By Peter Nowak
Fido, Solo and Koodo are going to have some new competition next year, although the newcomer's brand name won't end in "o." Globalive Communications Inc., the big winner in this summer's government auction of cellphone airwaves, will launch two separate wireless services in the second half of next year — one discount brand officially named Yak and another as-yet-unnamed core brand. Yak, which is the same banner that Globalive uses to sell land line, internet and long-distance services, will compete directly with Fido, Solo and Koodo, said company president Anthony Lacavera on Thursday. Those are the discount brands of Rogers Communications Inc., Bell Canada Inc. and Telus Corp., respectively. Yak will target the same customers Fido, Solo and Koodo cater to — namely, cellphone users who are more price sensitive and interested in voice and text rather than advanced smartphone features such as e-mail and web surfing, he said. Globalive will also compete with the core brands from Rogers, Bell and Telus, which offer smartphones and data services, through a core brand. The Toronto-based company plans to launch a countrywide network, with the exception of Quebec, by the end of 2009, with backing from Egyptian telecommunications billionaire Naguib Sawiris.
