A new telephone company says it's positioned to provide Yukoners with a new array of services not available previously – for less money.

Iristel vice-president Maged Bishara says the company's move into the North has broken the last monopoly of a telephone utility in North America.

Since Dec. 17, Whitehorse residents have been able to purchase a monthly telephone package from a company other than Northwestel Inc. and keep their original number, Bishara said in an interview from his home near Montreal.

The vice-president said the basic monthly bill works out to about $35 a month but that cost comes with a variety of services that Northwestel clients currently pay extra for.

As an added attraction, new Iristel clients will be able to call anywhere in the 867 exchange without paying long distance services for the foreseeable future, Bishara pointed out.

"We have a whole host of things we consider pretty advanced even down south but far more advanced than you guys are accustomed to in the Yukon,” he said.

"Our bread and butter is the enhanced functionality and the technology we are going to bring forward.”

Bishara said when he visited the Yukon about six months ago, he recognized what he described as a wall separating the types of services available South of 60 and North of 60.

Iristel, he vowed, will be breaking down that wall.

Bishara said a complete package of cellular phone service will be available this spring through its partner, Ice Wireless.

Ice Wireless is better positioned to break into the cellular market than it was a few years ago when it tried because it has the backing of Iristel to provide the capital financing required, he said.

Bishara said Iristel is no stranger to new markets and drawing new clients away from their older service providers.

The company realizes there's an apprehension with trying something new, but his company is convinced its commitment to customers' satisfaction will be compelling, he said.

Northwestel spokesman Joel Witten said this morning his company has known for about six months that Iristel was serious about moving into the North.

If and how Northwestel will respond with new products and pricing is not something the company is prepared to discuss at this point, he said.

He said Northwestel is convinced it has a loyal customer base which understands and appreciates the range of services the company provides, as well as recognizes the company's commitment to community involvement.

Yukoners, said Witten, should thoroughly question what costs would be associated with switching telephone providers, or whether there would be any capital purchases of new equipment required.

They should be clear about whether products are being offered at a one-time introductory cost, or at a long-term permanent cost, he said.

Witten said they should know whether long distance calling features apply only if the party is calling another Iristel customer, he said.

"I think people should look closely at what they are purchasing.”

Bishara is inviting Yukoners to call.

Iristel, he said, is here for the long haul, and is providing a competitive package, supported by a full company network that has its own exchange as a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier licensed by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission.

"Residential and business customers can cut their local service phone bill in half, keep their existing phone numbers, not have to buy new equipment or change anything in the way they make calls now,” Iristel president Sam Bishay said in a Dec. 17 news release.