COMING SOON
Low-cost carrier to open 2 local stores
Wind Mobile, one of the lowcost cellphone service providers challenging the big guys, expects to start serving local customers in November.
Wind Mobile, one of the lowcost cellphone service providers challenging Canada’s Big Three telecommunications companies, expects to start serving Windsor customers in November.
The company is preparing to open two retail stores in Windsor, one at Devonshire Mall where it held a job fair Thursday, and the other at Tecumseh Mall, said spokeswoman Alexandra Maxwell. To expand its marketing, Wind Mobile has agreements with four dealers in other parts of the city to sell its plans.
The date for formal launch of the service will be announced as early as next week.
Wind Mobile is also in the process of hiring 60 more employees at its Windsor customer care call centre, which currently has 120 workers, Maxwell said. “This customer call centre is a priority for Wind Mobile, as it is a company that is dedicated to customer service.”
Most of the customer support jobs pay $11 to $15 an hour, as well as benefits.
Wind Mobile, which is owned by Amsterdam-based carrier VimpelCom Ltd., has been erecting its towers in the Windsor area since the beginning of the year as it expands its service to cities across Canada. Its towers currently cover all of Windsor. The reach of the towers also extends to the northern part of LaSalle, Oldcastle, just south of Windsor International Airport and just west of West Puce Road.
Wind Mobile announced last month it now has 500,000 customers in 16 Canadian cities, to which it expects to add Windsor, Kingston and Peterborough by the end of the year. It is aiming to be the country’s fourth largest carrier after Bell, Rogers and Telus — the Big Three.
When outside a Wind Mobile coverage area, customers pay roaming charges. For example, a customer with a $25-a-month unlimited local talk-and-text plan would pay 20 cents a minute for calls made outside the local area, 15 cents per text and $1 per megabyte for data. There are reduced rates in the U.S. for those who pay an additional $5 a month. Calls between Wind Mobile phones are covered Canada-wide by its plans, Maxwell said.
Bell, Rogers and Telus have stepped up marketing of their discount brands and other promotions since Wind Mobile, Public Mobile and Mobilicity came onto the scene in the past four years. Videotron in Quebec has also started offering wireless service.
Attracting customers away from the Big Three is an uphill battle for the challengers, who now have about five per cent of the market, said a recent report by Convergence Consulting Group.