roopi
10-10-2003, 05:06 PM
It looks like the competition in the GVA is going to get a little crazy.
Look what Fido launched yesterday:
CITY FIDO TAKES TO THE STREETS OCTOBER 9 IN GREATER VANCOUVER
Microcell launches the first home and mobile service in Canada
Montréal, October 6, 2003—Microcell Solutions Inc., the national provider of Personal Communications Services (PCS) under the Fido® brand name, today announced the upcoming launch of City Fido™, the true alternative to traditional wireline telephone service.
“Since its inception, Microcell has pursued a path of innovation and built new ways for Canadians to use wireless technology as their preferred everyday communications tool,” stated
André Tremblay, President and Chief Executive Officer of Microcell Telecommunications Inc. “Our vision has always been to give Canadians an alternative to traditional wireline telephone
service, and City Fido does just that. This new initiative is supported by various market studies that indicate that a growing number of people are now ready to go completely wireless, and
Microcell is proud to be spearheading this new category of service in Canada. It’s an enormous leap forward for our company and a critical stage in the evolution of Canada’s wireless industry.”
For a price comparable to that of their current local service, customers can now have a home phone that is also a mobile phone. Attractively priced at $40 per month, City Fido provides
unlimited anytime local calling in the Greater Vancouver area. As with Fido Service, customers receive a number of Included Services, such as Call Waiting, Call Forwarding and Conference
Call. Other valuable services, such as Text Messaging, Call Display, Voice Messaging, long distance, mobile Internet and data transmission, national roaming on Fido’s network and
international roaming in 139 countries, are also available at affordable prices with City Fido.
In addition, the vast majority of customers will have the option of transferring their existing home or single-line business phone number to their City Fido service and keeping their white pages
directory listing, while enjoying the benefits of a fully mobile service. In fact, Microcell is the first and currently the only wireless company in North America to offer Local Number Portability.
Customers will also retain access to 911 emergency service and 411 directory assistance. “More than just another airtime package or service bundle, City Fido is a completely new
category of wireless service and the first of its kind in Canada. This fully integrated service adapts perfectly to the needs and lifestyles of single urbanites, young professionals, students,
SOHOs, and anyone who wants to add the benefit of mobility and larger local calling area to their local phone service,” said Alain Rhéaume, President and Chief Operating Officer of Microcell Solutions. “It’s one phone, one number, one bill, and the only phone service they’ll ever need.”
City Fido includes unlimited local calling throughout the entire Lower Mainland of British Columbia, covering a larger Local Calling Area than the incumbent telephone company. A 25¢ fee for 911 emergency service is added to the monthly service charges. A one-time $50 management fee applies upon activation. There are no additional or recurring charges for system access, white pages listing, or phone number transfer.
Customers in Greater Vancouver can subscribe to City Fido starting October 9 by visiting any Fido corporate or retail partner location, or by calling 1 888 481-FIDO (3436). Full details and
conditions will also be available as of October 9 at ww.cityfido.ca.
So then Telus came back with this:
Telus Mobility Gets In A Dogfight with Fido
$40 wireless phone plan `ridiculous'
Telus promises to match monthly price
Telus Mobility is biting back at Fido.
Telus Corp.'s mobile phone unit launched an unusually aggressive advertising campaign yesterday urging customers of rival Microcell Telecommunications Inc. to dump that company's Fido wireless service.
The Telus Mobility newspaper ad offers Fido users a free mobile phone and better coverage, and promises to match any monthly rate plan they have with Montreal-based Microcell.
The campaign is a direct response to Microcell's announcement Monday that it will be offering a $40 flat-rate wireless plan in Vancouver as an alternative to traditional landline service, said George Cope, chief executive officer of Telus Mobility, in an interview with the Star.
"It's saying (to Microcell), if you're going to compete with a direct hit at price points in one of my strongest markets, then I don't mind competition," said Cope, pointing out that the campaign is aimed at Microcell customers in Ontario and Quebec.
"I know their clients leave their network faster than anybody else's, and they leave every month dissatisfied customers, so I'm going to go after those clients."
Alain Rhéaume, chief operating officer of Microcell, said competitors have used such tactics before and failed.
"It's never had a big impact on our operations or customer base," he said, adding that his rival is overreacting. "We don't see ourselves as a threat to Telus with the launch of (our flat-rate service)."
Microcell's local phone service, dubbed City Fido, became available yesterday in Vancouver — near Telus's headquarters in Burnaby — but the company plans to deploy the product across Canada. Microcell said earlier this week it hopes to convince younger consumers who like to be mobile that one of its wireless phones is all they need. Switching to a Fido-only service could mean the cancellation local lines from Telus.
"We are going to defend our organization," Cope said. "Whatever their best rate plan, we'd adjusted out billing systems to be able to match it."
He called the launch of City Fido an "irrational" move backed by a "ridiculous," unsustainable price that undermines the health of the entire wireless industry.
"There's no return on investment with a $40 unlimited wireless plan.
"There's one company that tried this in the U.S. called Leap Wireless, and I think they filed for Chapter 11," said Cope, adding that Microcell also doesn't have the network coverage or capacity to support the service properly.
One industry analyst, who asked not to be named, said Telus is trying to get Microcell to back off its City Fido plan. He said both Bell Mobility and Rogers Wireless think Microcell's City Fido price plan is "insane," and that both companies may strike back with campaigns of their own.
Another theory is that Microcell is trying to become a nuisance so that Rogers Wireless will buy it just to eliminate a competitor.
"I think Telus Mobility's advertisements may be a bit of a knee-jerk reaction," said another analyst, who warned that the company might have to address some legal issues by using the Fido trademark and even a picture of a dog in its ads.
Rhéaume said he didn't see the tactics as a big issue, though he added, "we're going to do what needs to be done to protect our brand."
Now I wonder what's going to be the result of this. Maybe Rogers will finally buy Fido. :(
I just hope that CityFido comes to Alberta next.
Look what Fido launched yesterday:
CITY FIDO TAKES TO THE STREETS OCTOBER 9 IN GREATER VANCOUVER
Microcell launches the first home and mobile service in Canada
Montréal, October 6, 2003—Microcell Solutions Inc., the national provider of Personal Communications Services (PCS) under the Fido® brand name, today announced the upcoming launch of City Fido™, the true alternative to traditional wireline telephone service.
“Since its inception, Microcell has pursued a path of innovation and built new ways for Canadians to use wireless technology as their preferred everyday communications tool,” stated
André Tremblay, President and Chief Executive Officer of Microcell Telecommunications Inc. “Our vision has always been to give Canadians an alternative to traditional wireline telephone
service, and City Fido does just that. This new initiative is supported by various market studies that indicate that a growing number of people are now ready to go completely wireless, and
Microcell is proud to be spearheading this new category of service in Canada. It’s an enormous leap forward for our company and a critical stage in the evolution of Canada’s wireless industry.”
For a price comparable to that of their current local service, customers can now have a home phone that is also a mobile phone. Attractively priced at $40 per month, City Fido provides
unlimited anytime local calling in the Greater Vancouver area. As with Fido Service, customers receive a number of Included Services, such as Call Waiting, Call Forwarding and Conference
Call. Other valuable services, such as Text Messaging, Call Display, Voice Messaging, long distance, mobile Internet and data transmission, national roaming on Fido’s network and
international roaming in 139 countries, are also available at affordable prices with City Fido.
In addition, the vast majority of customers will have the option of transferring their existing home or single-line business phone number to their City Fido service and keeping their white pages
directory listing, while enjoying the benefits of a fully mobile service. In fact, Microcell is the first and currently the only wireless company in North America to offer Local Number Portability.
Customers will also retain access to 911 emergency service and 411 directory assistance. “More than just another airtime package or service bundle, City Fido is a completely new
category of wireless service and the first of its kind in Canada. This fully integrated service adapts perfectly to the needs and lifestyles of single urbanites, young professionals, students,
SOHOs, and anyone who wants to add the benefit of mobility and larger local calling area to their local phone service,” said Alain Rhéaume, President and Chief Operating Officer of Microcell Solutions. “It’s one phone, one number, one bill, and the only phone service they’ll ever need.”
City Fido includes unlimited local calling throughout the entire Lower Mainland of British Columbia, covering a larger Local Calling Area than the incumbent telephone company. A 25¢ fee for 911 emergency service is added to the monthly service charges. A one-time $50 management fee applies upon activation. There are no additional or recurring charges for system access, white pages listing, or phone number transfer.
Customers in Greater Vancouver can subscribe to City Fido starting October 9 by visiting any Fido corporate or retail partner location, or by calling 1 888 481-FIDO (3436). Full details and
conditions will also be available as of October 9 at ww.cityfido.ca.
So then Telus came back with this:
Telus Mobility Gets In A Dogfight with Fido
$40 wireless phone plan `ridiculous'
Telus promises to match monthly price
Telus Mobility is biting back at Fido.
Telus Corp.'s mobile phone unit launched an unusually aggressive advertising campaign yesterday urging customers of rival Microcell Telecommunications Inc. to dump that company's Fido wireless service.
The Telus Mobility newspaper ad offers Fido users a free mobile phone and better coverage, and promises to match any monthly rate plan they have with Montreal-based Microcell.
The campaign is a direct response to Microcell's announcement Monday that it will be offering a $40 flat-rate wireless plan in Vancouver as an alternative to traditional landline service, said George Cope, chief executive officer of Telus Mobility, in an interview with the Star.
"It's saying (to Microcell), if you're going to compete with a direct hit at price points in one of my strongest markets, then I don't mind competition," said Cope, pointing out that the campaign is aimed at Microcell customers in Ontario and Quebec.
"I know their clients leave their network faster than anybody else's, and they leave every month dissatisfied customers, so I'm going to go after those clients."
Alain Rhéaume, chief operating officer of Microcell, said competitors have used such tactics before and failed.
"It's never had a big impact on our operations or customer base," he said, adding that his rival is overreacting. "We don't see ourselves as a threat to Telus with the launch of (our flat-rate service)."
Microcell's local phone service, dubbed City Fido, became available yesterday in Vancouver — near Telus's headquarters in Burnaby — but the company plans to deploy the product across Canada. Microcell said earlier this week it hopes to convince younger consumers who like to be mobile that one of its wireless phones is all they need. Switching to a Fido-only service could mean the cancellation local lines from Telus.
"We are going to defend our organization," Cope said. "Whatever their best rate plan, we'd adjusted out billing systems to be able to match it."
He called the launch of City Fido an "irrational" move backed by a "ridiculous," unsustainable price that undermines the health of the entire wireless industry.
"There's no return on investment with a $40 unlimited wireless plan.
"There's one company that tried this in the U.S. called Leap Wireless, and I think they filed for Chapter 11," said Cope, adding that Microcell also doesn't have the network coverage or capacity to support the service properly.
One industry analyst, who asked not to be named, said Telus is trying to get Microcell to back off its City Fido plan. He said both Bell Mobility and Rogers Wireless think Microcell's City Fido price plan is "insane," and that both companies may strike back with campaigns of their own.
Another theory is that Microcell is trying to become a nuisance so that Rogers Wireless will buy it just to eliminate a competitor.
"I think Telus Mobility's advertisements may be a bit of a knee-jerk reaction," said another analyst, who warned that the company might have to address some legal issues by using the Fido trademark and even a picture of a dog in its ads.
Rhéaume said he didn't see the tactics as a big issue, though he added, "we're going to do what needs to be done to protect our brand."
Now I wonder what's going to be the result of this. Maybe Rogers will finally buy Fido. :(
I just hope that CityFido comes to Alberta next.