Canadian officials Tuesday introduced wireless priority service for emergency communications in the North American country. In the United States, the nationwide GSM carriers and Nextel Communications Inc. all currently offering WPS.
Rogers Wireless, which also uses GSM network technology, will be the first Canadian wireless carrier to offer the service.
WPS provides selected wireless telephone users with top-priority access to a wireless network even if it is heavily congested. In times of crisis, WPS ensures key public-safety officials involved in managing emergency response will be able to use the wireless telephone system to communicate.
“The implementation of WPS by Rogers Wireless puts Canada among a handful of industrialized nations to begin implementing a WPS-enabled critical telecommunications infrastructure,” said David L. Emerson, minister of Industry. “Industry Canada’s role now is to ensure that the assignment of WPS to key decision makers and emergency response agencies moves forward effectively.”
“Rogers Wireless is pleased that, with the national reach and superior quality of our GSM network, this WPS service will be available across 93 percent of the Canadian population,” said Nadir H. Mohamed, president and chief executive officer of Rogers Wireless.
