Where's The WiMax In Canada?

Currently in the United States A partnership between Sprint and Clearwire is bring an alternative to DSL and cable broadband using a technology called WiMax. WiMax being a wireless technology has potential that been talked about to bring broadband to those in rural and remote areas that have been unserved by telephone and cable companies.

With a huge abundance of rural and remote areas Canada is the most likely to be fruitful for any potential WiMax broadband providers, however there hasen't even been a whisper of any company looking to get into WiMax.

Currently a partnership between Bell and Rogers called inukshuk provides Wireless broadband using 'pre WiMax' technology. The service covers most of Canada's urban areas (Except Manitoba and Saskatchewan which have no coverage) but could hardly could be considered to be an alternative to DSL and cable.

In order to provide a WiMax broadband service, any potential service provider will need to get a license from the CRTC. Given the cost of obtaining licences in a CRTC license auction the price would be too prohibitive to most independent ISP's to get into WiMax. Even for potential providers that have the means to buy licenses, the licenses probably won't even be available. Most of the frequency bands that are allocated to WiMax are already licensed to the Telcos which are just sitting on these licenses.

Canadians need to demand that the telcos currently holding these licenses ether offer some kind of wireless broadband service or relinquish these licenses so that those who want to offer WiMax can do so.