Telecom rivals BCE Inc. and Telus are jointly developing a faster national wireless network that will transition to a new global standard expected to unfold in the coming few years.
The companies said Friday they are each working to launch fourth-generation so-called long-term evolution technology.
In the nearer term, in time for the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver they plan to install high-speed packet access networks, using a version of the global system for mobile communications (GSM) already used by Rogers Communications.
BCE’s Bell division and Telus signed an enhanced network sharing agreement aimed at lowering the cost and increasing the speed to build a national network which some have estimated would cost $800 million to $1 billion.
Telus CEO Darren Entwistle said the technology evolution is a win for Canadian consumers.
It will provide greater wireless functionality, including international roaming, fast network speeds and the latest mobile devices.
The new network will continue to support the existing technology now used by both companies.
The faster service could allow them to run trendy new smartphones like the iPhone and Blackberry Bold, which are now available in Canada only from Rogers.
Bell Mobility president Wade Oosterman said the investment is not contingent on the planned December close of the privatization of Canada’s largest telecom company.
While he wouldn’t comment on the status of the $52-billion sale to a consortium led by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Oosterman said the sizable investment demonstrates Bell’s confidence in its performance despite world market turmoil.
“When we look at our industry and our place in it and the things we are trying to accomplish, we have no hesitation whatsoever in making this announcement of this investment at this time,” he said in an interview.
Genuity Capital Markets analyst Dvai Ghose said the delay in launching the 3G network until 2010 will help Rogers to maintain its short-term advantage.
But then the Bell and Telus investment will have a short payback period, he wrote in a note to clients.
