Eastlink is preparing an entry into the mobile phone market in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Halifax-based company said Monday that it was preparing to launch cellular service in St. John's sometime in 2017, with service in additional communities in the province expected to follow.

Eastlink has sent notice to the City of St. John's that it will build an LTE wireless antenna system on top of the Beothuk Building at 20 Crosbie Place. The notice was heard at council on Monday night.

In a statement, Eastlink pledged it would provide low prices and quality network coverage.

"We are not like other cellphone providers in Atlantic Canada. We listen to what customers want and work hard to deliver more of what is important to them," Matthew MacLellan, president of Eastlink Wireless, claimed in a statement.

Filling a demand: Councillor

Eastlink already provides home internet and television services in Newfoundland and Labrador. Their wireless customers in the province can also use their devices by accessing signals from other providers.

But with their new expansion, the company is pledging new wireless infrastructure to the St. John's area.

Art Puddister says there's an increased demand for wireless communication services. (Jeremy Eaton/CBC)

Coun. Art Puddister says there's a growing appetite for more cellular infrastructure in St. John's.

"There's more of a demand for these types of things throughout the city because of the people using cell phones, and WiFi and so on," he says. "There's a few, actually, blank-spots in certain parts of the city."

While city councillors heard the notice on Monday, Puddister said the issue is inside federal jurisdiction, and council has no power to shut it down.

Eastlink currently has wireless service in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and P.E.I.