Investing in cellular services gets complicated as Bell and Telus change their platforms
New wireless networks to put Bell and Telus on same footing as Rogers
June 30, 2009 - Canadian Press - Luann Lasalle
MONTREAL - Bell (TSX:BCE) and Telus (TSX:T) customers should have a greater choice of mobile phones, possibly Apple's iPhone, and better prices when the wireless companies roll out next-generation networks in early next year, analysts say.
The move will put both Bell and Telus in a better competitive situation against Rogers Wireless (TSX:RCI.B), analysts said Tuesday.
"Levelling the playing field is what this is all about," said analyst Nick Agostino of Research Capital Corporation.
"The benefit is definitely going to be for the consumer for a change."
Bell and Telus are building an HSPA network which is becoming the main platform for wireless carriers worldwide and is the same kind of network that Rogers has.
The networks are slated to be in place for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
Rogers has had the advantage because of its network, Agostino said.
"They have been able to get all of the latest and greatest devices first."
Rogers currently has the only network in Canada capable of running Apple's iPhone.
Rogers wouldn't comment Tuesday on the length of its agreement with Apple to sell the iPhone to Canadian consumers.
Agostino said with Rogers, Bell and Telus all having the same type of network that should lower prices for data plans that allow consumers to do such things as stream video and prices for the devices themselves. It could also lower contracts to two years from three for some mobile phones, he added.
It has been reported that the iPhone will be coming to Bell and Telus when their new networks are completed.
Telus spokesman Jim Johannsson wouldn't comment on the rumour, but said the new network opens up potentially more mobile phones for consumers when its up and running early next year.
"It's a faster network for consumers who have advanced smartphones or feature phones that have web browsing capabilities," he said.
Bell Mobility also wouldn't comment on whether it would be offering the iPhone in the future.
The new networks also put both Bell and Telus on the path to a more advanced and faster network called LTE, or Long-Term Evolution, that is also expected to eventually become the dominant global standard for wireless carriers.
IDC Canada analyst Kevin Restivo said if the iPhone is eventually sold by Bell and Telus, that would change the landscape for BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (TSX:RIM).
"All of a sudden, RIM's got just a much stronger competitor on its hands when it comes to the consumer segment, in which RIM is already in a fierce battle," Restivo said from Toronto.
RIM and Apple were No. 1 and 2 respectively in North America for smartphone shipments, IDC says.
Restivo said if Bell and Telus eventually sell the iPhone, that's a big opportunity for their customers to upgrade to that touchscreen phone.
More than half of the wireless subscribers in Canada are on those two networks, he said of Bell and Telus.
"It gives those customers one more reason to stay," Restivo said.
Even if the iPhone doesn't come to Bell and Telus, there will be "another hot device," he said.
Rogers said Thursday that in the second half of 2008, it sold about 385,000 3G iPhones. Since the recent launch of the new iPhone 3GS, Rogers and Fido have sold "tens of thousands units," the carrier said.