Wireless switch

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Rogers wireless customers in the 807 area code will have a new service provider come November.

In return for providing Northern Ontario network access to Rogers customers based elsewhere in Canada, the company has agreed to allow TBayTel to take over its customer list, a move initially announced last March.

What wasn't known until Wednesday was the date of the switch.

TBayTel president and CEO Don Campbell called it a win-win strategic business move, adding that existing customers of the municipally owned utility will gain access to technology previously unavailable in Thunder Bay.

Campbell said both companies have taken the position that the transition must be a seamless one, though it won’t be as simple as flicking a switch and having Rogers customers instantly under the TBayTel umbrella.

"As you know, we’re building a 3G HSPA network here in Northern Ontario. It’s on target and we’re expecting that to be fired up in Thunder Bay and in the major regional centres by end of year. Certainly it will start in the fourth quarter. And we’re going to be corresponding the transfer of the customers from Rogers to TBayTel at that time," Campbell said.

The move will make Rogers the only national carrier with the ability to offer 3G service from Sault Ste. Marie to the Manitoba border.

"They don’t have that right now," Campbell said. "Their access is very limited. What they’re also going to benefit from is everything TBayTel brings to the table as a committed regional supplier in Northern Ontario, including very strong customer service, the ability to bundle products we already have, but which Rogers customers … do not have."

It will also open the globe for TBayTel’s wireless customers.

"From our present customers perspective, they’re going to get access to devices that we can’t get access to on the present network or with our present size. We’re going to get access to content and we’re going to get access to a worldwide network of roaming that will allow travelers in the TBayTel network to travel virtually around the world."

Rogers has already begun a mail campaign informing its customers of the pending switch; TBayTel plans a similar strategy beginning Thursday in which it will outline what impacts the changes might have.

According to TBayTel’s website, Rogers contracts will be honoured by TBayTel, according to the contract’s terms and conditions. However, TBaytel is not guaranteeing rates will remain exactly the same.

Phone numbers will not be affected, though one’s local calling area could be impacted – meaning long distance charges could be applied where previously there weren’t any.
Until customers upgrade to TBayTel’s 3G HSPA network, or replace their Rogers SIM card with one from TBaytel, the switch will be a billing change only. Customers will remain on their respective networks.

Teleco owner Frank Littlefield, whose local affiliation will also switch from Rogers to TBayTel, said he doesn’t see a downside from his end or the customer’s.

"It’s business as usual," he said. "It’s exciting times because my customers are now going to get coverage now for all of Northwestern Ontario. I’m excited about that."

The transition is expected to begin Nov. 1, though customers will be notified of the exact date their account will be transferred from one company to the other.