Canada cellular number phone

NEWS ANALYSIS: CELLULAR IN CANADA HAS A STYLE ALL ITS OWN

Cellular debuted in Canada approximately one year after it started in the United States and since has experienced similar successes and problems to that of the United States. Canada also has learned many of the same lessons.

In interviews with Bell Cellular, one of the wireline operators, and Rogers Cantel, the nonwireline operator, the differences and similarities on how North America looks at cellular become apparent.

Cellular was introduced to Canada in 1985, when the Canadian Department of Communications (DOC) established 23 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) throughout Canada. The local telephone company was licensed to serve the market within its own operating area, and a nonwireline company was licensed to provide national service in the 23 MSAs.

...Canada Chose Cantel Over of Six Other Applicants

The nonwireline company, Cantel, won its chance to provide cellular service by competing against 6 other applicants. This is similar to the way Eastern Europe is choosing its operators. With a shotgun start, the 2 cellular operators proceeded to sign subscribers, and together the operators accrued a total of 12,000 subscribers in 11 cities by the end of 1985.

...1986 Saw Significant Developments

There were 2 significant developments in 1986. Thirteen wireline licensees and affiliates teamed up to offer uniform cellular services from CellNet Canada, and the DOC liberalized the rules, thus enabling the licensees to establish service anywhere in their territory. This provided Cantel with the opportunity to expand its 23 MSAs to offer service in 50 markets.

Since 1986, 85% of the Canadian population has been provided with access to cellular service, which translates into 60,000 square miles of coverage. Tim McChesney, vice president of marketing for Bell Cellular, said that "there is not one Canadian province that is not covered by cellular."

The question now is how much more coverage is needed? Combined non-wire-line and wireline subscribers total 535,000, and projections expect the number of Canadian subscribers to reach 1 million by 1992. Bell Cellular said that it does not see the imminent need to provide a vast amount of new coverage. Kathy McLaughlin, vice president of marketing for Cantel, said that there may be a need to link remote areas with the metro areas already covered. This may be achieved by using new technology, such as satellite linking systems. Motorola's Iridium system was designed for such use (MPN, Oct. 11, pp. 3-4).

...Cellular's Appeal in Canada Is that It Enhances Productivity

Bell Cellular maintains that cellular popularity in Canada is 3 fold. Customers perceive value for the cost and have accepted that cellular permits them to enhance productivity and to run their business more efficiently; cellular is convenient; and it also provides safety and security while traveling. Kelly Norgate, spokeswoman for Bell Cellular stressed that Canadians are productivity oriented, which may be why cellular is so popular.

McChesney said that it is important to "establish cellular as a meaningful business tool." Bell Cellular is facing some challenges in dealing with the slowdown in the Canadian economy, and there are many marketing challenges to meet. The financial staying power of the phone distribution channels will become an issue, as well as how to reduce effectively the cost of the sale while still supplying superior value.

McLaughlin said that the recession already is being felt slightly by Cantel. Direct indicators in cellular of economic problems are: an increase in de-activation (decline in usage of the phones) and slowdown of gross sales of the phones.

However, the economic slowdown has not affected Cantel's operating mission. The company is continuing its marketing program and not cutting spending on customer service programs, said McLaughlin, because "aggressive marketing" has been Cantel's key to success. When Cantel was granted the right to offer cellular service, it was just a consortium of investors with no experience in cellular. McLaughlin explained that "Through shear gutsiness, the company came from nowhere 5 years ago to become a major cellular operator."

Cantel offers an integrated, cohesive roaming network, which enables the calls to follow the subsriber no matter what market the person roams to. Another feature that is unique to Cantel is that the call follows the subscriber and no additional prefix is added to the phone number. The roaming happens automatically, which is a different process than that of Cantel's competitor, Cellnet Canada, and compared to roaming services in the United States.

The Bell operators offer "Follow Me" roaming, a similar service to Cantel's, but it works with prefixes added to the original phone number. Follow Me roaming also is used in the United States. Both Canadian operators said that the cohesive network feature of Canadian cellular is a big advantage over cellular in the United States.

...Value Added Services Serve Both Subscriber and Operator

Bell Cellular has, in the past, focused on offering a wide range of value added services to its cellular subscriber. The value added services supply the subscriber with excellent communications tools. This increases the use of the cellular phone which, in turn, provides revenue for the operator.

The most popular of Bell Cellular's enhanced services is voice mail. Fifty percent of its customers have subscribed to voice mail, thus, making Bell Cellular the largest voice messaging provider in North America.

There are differences between Canada's and the United State's approach to cellular. McChesney said that Canada has a more lenient regulatory climate. Norgate said that, "We do not tell the government what we are going to do, just what we have already done." This is quite a different regulatory process than that of the United States. Also, McChesney said that there were no head starts between the 2 licensed operators "enabling competition right off the bat."

The biggest differences between Canada and the United States include the following; the area of coverage--60,000 square miles--is a much larger area than that in the United States; emphasis on enhanced services; and government intervention" said Norgate.

Canada and the United States have learned that success in cellular for the future will be an emphasis on customer service. As McChesney said, "What you are selling is a relationship between the customer and the service provider." The successful operators in the United States (MPN, Oct. 25, pp. 1 - 3), have discovered that good customer service decreases churn, thus increases revenue. [Illustration Omitted]