Solo Mobile

Solo Mobile

Type	Mobile Phone Provider
Industry	Wireless Services
Founded	2000 (as Solo Prepaid) 2003 (as Solo) 2005 (as Solo Mobile)
Headquarters	Canada
Key people	Walter Van De Vijver CEO
Products	Monthly and prepaid cellular service
Website	www.solomobile.ca

Solo Mobile is a mobile brand in Canada started by Bell Mobility in 2000. Solo is considered a discount wireless brand, offering low price monthly plans with some unlimited options in certain cities. While Solo products and services can be used wherever Bell network coverage is available, the Solo brand is only available in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.

History

Early years (2000-2004)

Solo Prepaid was launched in the summer of 2000 as Bell Mobility's prepaid brand in Ontario and Quebec. The company boasted a 1¢/minute rate. Postpaid services were later added as well. In 2003, the company offered a free prepaid phone and up to $45 in credits to Fido customers who traded their Fido phone and prepaid credits and switched to Solo. An unique "Lunchtime & After School" prepaid feature was available, which offered unlimited local calling from 12h to 13h and 15h to 17h. The brand was temporarily withdrawn from the market after the launch of Bell Mobility prepaid services. The SoloMobile.ca domain name was registered by Bell on December 17, 2004 with the Canadian Internet Registration Authority. It would not feature content until the following year.

Renaissance (2005-2007)

On June 13, 2005, content was put on the SoloMobile.ca website, but Bell waited until July 25 of that year to announce the brand via a press release. The carrier would launch the following week, on August 1, and organized a Solo Mobile / Eckored tour that began in the middle of that month to promote its brand across the four provinces it served. Admission was free, and the tour featured four female solo singers including Keisha Chanté.

At launch, Solo Mobile offered a very simple lineup, consisting of only one phone with two choices of plans. The phone was the Sanyo 2300, with a flip design available in pink, blue, silver or graphite. Customers could activate it on a monthly plan or on prepaid, pay-per-use rates. In both cases, SMS, mobile broadband, Caller ID and one ringtone per month were all complimentary features offered at no additional charge to Solo customers.

Decline (2008-2010)

Over time, Solo began to imitate its competitors instead of offering unique, innovative options for wireless services. Similarly to its competitor Fido, Solo offered per-second billing after the first minute of every month for postpaid customers starting in 2008. Prepaid clients, however, receive per-minute billing. The monthly plans for both prepaid and postpaid customers were practically identical to those of Koodo Mobile.

After Bell Canada acquired Virgin Mobile Canada on May 7, 2009, the Solo brand was given much less priority. For example, Solo's former Rideau Centre store in Ottawa was replaced by a Virgin store. Almost all of Bell's advertisements promote the Bell Mobility and Virgin Mobile brands, while Solo is promoted at the bare minimum. On July 2 of that year, Mobile Syrup editor Kate O'Brien told readers to "start counting down the days [before] Solo Mobile is put to bed". Solo only released a total of four feature phones throughout that year.

Solo released the Samsung r100 feature phone on February 24, 2010. Later, the LG 230 was launched by Solo on May 6 of that year. This surprised Mobile Syrup editor Ian Hardy: "I thought Bell would have kicked Solo Mobile to the curb by now… [but they] somehow have kept Solo alive." Similarly, an editor from HowardChui noted: "The discount carrier [Solo Mobile] has basically been kept out of the spot light since Bell assumed full control over Virgin Mobile Canada." Solo's first HSPA+ device, the LG Flick, was released on November 11, 2010. In total, only five feature phones were released by Solo in 2010.

Discontinuation (2011)

Little effort was made in 2011 to promote the Solo brand, because its retail presence would be completely discontinued by Bell that year. The carrier added the Samsung Gravity 3 to its lineup on March 16, more than seven months after the same device was released by Virgin Mobile Canada. This meant that Solo now had nine different devices in its lineup.

Solo's main focus that year was to retain existing customers, not to gain new ones. As such, they launched various offers available only to current customers, such as a one-time bonus of 100 minutes, a recurrent bonus of 50 minutes, or removing limits to local talk and international SMS. On May 6, Solo permanently lowered the price on their two unlimited prepaid plans, matching Chatr's offering. However, both plans would remain only available in the same cities as Chatr for Solo's limited selection of legacy CDMA devices, which was reduced to just the LG 230 by the end of the year.

During the summer season of that year, Solo discontinued sales of its products at Loblaw Companies and Zellers stores. The MySolo customer portal was updated in the month of August in conjunction with a similar upgrade to its parent Bell Mobility's portal. Solo has made no offers for that year's back-to-school season to gain new customers.

The brand's first Android-powered smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Gio, was launched after that period of time on October 13. Solo was excluded from the iPhone 4S launch the following day, despite its parent Bell Mobility and Bell's brand Virgin Mobile Canada selling this highly anticipated smartphone. By the end of that month, Bell requested that stores ship back all unsold Solo Mobile stock. These feature phones were flashed and rebranded to be sold during the Christmas and holiday season of this year, in prepaid and postpaid packages on the Bell and Virgin brands, rendering these devices incompatible with Solo. Many of these phones sold well, and are now out of stock, because they came bundled with an activation credit or a gift card.

Like the iPhone 4S, Solo missed out on another popular smartphone launch that year: the Galaxy Nexus. Bell Mobility and its brand Virgin Mobile Canada both released this device on December 8, but Solo did not. Given that Solo no longer has any third-party retail presence, it is unlikely that it will update its device lineup in the future. Although nine devices were part of the lineup in March 2011, Solo Mobile ended the year with only three devices, all which cost much less when purchased from Bell or Virgin.

Networks

Main article: Bell Mobility#Networks

In the past, Solo Mobile only used Bell Mobility's CDMA network for both prepaid and postpaid customers. As of December 27, 2011 (2011 -12-27), the LG 230 is the last and only device sold by Solo which supports this network.

On November 11, 2010, Solo adopted Bell's HSPA+ network. On that day, the now-discontinued LG Flick was launched as the first Solo device compatible with this network. HSPA+ services, however, cannot be used by prepaid customers. As of December 27, 2011 (2011 -12-27), the LG Flick, the Samsung Gravity 3 and the Samsung Galaxy Gio are the only devices sold by Solo can access this network, although the operator sells SIM cards which allow any compatible HSPA+ handset to be used on the network. Solo has not announced any plans for prepaid services on the HSPA+ network.

Given the end of Solo Mobile's retail presence, it is unlikely that Solo will ever use Bell's LTE network.

Products

Now that its third party retail presence has officially ended, Solo Mobile carries only two feature phones and only one smartphone. These same devices are available at a significantly lower price with Bell Mobility's newer mobile brand, Virgin Mobile Canada.

Samsung Electronics is the main manufacturer for Solo Mobile's devices. They have manufactured eighteen Solo devices: sixteen feature phones in the past, one in the present, plus one Android smartphone which is currently available. Another notable manufacturer is Motorola Mobility, who has manufactured fourteen types of feature phones prior to Solo's renaissance.

Feature phones

Solo Mobile currently only has two feature phones in its lineup: the LG 230 and the Samsung Gravity 3.

Released on March 16, 2011, the Samsung Gravity 3 is currently the only new feature phone from Solo this year. It is also the only HSPA+ feature phone currently available from Solo, although the LG Flick was previously available. The LG 230 is an older device available since May 6, 2010. It uses the CDMA network.

Smartphones

On October 13, 2011, Solo added the Samsung Galaxy Gio to its lineup. This is the operator's first Android-powered smartphone and uses the HSPA+ network. The French instruction manual, however, was uploaded on Solo's website as early as August 9, 2011. As of December 16, 2011 (2011 -12-16), it is the only new smartphone released by Solo Mobile that year. The company had made no significant efforts to encourage new customers to obtain this phone.

While the LG Optimus Net et LG Eclypse are listed as Solo devices in LG's mobile update tool, these phones have never been formally sold by Solo.

Legacy products

Blabble is a Facebook application launched by Solo Mobile in September 2008. A photo tagging application, users could add quotes through speech bubbles on to photos within their existing Facebook albums. As of August 2011, the application has been completely removed.

The BlackBerry Pearl 8130 is a legacy CDMA device which Solo carried until December 2011. In comparison, Bell and Virgin cleared out all remaining stock of the 8130, plus the upgraded HSPA+ 9100, months before. The 8130 can be upgraded to BlackBerry OS 4.5.0.101 and it also allows users to install compatible BlackBerry App World applications including BlackBerry Messenger (BBM). Some apps, such as those for Canadian Tire and Shazam, require newer versions of the BlackBerry OS and are therefore incompatible with Solo's BlackBerry Pearl.

Services

A promotional offer by Solo Mobile.

Voice plans

Main article: Fido Solutions#The New Fido

Currently, almost all of Solo's voice plans are practically identical to competitor Fido's postpaid offerings. Solo, however, offers its plans for both prepaid and postpaid customers, while Fido does not. Solo also decided not to upgrade their plans over time, omitting many advantages of the Fido plans such as bonus minutes, an earlier time for unlimited evening calling, or unlimited calling between people on the same account. Long distance charges apply if calls are made to numbers outside the local calling area.

There are also a few Solo plans which are either similar or identical to Virgin's Canada-wide plans.

Unlimited plans

Main article: Chatr#Services

To compete against Rogers Wireless' Chatr brand, Solo Mobile offers unlimited, prepaid, zone-based plans. They are identical to Chatr's $25 and $35 plans, and availability is limited to the same cities where Chatr is available. However, both Solo plans can only be used on either the LG 230 sold by Solo, or any CDMA device previously offered by the carrier.

There are no add-ons available for Solo's unlimited plans, with the exception of a voicemail option for the $25 plan. Therefore, unlike Chatr, customers cannot subscribe to mobile broadband on their devices.

Legacy services

Solo Mobile offered a 10-4 walkie-talkie service during the company's renaissance, from 2005 until mid-2009. This was heavily promoted with the slogan "Cell Phone. Walkie talkie. Spread The Word."

There previously were promotional rebates offered to customers who purchased a prepaid phone in store but activated it on a two-year postpaid contract. With the end of Solo's third-party retail presence, such rebates are only available at the time of purchase, either on Solo's official website or in participating Bell stores.

Criticism

Main article: Criticism of Bell Canada#Solo Mobile

Solo Mobile has been criticised for charging a system access fee on older plans and for its antisemitic advertising. They also charge a $3 fee for customer service via phone.

Advertising

Since 2003, Rethink Communications is Solo Mobile's advertising agency. From 2005 until 2008, Solo Mobile advertised its Walkie talkie service. Starting in 2007, Solo claimed to have the lowest rates in Canada. Advertisements for this brand have been drastically reduced after Bell Canada purchased Virgin Mobile Canada on May 7, 2009. Solo would mainly depend on word of mouth, its own website and third-party retailers to promote its products. The end of Solo Mobile's retail presence in October 2011 also meant that the brand would no longer advertise to new customers.

Solo Mobile was subject to criticism because one of its advertisements featured an antisemitic message.

Logo

The current logo, introduced on August 1, 2005, consists of the name Solo in orange written using dashed lines.

Slogans

• 2005 : "Phone. Walkie talkie. Menace to society."
• 2006 : "Cell phone. Walkie talkie. Spread the word."
• 2007 : "Keep talking."
• 2007-2010 : "Canada's most affordable rates."

Retail presence

Solo Mobile products and services are only available in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, because Bell has a smaller presence in other provinces and all three territories. The brand no longer has its own corporate retail stores, given its decline, so products and services are sold in Bell Canada corporate stores instead. Also, some stores showcase exclusively the Bell Mobility brand, choosing not to display anything Solo-related at all. At any Bell store, however, it is still possible to purchase Solo SIM card and feature phones, as long as there is remaining stock. The representatives at these stores also provide activation, renewal, and support for Solo Mobile.

Former retailers

Solo Mobile display at The Source. Note the advertisement for Virgin Mobile on top of the display.

Although Solo Mobile products and prepaid vouchers were previously available at some The Source locations, no postpaid activations were done, so customers had to purchase feature phones at its full retail price and then activate a postpaid month-to-month or prepaid service on their own. This has led to store representatives comparing Solo to IKEA's ready-to-assemble furniture. Additionally, only one-eight of the mobile phones section displayed Solo products, while three-eights were devoted to Virgin Mobile products and the remaining half were for Bell Mobility products. Finally, store employees discouraged customers from choosing prepaid products, especially those offered by Solo Mobile, recommending postpaid service with the Bell and Virgin brands instead. As of 29 October 2011 (2011 -10-29), Solo Mobile products are no longer available at The Source stores. Remaining phones were shipped back to Bell's warehouse as per an order by this company. The section that was previously reserved for Solo products has now been transformed to accommodate Virgin products instead.

In addition to Bell corporate stores, third-party Canadian dealers were also able to sell Solo prepaid feature phones. As of November 2011, however, this is no longer the case, because Bell asked the retailers to ship back all Solo merchandise. Previous retailers included Best Buy, Future Shop, Glentel, Loblaw-branded, Walmart and Zellers stores. Only prepaid airtime for Solo can be purchased at these retailers.

See also

• Bell Mobility, Solo Mobile's parent company
  • Virgin Mobile Canada, mainly responsible for Solo's decline
• List of Canadian mobile phone companies

External links

• Official Solo Mobile website