.

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Source: Wind Mobile.