BCE Inc.'s lengthy struggle to privatize may have left management distracted and Bell Canada's brand reliant on a couple of aging beavers, but the phone company is still managing to strike back at its more nimble rivals.
Bell Mobility will try to undercut sales of Rogers Wireless Inc.'s much-anticipated iPhone by selling a similar-looking device for less, complete with a cheaper monthly subscriber fee.
Bell said yesterday it will introduce a mobile device from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. on Aug. 8 that is similar in form and some features to Apple Inc.'s hugely popular iPhone, due to arrive in Canada next week on the Rogers network.
Rogers has generated both excitement and criticism by securing exclusive distribution rights in Canada to Apple's hottest new product since the iPod. Many consumers are complaining that Rogers' pricing plans are more expensive than in other countries because they do not include unlimited data.
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Bell is trying to take advantage of that discontent by offering unlimited Internet access for just $10 a month on Samsung's Instinct phone.
"You can surf your head off. You can check all the [Web-based] e-mail you want," said Bell spokesman Jason Laszlo. "The tool is great, but it's really the plan that sets it apart."
Bell is selling the device for as little as $149.95 on a three-year contract. Without any contract, it will be available for $449.95.
The lowest price plan for the Instinct includes 100 minutes of weekday local calls for $20; 1,000 minutes of voice calls from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. and weekends; an $8.95 monthly system access fee; 75? for 911 emergency calls, and the $10 unlimited data plan. That brings the monthly total to $39.70 before taxes. There is also a one-time activation fee of $35.
In comparison, Rogers' least expensive monthly plan for the iPhone is $60, which gives 150 minutes of weekday local calls, unlimited off-peak minutes and allows up to 400 megabytes of data transfer. That amount does not include system access fees, taxes and other features, such as caller identification. Rogers' largest data package costs $115 for 2 gigabytes of data.
Bell officials played down the timing of the launch, but Mr. Laszlo said the company did expect the device would eat into Rogers' iPhone sales. Rogers declined to comment on a competitor's product launch.
For Bell, the battle to win wireless customers is crucial to its long-term success. Bell is struggling to add enough new wireless customers to make up for the erosion of its traditional local phone service. In the first quarter, the company lost 119,000 local phones and added 34,000 new wireless subscribers.
Early indicators show the Instinct to be a "phenomenal success" in the United States, where it was launched less than two weeks ago, with Samsung struggling to meet demand, said Marwin Al-Najjar, product marketing manager of handsets at Samsung Electronics Canada Inc.
But Mr. Al-Najjar was quick to acknowledge the Instinct is not trying to be an iPhone. Samsung's device lacks an operating system and does not include software for push e-mail - the feature that allows real-time delivery of messages.
Push e-mail must be added by the phone company using third-party software, and so far Samsung and Bell have not finalized such a feature, he said.
Samsung is also not trying to negotiate exclusive deals with phone companies. "We're hoping we will launch the Instinct with Telus this summer," Mr. Al-Najjar said.