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When Rogers Communications Inc. makes the Apple iPhone available in Canada later this year, the telecom firm is likely offer up a flat-rate unlimited data plan to customers, industry insiders say.

And such a move, they add, will fuel greater interest in wireless services – an area of telecommunications projected to grow rapidly in Canada over the next several years.

On the other hand, stiffer competition and increased labour costs is expected to temper revenue and profitability for the Canadian telecom sector as a whole.

AT&T was required by Apple to package the iPhone with an unlimited data plan when they released it in the U.S., notes Lawrence Surtees, vice-president at Toronto-based analyst firm IDC Canada . “That's going to happen with Rogers.

And when Rogers does introduces that, Surtees predicts “it will shake things up in the wireless data market.”  

Increased competition is likely to be one facet of this “shakeup.”  

In fact, according to report released Wednesday by the Conference Board of Canada (CBOC), a new player in the Canadian wireless market is likely to emerge from the current wireless spectrum auction being hosted by the government.

Ottawa-based CBOC's report lays out the organization's forecast for Canada's telecom industry over the next four years.

With 40 per cent of the available spectrum reserved for companies that currently hold 10 per cent of the market, a new player on the scene is inevitable, says study author Michael Burt, associate director of industrial outlook at CBOC.

Current carriers Rogers, Bell Canada Enterprises, and Telus Corp. will likely face competition from companies such as Shaw Communications, Videotron, or MTS Allstream.

“I expect to start to see increased competition sometime in the middle of next year,” Burt says. The new company will have to build its infrastructure and will appear in major cities at first – such as Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

Current carriers will also acquire new spectrum to satisfy customer demand for premium wireless services, the report adds.

“If they don't acquire new spectrum they'll reach capacity in the number of services they can provide,” Burt says. “It's just like a manufacturing plant that produces cars, there's a maximum amount they can output if they're working full-shift, 24 hours a day.”

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