Bell Mobility

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Bell Mobility is the division of Bell Canada which sells wireless services in Canada. Bell Mobility boasts over 5,884,000 subscribers as of the end of Q2 2007.^[1] 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 rebranding as Bell in April 2008.^[2]

Virgin Mobile Canada, Bell-owned Solo Mobile and PC Mobile operate as MVNOs on the Bell Mobility network.

Subsidiaries of Bell Mobility include NMI Mobility, obtained from Northwestel, itself a Bell Canada subsidiary, 1 January 2003, due to a restructuring of the parent company.^[3]

[edit] Equipment

Their cellular network utilizes AMPS, CDMA, PTT, 1xRTT and, as of November 2005, 1xEVDO technology.

Their handset lineup includes phones from LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sanyo. The lineup also includes PDAs from Motorola, palmOne, RIM, Samsung, HTC and UTStarcom, and connection cards from Sierra Wireless, Novatel and Kyocera.

Bell Mobility also features a line up of rugged devices and modems. ^[4]

[edit] Services

• CDMA 850 and 1900
• 1xRTT and EVDO highspeed mobile internet
• BlackBerry handheld devices and services
• Wireless data services
• SMS
• Live Mobile TV
• Mobile Full-Length Movie Downloads
• Mobile Sirius Satellite Radio
• Mobile Full-Track Music downloads

Bell offers a convenient service to check account balances, minuets and megabytes of mobile data used, add features and answers to frequently asked questions. The service is called TCARE, Short for text message care. Simply send a blank message to the phone number TCARE (82273). You will receive a menu with for options. Reply with the letter A: for account balance, B: for usage, C: Add a feature, or D: FAQ's. This service eliminates the need to visit a store, or wait on hold for a lengthy time with customer service in order to make a simple change or find out some information.

[edit] Advertising campaigns

As part of their current media advertising campaign in print and on TV, Bell Mobility features a pair of anthropomorphic CGI beavers named Frank (voiced by Norm Macdonald) and Gordon (voiced by Ken Hudson Campbell) ^[5], who constantly get into misadventures which lead to Frank getting flustered with the antics of the dimwitted Gordon.

The Frank and Gordon ad campaign ranks at the top of the most-loved and most-hated advertisements. Analysts covering a potential restructuring of BCE suggested getting rid of the mascots. They have also criticized some of Bell Mobility's initiatives as failing to tap the market, such as offering full-length movies^[6].

[edit] Controversy

All or part of this article may be confusing or unclear. Please help clarify the article. Suggestions may be on the talk page. (December 2007)

Some clients of Bell Mobility have claimed that their phones features have been restricted. This action is typically referred to as “crippling.” Examples of claims of restricted features are the inability to perform Bluetooth file transfers, for example with the OBEX profile or with a USB cable.

Some clients claim that Bell Mobility purposely restricts these features in order to force them to use the data services and as a result pay more usage charges. Methods around these restrictions are to use an external memory card or software such as BitPim. One would have to recognize that different phones have different features then those described by the original phone manufacturers.

Purchasing a phone lacking the preferred abilities is the responsibility of the client. Researching the abilities and lack thereof is recommended before purchasing a phone or PDA device.

Bell Mobility charges its customers $8.95/month "System Access Fee"^[7] which is a higher amount in comparison to other cellular carriers who charge $6.95/month. Bell however charges less for basic features such as voicemail and call display. System access fees are a charge to cover costs involved with network maintenance, upgrades and the day to day operation of a wireless network^[8].

Analysts also suggested converting from CDMA to GSM, as this would allow Bell Mobility to benefit from revenue generated by visitors' roaming, and because most new cell phones are designed for GSM first before CDMA. ^[9] However, with the introduction of two world phones, the 8830 and the a840, Bell Mobility is tapping into the GSM market outside of North America to customers who frequently travel.^[10]

In December 2007 the BBC reported a customer with a $7/month unlimited mobile browser plan received a $85,000 bill.^[11] The customer used the phone as a modem for his computer which is not the intent for the unlimited mobile browser plan the customer subscribed to^[12]. Bell has since reduced the charges to match their best data plan for his equivalent usage.^{[citation needed]} The customer argues he was misled despite the name of his plan clearly stating "mobile browser".^{[citation needed]} The BBC reported "Canadians complain that their mobile phone charges are much higher for comparable service in the United States".^[11]

[edit] References

1. ^ BCE - 2007 BCE Second Quarter Shareholder Report
2. ^ BCE and Aliant form one of North America's largest regional telecommunications service providers
3. ^ Restructuring Of Subsidiary Relationship
4. ^ Business On The Go
5. ^ http://blogs.voices.com/voxdaily/2006/02/frank_and_gordon.html source
6. ^ Movies- bell.ca
7. ^ Wireless terms of service- bell.ca
8. ^ Wireless terms of service- bell.ca
9. ^ Burnishing the Bell
10. ^ Coverage and Travel- bell.ca
11. ^ ^{a b} BBC News,"[1]" December 13 2007
12. ^ Wireless terms of service- bell.ca

[edit] External links

• Bell Mobility Official Website

Quicklinks:

• • Bell Mobility cell phones
  • Bell Mobility plans
  • Bell Mobility Customer service
  • Bell Wireless Data Solutions Official Business-oriented website
  • Bell Mobility Coverage maps
  • Bell Mobility Wireless web
• MobileSyrup.com - Canadian Mobile News & Reviews
• Aliant Mobility - currently remains on the Aliant website