Ice Wireless

Ice Wireless

Type	Private
Industry	Telecommunications
Founded	September 2005
Headquarters	Markham, Ontario
Key people	Samer Bishay - President & CEO, Cameron Zubko - Chief Operating Officer
Products	HSPA+ mobility services, mobile broadband Internet], fixed line telephone
Number of employees	142
Website	Ice Wireless

Ice Wireless Building 3G HSPA+ base station

Ice Wireless Retail Store in Whitehorse, Yukon

Ice Wireless is a Canadian mobile network operator and telecommunications company that provides 3G/4G mobility services, mobile broadband Internet, and fixed line telephone in the territories of Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The company’s corporate headquarters are located in Markham, Ontario.

Ice Wireless is a roaming partner for Rogers Wireless, Fido and Vidéotron Mobile in Northern Canada.^[1][2]

History

Ice Wireless was launched in 2005 to serve rural and remote communities in Northern Canada. The network was first developed in the community of Inuvik, Northwest Territories, a base for oil and gas exploration located approximately 100 km (62 mi) from the Arctic Ocean and 200 km (120 mi) north of the Arctic Circle. The network was the first GSM system in Northern Canada, originally designed as a “small cell” system that could be scaled down and economically deployed to rural and remote communities. Due the scalability of its technology, Ice Wireless could offer mobility service in locations that could not be economically reached by larger telecommunications companies. Ice Wireless was the first to launch mobility service in Inuvik, Aklavik and Behchoko in the Northwest Territories. As customers increased, Ice Wireless expanded service to include Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.^[3]

In 2012, Ice Wireless announced a $12.4 million network upgrade to roll out 3G/4G HSPA+ across the three Canadian territories.^[4] As part of this upgrade, Ice Wireless launched a full range of telecommunications services, including 3G/4G mobility services, mobile broadband Internet, and fixed line telephone. Ice Wireless also announced a strategic partnership with Iristel, the largest Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) in Canada and the first CLEC to enter Northern Canada.

In 2013, Ice Wireless became the first mobile network operator to launch 3G/4G services to Iqaluit, Nunavut. These services were launched using SES’ AMC-9 satellite.^[5]

The Ice Wireless network now covers 75% of the population of the Yukon and Northwest Territories as well as Iqaluit, Nunavut.^[6]

Services

• 3G/4G Mobility Services^[7]
• Mobile Broadband Internet^[8]
• Fixed Line Telephone^[9]

Retail Stores

Ice Wireless operates its own corporate retail stores, and also conducts business through a network of agents that operate in each local market. Ice Wireless provides 24/7 customer care and technical support for its customers, as well as 9-1-1 service. ^{[10] [11]}

Network

As a Mobile Network Operator (MNO) Ice Wireless owns and operates communication towers, facilities and radio access network equipment in all three Canadian territories. ^[12][13]

Ice Wireless provides UMTS wireless services with Evolved High Speed Packet Access (HSPA+) for data, using its licenses on the 850Mhz/1900MHz frequency band, also known as Personal Communication Service (PCS). Maximum theoretical speeds for HSPA+ are 21.1 Mbit/s.^[14]

Ice Wireless is a member of the GSM Association (GSMA).^[15]

Coverage

Ice Wireless offers HSPA+ network coverage in the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.^[16][17][18]

Roaming

Ice Wireless is a roaming partner of Rogers Wireless and Fido in Northern Canada. Rogers Wireless and Fido customers roam on the Ice Wireless network when travelling in the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Ice Wireless customers roam onto the Rogers Wireless network when travelling in the rest of Canada.^[19]

Smartphones

Ice Wireless currently offers the following smartphones for use on its network.^{[20][21][22][23]}

• Apple iPhone 6
• Apple iPhone 5s
• Samsung Galaxy S5
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4
• Samsung Ace 4 Lite
• Sony Xperia Z3
• Nokia Lumia 530
• Nokia 208

ICE Home Phone Services

Ice Wireless offers the ICE Home Phone service, which provides customers with a home telephone line.^[24]

The ICE Home Phone is a small wireless device with a telephone jack that provides telephone service to corded or cordless home telephones. The Ice Home Phone uses the Ice Wireless cellular network to operate and can be used anywhere in a customer’s house or office that there is a wireless signal. The ICE Home Phone needs only be powered; it does not require the use of a home phone wall jack like traditional home phone service. The ICE Home Phone comes with a set of three V-tech cordless phones at time of purchase.

Mobile Broadband Services

Ice Wireless offers two mobile broadband products that provide high speed internet service:^[25][26]

• ICE Mobile Hotspot
• ICE Gateway+

The Mobile Hotspot is a portable wireless router that allows up to 10 Wi-Fi devices to connect to the Internet at download speeds of up to 21 Mbit/s.

The ICE Gateway+ is a desktop-based wireless internet router that allows up to 254 Wi-Fi devices to connect to the internet at download speeds of up to 14.4 Mbit/s. The ICE Gateway+ also doubles as an ICE Home Phone, featuring a telephone jack that provides telephone service to corded or cordless home telephones. The ICE Gateway+ comes with a set of three V-tech cordless phones at time of purchase.

Relationship with Iristel

In 2012, Ice Wireless established a strategic partnership with Iristel, Canada's Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) and VoIP service provider.^[27][28]Under the terms of this partnership, Iristel became a major shareholder of Ice Wireless. One of the key elements to the relationship between Ice Wireless and Iristel is the integration of the two networks to create a unique and dynamic system in which mobile phones and VoIP phones are all integrated in an owned and self-controlled network. It is this integration that sets Ice Wireless apart from its competition.^[29]

See also

• Iristel
• Bell Canada
• Northwestel
• List of Canadian mobile phone companies

References

External links

• ICE Wireless
• Iristel