After doing its due diligence thing, the Government of Canada has concluded that Globalive Wireless Management Corp. (Globalive) is a Canadian company that meets the Canadian ownership and control requirements (COC) under the Telecommunications Act. Offering a variance that is effective immediately, Globalive's Wind Mobile entered the wireless telecommunications market without delay.

In layman's terms, that means Canada has a new mobile provider, one poised to challenge the country's "big three" providers, Rogers, Telus and Bell, known for charging more for mobile service than almost any other country in the world.

"Globalive is a Canadian company, and meets Canadian ownership and control requirements under the Telecommunications Act," said the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry. "Our goal has always been greater competition in the telecommunications industry, which leads to lower prices, better service and more choice for consumers and business," he added.

Available at windmobile.ca, Wind Mobile has also partnered with Blockbuster Video to provide the initial retail presence for the carrier.

With pricing lower than anything yet seen in Canada, consumers should expect better pricing and service down the line as Rogers, Telus and Bell and subsidiaries like Virgin, Fido and Koodo restructure some price plans to compete with the upstart.

Wind Mobile will offer a small variety of handsets and smartphones including the BlackBerry Bold 9700 (pictured). Service areas will be limited to Toronto and Calgary to start and Wind will not be carrying the Apple iPhone upon launch.

Plans start at $15 for basic text and chat while $45 per month will net unlimited nationwide calls. Following a long established trend set by U.S. carriers, Globalive will feature unlimited nationwide Wind to Wind phone calls and text on all phones and plans.