It’s On: Bell’s new HSPA network now live across Canada

Canadians can now access the country’s largest, fastest and most reliable wireless network with Bell Mobility’s launch today of its highly anticipated HSPA network and a range of new HSPA smartphones and turbo sticks.

“Bell is delivering high-speed wireless service to more Canadians in more places than anyone else with the largest and fastest network available anywhere in North America,” said Wade Oosterman, President of Bell Mobility and Chief Brand Officer for Bell. “Bell’s new network is the most advanced in the world, built for speed and reliability from the ground up. And we’ve delivered this world-leading broadband access to thousands of small towns and rural locations just as fast as we have to urban centres across Canada.”

Offering mobile speeds as high as 21 Megabits per second (21 Mbps), the new network covers 1.2 million square kilometres, reaching approximately 20,000 Canadian towns and cities and 93% of the population. The new network also supports international roaming in more than 200 countries around the globe and across the United States too, thanks to a roaming agreement with AT&T, the largest HSPA operator in the US.

“Our all-IP (internet protocol) network infrastructure employs enough new high-speed fibre to wrap halfway around the globe, ensuring that Bell consumer and business clients have the best experience possible in Canadian wireless,” said Stephen Howe, Chief Technology Officer for Bell Mobility. “By employing the very latest HSPA technology available, our brand-new network delivers enhanced call clarity, better in-building coverage and fewer dropped calls, while maximizing the capabilities of the latest HSPA mobile devices.”

Bell now offers a wide range of new HSPA smartphones and other devices from the world’s leading mobile manufacturers:

BlackBerry Bold 9700: The BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone offers top-of-the-line performance in a sleek, compact package, with support for high-speed HSDPA networks around the world and a next-generation (624 MHz) processor. It also includes a touch-sensitive trackpad for fast and accurate navigation, built-in GPS and Wi-Fi®, microSD/SDHC memory card slot with a 2 GB card included, 3.2 MP camera and DataViz® Documents to Go® Suite. The BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone is available for $229.95 on a three-year contract or for $599.95 without a contract.

BlackBerry Bold 9000: The BlackBerry Bold 9000 smartphone support for high-speed HSDPA networks around the world and comes with a large, high resolution display that measures 6.8 cm diagonally, a microSD/SDHC memory card slot and 1 GB of on-board memory. It also includes built-in GPS and Wi-Fi, 2 MP camera and Dataviz Documents to Go Suite. The BlackBerry Bold 9000 smartphone is available for $249.95 on a three-year contract or for $599.95 without a contract.

LG Xenon: Equipped with a large 7.1 cm touchscreen display, the LG Xenon features a 2.0 MP camera with camcorder, integrated media player, HTML web browsing, memory expandable up to 16 GB, a customizable user interface that allows for three distinct home screens, a slide out QWERTY keyboard and threaded message display. The LG Xenon is available for $89.95 on a three-year contract or for $289.95 without a contract.

Nokia 6350: The Nokia 6350 is a flip-phone available in graphite and red that features a MP3 player, 2 MP photo and video camera, Bluetooth 2.1 and memory expandable up to 16 GB. The Nokia 6350 is available exclusively from Bell for $49.95 on a three-year contract or for $249.95 without a contract.

Nokia 2730: The Nokia 2730 offers an MP3 player, 2 MP video and digital camera, messaging tools and up to 2 GB of expandable memory. The Nokia 2730 is exclusively available from Bell for $29.95 on a three-year contract or for $119.95 without a contract.

Novatel U998 HSPA+ Turbo Stick: The U998 HSPA+ Wireless Modem delivers speeds up to 21 Mbps and is a plug and play device compatible with Windows and Mac operating systems. It also doubles as a memory stick with expandable memory up to 32 GB. Exclusive to Bell, the Novatel U998 is available for $74.95 on a three-year contract or for $174.95 without a contract.

Samsung OMNIA II: The Official Mobile Device of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and a Bell Mobility exclusive, the OMNIA II features excellent multimedia support with the world’s largest (9.4 cm/3.7 inch) WVGA AMOLED touchscreen display. It also features Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system, a 5 MP camera with dual LED flash and DVD-quality camcorder, WiFi connectivity, the ability to manage Microsoft documents with applications such as PowerPoint, Word or Excel and memory expandable to 48 GB. Available exclusively from Bell, the Samsung OMNIA II touchscreen smartphone is available for $199.95 on a three-year contract or for $549.95 without a contract.

Samsung Impact: The Impact comes with an advanced motion and speech controlled User Interface, a complete range of messaging tools, integrated media player, full HTML web browser, memory expandable up to 4 GB and a 3 MP camera/camcorder. The Samsung Impact touchscreen smartphone is available for $79.95 on a three-year contract or for $279.95 without a contract.

About Bell

Bell is Canada’s largest communications company, providing consumers and business with solutions to all their communications needs, including Bell Mobility wireless, high-speed Bell Internet, Bell TV direct-to-home satellite television, Bell Home phone local and long distance, and IP-broadband and information and communications technology (ICT) services. Bell is proud to be a Premier National Partner and the Exclusive Telecommunications Partner to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Bell is wholly owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE). For information on Bell’s products and services, please visit www.bell.ca. For corporate information on BCE, please visit www.bce.ca