BlackBerry’s losses may be Yota’s gains 

Yota, a Russia-based telecom firm, has hopes of tapping into the North American mobile phone market. To do so, they are considering moving their headquarters to Waterloo.

Vlad Martynov, CEO for Yota, believes that the greener pastures of Canada may be instrumental in generating new business for the company. But Yota will face many challenges in the already-crowded Canadian mobile provider market.

They’ll likely face stiff competition from mainstays like Bell, Rogers, Virgin Mobile and Telus, but Martynov has high hopes about Yota’s success in North America.

If the move occurs, Yota may pursue BlackBerry castoffs to control their Canadian operations. BlackBerry was forced to lay off many of their employees after sustaining significant financial losses, resulting in a deep talent pool from which Yota may pluck new hires.

Once assembled, this team would be responsible for developing and marketing Yota’s signature product, the YotaPhone, for North American consumption.