Wirelessnorth.ca is reporting that, according to strong rumours, both Telus and Bell Mobility are looking to switch to an HSPA network by 2010. Both carriers use CDMA today while Rogers Wireless (along with its Fido subsidiary) is Canada’s only national GSM carrier.
There have been similar rumours in the past. For example, early this year, rumours floated about that Telus was considering a switch to GSM during its upcoming migration to 4G technology. Now, it appears that both it and Bell could migrate first to HSPA and then to LTE.
GSM holds a few advantages over CDMA. Given that it is more widely used, hardware manufacturers tend to focus on it more than CDMA (witness the iPhone for example). It also allows carriers to collect international roaming fees from travelers. For users, the use of SIM cards makes it much easier to switch devices and carriers.
Between these rumours and the wireless spectrum auction currently underway in Canada, Rogers could find itself with a bit more competition in the next couple of years.