OA Group becomes newest fixed licensed competitor in Western Canada

Spectrum previously reserved for military use is proving popular among small Internet access providers in Western Canada. On Oct. 12, OA Group Inc of Calgary became the third western-based company to scoop up 3.4 GHz licences since Industry Canada decided to release the spectrum earlier this year. OA Group purchased the rights to 87 spectrum licences, covering a geographic area large enough to serve nearly all of rural and small town Alberta. The Calgary-based ISP and systems integrator will sell its wireless Internet access service to communities with 1000 or more people. OA Group’s proprietary Airlink wireless Internet services have already been offered in Calgary and Edmonton for about eight months, using the unlicensed 2.4 GHz band. The publicly traded company is initially focusing on the enterprise market. Kevin Peebles, communications director at OA Group, says both 2.4 GHz and 3.4 GHz spectrum are needed to build a strong wireless backbone across Alberta. Using 2.4 GHz fills their network gap in larger urban areas, but Peebles says the spectrum isn’t sufficient to reach the rural market. Having access to 3.4 GHz enables OA Group to use more powerful equipment to provide speeds of up to 3 Mbs in outlying areas. "We can do shots that are substantially farther than we could in the lower range … and that way we can build out our network quicker," Peebles told Report on Wireless. And with the number of competitors in larger cities increasing almost weekly, outlying areas represent a virtually untapped market where demand for Internet access is high. "Our 87 licences essentially lock up the broadband market in this frequency in the target areas," OA Group president Alex Woo said in a statement. "We are now the only company providing fast, uninhibited, and pure access to the Internet in areas that until now have only had standard telephone dial-up access." Being a small player, OA Group recognizes the risk of going it alone in a highly competitive industry where alliances are essential. Peebles says they’re "looking at some partnerships right now to prevent competition from hampering us." He adds that initial discussions have also taken place with potential partners in Ontario. Two BC-based service providers, ABC Communications and CSP Internet Ltd, were granted approval for spectrum licences in the 3.4 GHz range earlier this year (RoW, Oct 2/00). St. Quesnel-based ABC purchased licences covering seven major tier two cities in the interior of BC, while CSP, of Vancouver, bought nearly 90 licences in BC and Saskatchewan. CSP is also awaiting approval for approximately another 80 licences in Alberta which will pit it against the OA Group. Spectrum in this range became available when Industry Canada ruled that commercial use of the spectrum could co-exist with that of the Canadian military.

OA Group becomes newest fixed licensed competitor in Western Canada

News | October 16, 2000

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