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| Company type | Subsidiary ofTelus |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Founded | April 2011 |
| Defunct | 2012 |
| Fate | abandoned |
| Headquarters | Canada |
| Parent | Telus |
| Website | clearnet |
Clearnet (branded in advertising as "Clearne+") was a division ofTelus Mobility launched in April 2011 to selllandline andmobilephone bundles inWestern Canada.[1][2] It was a revival of theClearnet Communications brand name, which originally belonged to an independent cellular provider that was merged into Telus Mobility in 2000. Telus relaunched Clearnet as a discount provider with a "limited market trial" inKelowna, British Columbia, andRed Deer, Alberta.[3]
The company closed to new business in June 2012.[4]
 | |
| Industry | Wireless Services |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1984 (1984) |
| Defunct | 2000 (2000) |
| Fate | Acquired and merged |
| Successor | Telus Mobility |
| Headquarters | Scarborough,Ontario |
Area served | Canada |
| Services | PCS,Mike cellular networks |
| Website | clearnet |
Clearnet Communications was a Canadiancellular telephone service provider from 1984 to 2000, when it was acquired byTelus Mobility. Clearnet operated aCDMA-basedPCS network and aniDEN-based cellular network calledMike. Following the merger, Clearnet's PCS service was incorporated into the existing Telus Mobility network, while the Mike system was kept as a separate service under its original name. All Clearnet's distinctive marketing and branding, including their animal theme and tag line "The future is friendly", was also adopted byTelus Communications to promote its various services. The Clearnet brand name, however, was discontinued until April 2011, when the Clearnet name was briefly relaunched.
Clearnet Communications Inc. was launched bythe Lenbrook Group in the early 1980s as a national provider ofSpecialized Mobile Radio (SMR), two-way radio systems commonly used bytaxicab andpackage delivery services. In 1994, Clearnet acquired the assets ofMotorola's SMR network giving Clearnet the critical mass of radio spectrum to accomplish a conversion to a digital system. At the same time, Clearnet, with new strategic partners in Motorola andNextel, completed aninitial public offering to pay for this conversion.
In December 1995, Clearnet was awarded a 30 MHz national PCS license byIndustry Canada. Mobile service under the Clearnet brand was launched later that year. A new service was launched in 1996 as theMike network, usingiDEN phones with itspush-to-talk (PTT) functionality. In 1997, Mike added the "Green Card"roaming option through its partnership with Nextel, which offered notably low prices on international service. Mike was marketed primarily towards business and industrial customers who need the PTT functionality.
Prior to their merger with Telus Mobility, Clearnet had developed an innovative out of the box cell phone marketing system, where their phones were available at various retail stores, besides their own. To activate a Clearnet cell phone, a customer simply called the company with a credit card, went through an instant credit check, and if approved, they set up their Clearnet account over the phone. Within an hour or two, the customer could use his or her mobile phone service.
On August 21, 2000 Clearnet was sold to Telus Corp. at an announced value of $6.6 billion, the largest telecommunications acquisition in Canadian history. At the point of sale, Clearnet had acquired the largest block of available wireless spectrum of any wireless player in Canada and served approximately 700,000 Canadian users. This launched Telus as a national brand, and they have since become one of the three big mobile vendors in Canada. The Clearnet brand was initially taken over by Telus branding but was re-introduced in 2011 as afighter brand in certain markets.[5]
Mike (styledMiKE) was a Canadian mobile phone andpush-to-talk network, launched in 1996 by Clearnet Communications using the proprietaryiDEN platform fromMotorola.[6] The Mike network was shut down on January 29, 2016.[7] Telus' intended successor to its Mike network is Telus Link, a push-to-talk service launched in October 2013. Telus Link operates over HSPA, LTE, and wifi, and runs iOS, Android, and Blackberry devices.[8]
The Mike national network served the most populated areas of British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, and Ontario. It also provided limited coverage in Saskatchewan (near the Alberta border);Winnipeg, Manitoba;Moncton, New Brunswick;Halifax, Nova Scotia; andSt John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The network was entirely digital, and supported voice, data,short messaging, andpush-to-talk services.
Mobile services provided by Clearnet used Telus Mobility's HSPA+ network. The maximum theoretical download speed was 21 Mbit/s. The landline service was also provided by Telus, but retained the Clearnet branding.
Clearnet had a very small selection of mobile phones. It included twofeature phones and onesmartphone, all which are also available on Telus Mobility. Clearnet did not sell any phones compatible with its landline service.
The Clearnet lineup of feature phones included one fromLG, one fromSamsung and one from Sony:
TheSamsung Galaxy Apollo was the only smartphone available from Clearnet. Only Wi-Fi Internet access was possible because Clearnet did not offer any mobile Internet plans.
Clearnet operated as a business name used by Telus Mobility.[1] The company offered two plans, one with unlimited mobile calling within the user's province and one with unlimited mobile talk and text nationwide.[9] Both plans included a basic landline home phone. While the service was only offered to customers in Kelowna and Red Deer, coverage was available across Canada on the Telus network.[2] The Clearnet website stated that data options would be available in the future.[9]
As of June 2, 2012, Clearnet displayed a notice on its website stating that they were no longer accepting new activations. The domain now merely redirects to Telus' main site.