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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The only independent phone company in the NWT has finalized a new roaming agreement that will allow its customers to make and receive long-distance calls anywhere in Canada.

Cindy Traer, office manager for Ice Wireless in Inuvik, talks on her phone in front of her office. The company recently finalized an agreement that allows Ice Wireless customers to access Rogers Wireless networks anywhere in Canada, enabling them to receive and make long-distance calls outside of the NWT. - Dez Loreen/NNSL photo

Ice Wireless, which provides cellular phone service in Yellowknife, Behchoko and Inuvik, entered talks with Rogers three years ago. But after numerous tests the service was launched Dec. 10.

"It allows our customers to go down south to the rest of Canada - in Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto, wherever else - and keep their same phone number," said Cameron Zubko, director of Ice Wireless.

Under the terms of the agreement, Rogers allows Ice Wireless customers to place the calls using existing Rogers networks in the country and vice versa.

"If somebody's a Rogers customer in Edmonton and they came up for an interview in Inuvik or Behchoko, as soon as they turn on their Rogers phone, it would show our name, Ice Wireless. And they'd start making phone calls like normal," said Zubko.

While the agreement with Rogers was in place long ago, what stalled the project were the numerous tests needed to make sure it was fully functional in all areas of the country, said Zubko.

"We sent them a bunch of our phones and we got of bunch of theirs. We both did testing and that testing took over a year," he said.

Now that the tests are completed and the system has been launched, "it feels pretty good," said Zubko.

"It's the product of a lot of hard work from a lot of people at the company and it represents to us that our system is of national quality."

Demand for roaming services was very high among the NWT business community.

"I know I got a lot of feedback from the business community," said Zubko.

"This was one thing they were really waiting for. I know that a lot of Northerners like the idea of having a homegrown cell phone company and they want to give their business to this kind of company, but roaming was a bit of a holdback for them. Now that we've got that out of the way, I can very clearly see that our business is going to grow exponentially."

Cliff Stringer, manager of the Inuvik North Mart, was among those who lobbied for the service. Stringer got himself an Ice Wireless cellphone two weeks ago partly due to the roaming service, he said.

"I only go out of territory five or weeks a year, but it's still helpful," he said.

"I think that's what (Ice Wireless) needed.

"If you have a cell phone but it doesn't work out of here, then it's useless to you. But roaming changes that."