Bell Mobility
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| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Founded | Toronto, Ontario (1986) |
| Headquarters | Mississauga, Ontario |
| Key people |
Wade Oosterman - President, Stephen Howe - CTO industry = Wireless Services |
| Products | BlackBerries, Apple iPhone, PocketPC, Palm, Wireless Data Services, Two way messaging, Picture and Video Messaging (MMS), Video Calling |
| Parent | Bell Canada |
| Website | www.bell.ca/Mobility |
Bell Mobility is a CDMA, LTE and HSPA+ based wireless network (named Bell Cellular until 1993) and the division of Bell Canada which sells wireless services in Canada. Bell Mobility and its affiliates combined have over 7 million subscribers as of the end of Q2 2011, including over 5.7 million or 79% on postpaid and over 1.5 million or 20% on prepaid.[1]
Bell-owned Virgin Mobile Canada and Solo Mobile, as well as Loblaw's PC Mobile, operate as MVNOs on the Bell Mobility network. Some of Bell Canada's regional subsidiaries continue to operate their own wireless networks separate from (but generally allowing for roaming with) Bell Mobility; these are Northwestel (NMI Mobility and Latitude Wireless), Télébec (Télébec Mobilité), and NorthernTel (NorthernTel Mobility). In July 2006, Bell Mobility assumed responsibility for the former Aliant wireless operations in Atlantic Canada as part of a larger restructuring of both Bell and Aliant, and continued to do business there as Aliant Mobility until re-branding as Bell in April 2008.[2]
Bell Mobility is a member of the British Columbia Technology Industry Association.
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Networks [edit]
Although both are different and independent from one another, both the CDMA and HSPA+ networks use the 850 and 1900 MHz frequencies. Bell's LTE network uses Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) and other frequencies.
AMPS (discontinued) [edit]
Due to the age and security problems of this technology, Bell Mobility discontinued its Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) analog mobile network in February 2008.
CDMA [edit]
Bell Mobility maintains a legacy CDMA network. It enabled the Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) technology on this network in 2005, providing theoretical maximum download speeds of up to 3 Mbit/s and typical speeds of 600 kbit/s to 1 Mbit/s. The operator continues to provide roaming to other CDMA carriers such as Public Mobile and Telus Mobility in Canada. Bell also provides roaming for Sprint Nextel, a CDMA carrier in the United States, following a renewed agreement effective June 21, 2006.[3] Starting in 2012, Bell Mobility and its now-defunct Solo Mobile brand no longer sell CDMA phones, although such devices remain available at Virgin Mobile Canada.
HSPA+ [edit]
In October 2009 Telus Mobility and Bell announced plans to deploy HSPA technology by 2010 as part of an effort to eventually upgrade to LTE technology. The network launched on November 4, 2009, months ahead of schedule. This allowed Bell to carry the iPhone 3GS, which was available at Telus the following day. Huawei and Nokia Siemens Networks provided the infrastructure for the new network, which covers 93% of the Canadian Population.[4]
According to Bell, the single-channel HSPA+ network is available to 96% of the Canadian population. It provides download speeds of up to 21 Mbit/s, with typical speeds ranging between 3½ and 8 Mbit/s. The dual-channel network, on the other hand, began in 2010 and is available to 70% of the Canadian population. It can reach download speeds of up to 42 Mbit/s but with typical speeds of 7 to 14 Mbit/s.[5]
Despite the extensive HSPA coverage area offered by Bell, the service area in Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario is substantially smaller than its CDMA coverage but superior to the HSPA coverage area offered by some of its competitors. Bell's coverage in these areas is limited to the areas around Thunder Bay, Ontario, Kenora, Ontario, and a corridor running from Brandon, Manitoba to Winnipeg, Manitoba.
LTE [edit]
Bell launched LTE in Toronto and surrounding areas on September 14, 2011. This makes Bell the first LTE operator in all these regions. Theoretical maximum download speeds for the current network are 75 Mbit/s, but the company claims that select areas have double this theoretical speed. Typical speeds range from 12 Mbit/s to 25 Mbit/s for the 75 Mbit/s service and from 18 Mbit/s to 40 Mbit/s for the 150 Mbit/s service.
Smartphones, mobile broadband modems and SIM cards compatible with the LTE network are currently available.[5] LTE-specific service plans are available, but any plan that works with HSPA+ will also work with the LTE network at no additional charge.
Products [edit]
Feature phones [edit]
Bell Mobility sells the Samsung C414 and Samsung Rugby II HSPA+ feature phones. The Sanyo Pro-700 is Bell's last feature phone to use the CDMA technology. It is now discontinued.
Smartphones [edit]
Various Android HSPA+ smartphones manufactured by HTC, LG and Samsung are sold via Bell Mobility.
The BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Curve smartphones, manufactured by Research In Motion, are also part of Bell's lineup. The Curve 9380 and the BlackBerry Torch 9810 were previously sold, but are now discontinued.
Bell is the second Canadian mobile carrier (after Rogers Wireless) to carry the Apple iPhone on November 4, 2009. This is the same day that Bell's HSPA+ mobile network was launched. More than two years later, the iPhone 3GS is still sold by Bell alongside the newer iPhone 4 iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S models.
Previously available smartphone platforms were Symbian from Nokia, webOS from HP and Windows Phone from Microsoft.
Superphones [edit]
Select high-end Android smartphones sold by Bell Mobility have been marketed as "superphones" by the operator. The first of these was the Motorola Atrix 4G, but following a clearance sale of this device, it is no longer sold by the carrier since February 2012. Current superphones include:
- BlackBerry Z10
- BlackBerry Q10
- Samsung Galaxy Note II
- Samsung Galaxy S IV
- LG Optimus G
- Sony Xperia T
- Samsung ATIV S
- HTC Windows Phone 8X
- HTC Windows Phone 8S
- Samsung Galaxy Rugby
- Samsung Galaxy S II
- LG Nexus 4
Rugged devices [edit]
Similarly to but to a much lesser extent than its competitor Mike, Bell features a line-up of CDMA rugged feature phones and mobile broadband modems built to withstand various weather conditions.[6]
Despite the growing popularity of Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and instant messaging on smartphones, Bell seems to be preparing for the launch of a new push-to-talk technology along with new HSPA+ devices. The Sonim XP5520 Bolt is scheduled to be launched on April 10, 2012, while Bell plans to release the Samsung Galaxy Rugby on the following day.[7]
Legacy products [edit]
Bell carried the Palm Pre smartphone on August 27, 2009. They were the exclusive carrier in Canada for this CDMA device, and marketed it heavily to compete against the iPhone, which was then exclusive to Rogers Wireless and its brand Fido. When Bell launched its HSPA network and the iPhone 3GS on November 4, 2009, the promotion and popularity of the Pre decreased. On August 17, 2011, nearly two years after its initial launch, the Palm Pre was officially discontinued by Bell.
Due to the age of the technology as deployed by Bell, CDMA smartphones are no longer sold by Bell Mobility, although its brand Solo Mobile continued to sell the BlackBerry Pearl 8130 for a few months after Bell's Palm Pre was discontinued. The BlackBerry Pearl 8130 at Solo was no longer sold by late 2011.
Services [edit]
Bell offers a service to check account balances, minutes and megabytes of mobile data used, add features and answers to frequently asked questions. The service is called TCARE, short for text message care. It is used by sending a blank message to the phone number TCARE (82273).
Mobile Internet [edit]
Bell offers four Internet-only plans and several smartphone plans and add-ons for customers wishing to access mobile broadband.
Various fixed data allowances are offered by Bell: 10, 20, 100, 300 and 500 MB, as well as 1 to 6 GB, 10 GB and 15 GB. The 20 MB add-on is a daily allowance, while the others are monthly allowances.
Flexible data plans are also available. This is used for Bell Mobility's Internet-only plans and some smartphone plans, which begins with a certain usage limit at a lower tier. If this is exceeded, the customer moves to the next higher tier with a slightly larger allowance.
The flexible "Turbo Hub flex plan" from Bell differs in that customers have to pay a premium if they want to increase the maximum theoretical speeds from 7.2 Mbit/s to 21 Mbit/s. No additional usage is included when paying for the speed upgrade. Bell's policy is to only allow the sale of Turbo Hub service with its own Turbo Hub devices.
| Monthly tier | Monthly bandwidth limits | Turbo Hub | Speeds | Over Usage Multiplier | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Download | Upload | ||||
| First | 2 GB | Ericsson W35 (discontinued), NetGear MBR1210 (4G), NetGear MVBR1210C (4G + Voice), NetGear MBR1516 (LTE) | 7.2 Mbit/s (some 21 Mbit/s) | 5.76 Mbit/s | 7 times # of extra GB |
| Second | 5 GB | 4 times # of extra GB | |||
| Third | 10 GB | 4 times # of extra GB | |||
| Fourth | 15 GB | 10 times # of extra GB | |||
- Bell's wireless Internet plan starts at the initial 2 GB tier. If this is exceeded, the tier automatically goes up to 5 GB, then up to 10 GB, then up to 15 GB as the final tier. There are additional charges if one does goes above the 15 GB tier.
Some grandfathered customers have an unlimited mobile Internet plan or add-on. These are usually limited to older and slower CDMA devices such as the now-discontinued Palm Pre, and normally cannot be used for tethering unless the device is a mobile broadband modem. Bell's discontinued brand Solo Mobile (soon to cease new activations) and its active Virgin Mobile Canada brand also have grandfathered accounts with unlimited mobile broadband.
Occasionally, Bell releases a 6 GB data allowance for smartphones at the reduced cost of $30/month. This cannot be purchased alone, as it must be added to a voice plan.
Mobile TV and Radio [edit]
Bell Mobile TV was launched for Bell smartphones on October 18, 2010.[8]
Push-To-Talk [edit]
On April 24, 2012, Bell launched an improved Push-To-Talk (PTT) service. It is powered by Bell's newer HSPA+ network, contrary to the operator's older PTT (Officially titled 10-4) service which used the CDMA network. HSPA+ service is available at one flat rate for unlimited Bell-to-Bell PTT service from and to Canada. The monthly service can either be purchased alone, or added to any plan at a lower cost. PTT roaming in the United States or other international countries is billed per megabyte. One megabyte offers approximately ten minutes of PTT talk time. Consequently, Bell offers approximately 100 to 400 PTT roaming minutes for traveling in the USA.
Discontinued services [edit]
Bell launched a proprietary Video Calling service on November 4, 2009 for select HSPA+ mobile phones. The service featured a cost of $5 CAD per month for unlimited video calls.[9] It was supported by the LG Xenon, Nokia C6, Nokia N97, Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant, Samsung Omnia II and Samsung Wave smartphones. These devices have all been discontinued. It is unknown whether or not a non-Bell Galaxy S, or even Bell's Samsung Galaxy S II, support the Video Calling service. These Android-based devices, however, can use the included Google Talk for videoconferencing as long as they have an Internet connection available. Bell's cellular service does not currently offer unlimited mobile broadband.
Advertising [edit]
From 2003 to 2005 and in 2007, Bell Mobility and its brand Solo Mobile used a pixel art style of advertising. This reflected the limited capacity of graphical displays in mobile phones sold throughout these years.
In conjunction with the 2006 Olympics, Bell Mobility introduced a pair of anthropomorphic CGI beavers named Frank (voiced by Norm Macdonald) and Gordon (voiced by Ken Hudson Campbell),[10] who constantly got into misadventures which led to Frank getting flustered with the antics of the dimwitted Gordon. Analysts covering a potential restructuring of BCE suggested getting rid of the Frank and Gordon ad campaign. They have also criticized some of Bell Mobility's initiatives as failing to tap the market, such as offering full-length movies.[11]
The ad campaign was canceled by Bell on August 1, 2008[12] and replaced with the "Today just got better" campaign.
Criticism [edit]
Bell Mobility and its brands have been the subject of numerous criticism.[examples needed]
Retail presence [edit]
In addition to running its own retail operations, Bell partners with multi-carrier retailers like those run by throughout Canada by Glentel.
See also [edit]
- Bell Canada, the parent of Bell Mobility
- List of Canadian mobile phone companies
- Solo Mobile, a youth-targeted brand created by Bell Mobility in 2000 but deserted more recently
- Virgin Mobile Canada, an active mobile virtual network operator for this demographic owned by Bell Canada since 2009
References [edit]
- ^ Subscribers in Q2 2011
- ^ BCE and Aliant form one of North America's largest regional telecommunications service providers
- ^ Sprint newsroom
- ^ "Huawei Deploys State-of-the-Art HSPA Network Across Canada for Bell". Reuters. November 4, 2009.
- ^ a b [1]
- ^ Business On The Go
- ^ Hardy, Ian. "Bell to release the Samsung Galaxy Rugby and Sonic XP5520 Bolt". Mobile Syrup. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
- ^ Bell launches 3 Mobile TV theme packages: Sports, Variety and HBO - Mobile Syrup
- ^ http://www.bell.ca/support/PrsCSrvWls_Ftrs_VideoCalling.page#0 source
- ^ http://blogs.voices.com/voxdaily/2006/02/frank_and_gordon.html source
- ^ Movies
- ^ "Bell's beavers bite it". CBC News. August 1, 2008.
External links [edit]
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