Bell and Telus to Launch the iPhone in Canada Next Month?
TiPb, among others, has been hearing rumors for months now that Bell and Telus’ new GSM-based HSPA+ network would be up and running by November, and that the iPhone would follow along immediately there after. Nice to see some confirmation via Canadian stalwart, the Globe and Mail, however:
Bell announced Monday that it will launch national service in November on the $1-billion next-generation wireless network it has been building with Telus, months ahead of schedule. The project extends the two companies’ existing third-generation (3G) networks to include the same technology standard employed by Rogers, the nation’s largest cellphone company.
No comments from any of the carriers or Apple, of course, and it remains to be seen what if any downward pressure competition in Canada — like in the UK — would put on iPhone pricing for consumers.
Our question: Bell and Telus will have HSPA+ but no EDGE (to our knowledge), so if an iPhone on Bell or Telus couldn’t get a 3G signal, what exactly would it fall back on? EVDO/CDMA is not an option…
October 5th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Is it even possible to have GSM and NO Edge?
I thought it was all sort of lumped in together on the same towers.
October 5th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
I guess they’ll just fall back to GPRS.
October 5th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
they will NOT need anything to fall back on since they will have HSPA+ coverage EVERYWHERE… unlike rogers where its mostly edge and HSPA in urban cities…
October 5th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
I would cry if I had to use my iPhone on a GPRS or EDGE network
October 6th, 2009 at 12:28 am
@4 I’m guessing you’re not one of the OG iPhone people who had a 2G?
October 6th, 2009 at 12:47 am
As someone working for one of those providers and currently undergoing training about the new network and launch devices, I can definitely confirm that the iPhone is definitely not one of them.
October 6th, 2009 at 7:51 am
Telus and Bell think that their coverage is good now. They have no idea what adequate coverage is like. They suck. I send a text to someone on bell and it doesn’t even get there until hours (or sometimes an entire DAY) later. Rogers or Fido are instantaneous.. Bell and Telus are **** networks. Every friend I have on those networks constantly has problems with their phones. And they treat their customers like ****. Rogers is waaaaaaay way better and I’m betting Rogers’ HSPA network is still going to have way more coverage than theirs..
October 6th, 2009 at 8:08 am
@Adam, you must work at Rogers right!?
Forget Rogers!
October 6th, 2009 at 8:11 am
Update: Bell officially announced this morning that it will carry the iPhone. No more speculation. It is coming to Bell!
October 6th, 2009 at 8:20 am
It’s official – Bell getting iPhone in November.
Bell Canada (TSX:BCE) says it will begin offering two models of the Apple iPhone smartphone in November, a move that will put added pressure on rival Rogers Communications (TSX:RCI.B). It will be the first time Bell has offered Apple smartphones, which have only worked in Canada on the Rogers wireless network. It’s been anticpated for months that Bell and Telus Corp. (TSX:T) would begin offering Apple smartphones once the two phone companies rolled out their new wireless networks. Bell announced Monday that its new high-speed wireless network will be ready across the country in November, ahead of its original deadline. The Montreal-based company said Tuesday it has an agreement with Apple to start offering the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS in November. Bell has Canada’s second-largest installed base of wireless customers after Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX:RCI.B), which also owns the Fido brand.
October 6th, 2009 at 11:00 am
With regards to comment # 6 made by sunfaller “I can definitely confirm that the iPhone is definitely not one of them”. You need to get your facts straight, especially if you work for 1 of these carriers. Telus has a section on its website devoted to the upcoming iphone 3gs. Personally, I am really excited about this and will be one of the first to pick one up!!
Cheers
link:
http://www.telusmobility.com/en/ON/home/
http://promotions.telus.com/registration/
October 7th, 2009 at 1:00 am
@Adam you are absolutely right. But Rogers is lot more expensive tho. To me Rogers is like premium service. Bell and Telus have put down a great investment. We will see some great competition. Rogers bill will go lower. Haven’t u already noticed rogers has lowered down it’s prices??
October 7th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Well good for Bell and Telus… as for no edge, when 3G drops, they will lose data access on that phone and maybe even voice as well. Hopefully they can find a work around between now and then…
October 14th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Adam Bell and TELUS do not have **** networks. The issues your friends are having with texting are more then likely directly related to issues with their actual phones which these providers do not make. If your friends are downloading music or applications on their hand sets this can cause errors in regards to how the phone performs. Tell them to call their providers tech support.
As for comment:
“Well good for Bell and Telus… as for no edge, when 3G drops, they will lose data access on that phone and maybe even voice as well. Hopefully they can find a work around between now and then…”
3G is already common technology. Bell and TELUS have already jointly built the HSPA network. The next upgrade is to 4G which should be around 2012.
Rogers is the provider that should be worried. TELUS has already maintaned suprisingly low churn rates on their wireless clients and have the greatest amount of data subscribers/smart phone users due to their push on smart phones and future friendly brand image.
October 21st, 2009 at 1:41 pm
I have to agree with the people on here who support Telus. I had been with Telus for about 7 years until recently the company I worked for offered a group rate on a Rogers iPhone. Naturally I took them up on the offer. Now 5 months into it I can’t wait to move to Telus. Using my friend’s Telus SIM card he got with his Blackberry 9530 I have actually been able to connect to the Telus HSPA network in parts of Calgary already on my iPhone.
Rogers service is terrible, never ONCE did I have to wait more than 1 minute on hold calling Telus support. I have yet to get through to Rogers support in LESS than 9 minutes. I get absolutely terrible coverage outside of major centers, including a few not-so-small highways (aka Highway 9) which has been verified by every other Rogers/FIDO friend I have. If Telus and Bell get even 75% of the coverage for HSPA that they get for their CDMA network I will be far happier than I currently am at Rogers. Just go check the coverage maps and you will be blown away. Hell, Rogers doesn’t even pretend to cover places like Ft Smith in NWT while I have had solid Telus coverage there for 6 years.