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81-591: Bell-owned Virgin Mobile Canada as well as Loblaws prepaid PC Telecom , operate as MVNOs on the Bell Mobility network. Some of Bell Canada's regional subsidiaries continue to operate their own wireless networks separate from (but generally allowing for roaming with) Bell Mobility; these are Northwestel (NMI Mobility and Latitude Wireless), Télébec (Télébec Mobilité), and NorthernTel (NorthernTel Mobility). In July 2006, Bell Mobility assumed responsibility for

162-686: A mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) using the Bell Mobility network. At the time, Virgin Mobile was operating solely as a prepaid service. The company's website showcased several feature phones it offered, and advertised itself as a "no catch" mobile operator. Virgin Mobile Canada was the first mobile carrier in Canada to launch without a system access fee. The company's “no catch” campaign at launch featured cheeky advertisements likening existing Canadian mobile carriers as “the catch”, and Virgin Mobile Canada as

243-521: A "Member Benefits" loyalty program to Members. This allows Virgin Plus Members access exclusive contests, discounts, other one-of-a-kind opportunities. Categories originally included only four pillars: music , entertainment , fashion , travel . However, the program has evolved to include more partnerships that provide value for Members, but fall outside of these categories, such as food offers from Pizza Pizza , and New York Fries . On February 2, 2011,

324-501: A $ 150 subsidy on their new phone, Gold Plans offered Members a $ 250 subsidy on their new phone, and Platinum offered a $ 500 subsidy on their new phone. Since then, the subsidy offering has evolved to offer Members up to $ 200 off the retail price of their phone on Silver Plans, up to $ 300 off the retail price of their phone with Gold Plans, and up to $ 700 off the retail price of their phone with Platinum Plans. On November 6, 2013, Virgin Mobile became Wireless Code of Conduct compliant before

405-441: A 12-digit number sent by the handset to the cellular system for billing purposes, uniquely identified that phone on the network. The system then allowed or disallowed calls and/or features based on its customer file. A person intercepting an ESN/MDN pair could clone the combination onto a different phone and use it in other areas for making calls without paying. Cellular phone cloning became possible with off-the-shelf technology in

486-499: A Virgin Mobile SIM card, and receive 10% off their monthly rate every month on a 30 Day Term. In conjunction with the launch of the third-generation iPad , Virgin Mobile Canada customers were able to access Bell Mobility 's LTE network. Postpaid phones are available with LTE. The 4G LTE network provides peak speeds up to 75 Mbit/s, with expected average speeds of 12 – 25 Mbit/s. Outside 4G LTE coverage areas, customers fall back to

567-578: A day. In Q4 2012, Virgin Plus added a prepaid incentive: for every six months of payments on a plan costing $ 20/month or more, Virgin Plus will allow that Member to add unlimited local calling to any one regular number. Until Q1 2013, Virgin Plus had two types of postpaid plans: Choice and Combo. The Choice category was low-end and only included talk and text, while Combo was high-end and added mobile Internet access. On January 25, 2013, Virgin Plus renamed Choice to Silver and Combo to Platinum. A third plan type, Gold,

648-542: A joint venture between Virgin Group and BCE Inc. , BCE took sole ownership on July 1, 2009, when it closed a deal to purchase the stake it did not already own. Virgin Plus calls its customers 'Members' and offers a Member Benefits program, which provides its customers with special offers, discounts, and VIP experiences. The VirginMobile.ca domain name was registered by Virgin Enterprises Limited on July 4, 2003, with

729-468: A large number of users. In general terms, AMPS was very similar to the older "0G" Improved Mobile Telephone Service it replaced, but used considerably more computing power to select frequencies, hand off conversations to land lines , and handle billing and call setup. What really separated AMPS from older systems is the "back end" call setup functionality. In AMPS, the cell centers could flexibly assign channels to handsets based on signal strength, allowing

810-473: A long-term agreement to use the Virgin brand. Following this, Bell greatly reduced its investments into Solo Mobile in order to invest in and improve its new Virgin brand. On December 21, 2009, Virgin Mobile Canada's then-president Robert Blumenthal promised "a very different Virgin Mobile" with "higher-value devices and services" in 2010. Virgin Mobile officially launched HSPA+ services on February 2, 2010. This

891-539: A month. Currently, the Silver rate plan level includes a variety of plans both with either Pay Per use data or built-in data to appeal to different user lifestyles. Those with a BlackBerry running OS 7.1 or lower, using Virgin Plus cannot obtain Pay Per Use Data . Instead, Virgin Plus offers unlimited BBM at no extra charge with certain monthly plans. Customers have the option to charge BlackBerry App World downloads or

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972-576: A non-Bell Galaxy S, or even Bell's Samsung Galaxy S II , support the Video Calling service. These Android -based devices, however, can use the included Google Talk for videoconferencing as long as they have an Internet connection available. In conjunction with the 2006 Olympics, Bell Mobility introduced a pair of anthropomorphic CGI beavers named Frank (voiced by Norm Macdonald ) and Gordon (voiced by Ken Hudson Campbell ), who constantly got into misadventures which led to Frank getting flustered with

1053-568: A patent for this work in 1973. The first call on the prototype connected, reportedly, to a wrong number. While Motorola was developing a cellular phone, from 1968 to 1983 Bell Labs worked out a system called Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), which became the first cellular network standard in the United States. The Bell system deployed ASTM in Chicago, Illinois, first as an equipment test serving approximately 100 units in 1978, and subsequently as

1134-417: A premium if they want to increase the maximum theoretical speeds from 7.2 Mbit/s to 21 Mbit/s. No additional usage is included when paying for the speed upgrade. Bell's policy is to only allow the sale of Turbo Hub service with its own Turbo Hub devices. Some grandfathered customers have an unlimited mobile Internet plan or add-on. These are usually limited to older and slower CDMA devices such as

1215-479: A prepaid plan that has no monthly fee. Customers paid only for the services they used, such as per-minute billing for local calling or per-message fee for each SMS sent. Virgin Plus never charged for received messages, and this practice remains effective to this day. Long-distance calls to Canada or the United States were charged at double the local airtime rate. The $ 15 top up voucher expires after 30 days, while

1296-516: A service test planned for 2,000 billed units. Motorola and others designed and built the cellular phones for this and other cellular systems. Louis M. Weinberg, a marketing director at AT&T, was named the first president of the AMPS corporation. He served in this position during the startup of the AMPS subsidiary of AT&T. Martin Cooper , a former general manager for the systems division at Motorola, led

1377-465: A team that produced the first cellular handset in 1973 and made the first phone call from it. In 1983 Motorola introduced the DynaTAC 8000x , the first commercially available cellular phone small enough to be easily carried. He later introduced the so-called Bag Phone . In 1992, the first smartphone , called IBM Simon , used AMPS. Frank Canova led its design at IBM and it was demonstrated that year at

1458-513: A traditional television service. Virgin TV is accessed through an app, as opposed to a set-top box. In contrast to Bell Fibe, there are no quality of service guarantees as no bandwidth is dedicated for video which can use up to 850 MB per hour of bandwidth for standard quality. Some channels are available from anywhere in Canada, while the majority are only available when connected to the customer's home Internet connection. Since 2010, Virgin Plus offers

1539-424: Is a daily allowance, while the others are monthly allowances. Flexible data plans are also available. This is used for Bell Mobility's Internet-only plans and some smartphone plans, which begins with a certain usage limit at a lower tier. if this is exceeded, the customer moves to the next higher tier with a slightly larger allowance. The flexible "Turbo Hub flex plan" from Bell differs in that customers have to pay

1620-1047: Is a generic term that applies to many 2G cellular systems). D-AMPS, commercially deployed since 1993, was a digital , 2G standard used mainly by AT&T Mobility and U.S. Cellular in the United States, Rogers Wireless in Canada, Telcel in Mexico, Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM) in Brazil, VimpelCom in Russia, Movilnet in Venezuela, and Cellcom in Israel. In most areas, D-AMPS is no longer offered and has been replaced by more advanced digital wireless networks. AMPS and D-AMPS have now been phased out in favor of either CDMA2000 or GSM , which allow for higher capacity data transfers for services such as WAP , Multimedia Messaging System (MMS), and wireless Internet access. There are some phones capable of supporting AMPS, D-AMPS and GSM all in one phone (using

1701-480: Is available but its LTE network is not available. As of February 2016, Bell Mobility has launched voice over LTE (VoLTE) . In June 2020, Bell launched 5G services in Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver using 1700 MHz AWS-3 spectrum (band n66). Bell has used equipment from Ericsson and Nokia Networks . Feature phones and smartphones supporting HSPA and LTE are offered by Bell, and are generally

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1782-570: Is available to all Postpaid and Prepaid Members and provides exclusive discounts and VIP experiences with many well-known brands in the fashion, travel, music, and entertainment space. Since launch, the program has grown and offers exclusive offers for its Members. In response to competition from major mobile brands and new entrants, Virgin Mobile introduced a City Unlimited plan on February 18, 2011. Later that year, in order to imitate Koodo Mobile 's pricing, Virgin Mobile reduced Canadian long-distance charges, eventually eliminating them altogether. For

1863-1027: Is called "Virgin Mobile at Much". The third retail store was opened in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Starting Q3 2012, select Virgin Mobile Canada retail locations became what are known as 'Service Lounges', A Service Lounge offers live, in person Warranty Support and can accept broken devices eligible for repair under the Virgin Mobile Standard Warranty Program in addition to issuing 'Loaner Devices'. In Q4 2012, Virgin Mobile Canada also started offering an extended warranty program called ' Virgin Smart Care ' (VSC). As of October 2018, there are three tiers of VSC: Plus $ 6/month (mobile phones & select smartphones), Premium $ 9/month (mobile phones, select smartphones & tablets), Premium $ 12/month (premium select smartphones & tablets). Advanced Mobile Phone System Advanced Mobile Phone System ( AMPS )

1944-415: Is called TCARE, short for text message care. It is used by sending a blank message to the phone number TCARE (82273). Bell offers four Internet-only plans and several smartphone plans and add-ons for customers wishing to access mobile broadband . Various fixed data allowances are offered by Bell: 10, 20, 100, 300 and 500 MB, as well as 1 to 6 GB, 10 GB and 15 GB. The 20 MB add-on

2025-724: Is in portions of all Canadian provinces and territories, but it is not possible to drive in Canada between the Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast without going through areas without any cellular coverage, as there are gaps in cellular coverage in British Columbia and Ontario. Bell launched LTE by using the 1700 MHz (Band 4) frequency in Toronto and surrounding areas on September 14, 2011. Since then, Bell has expanded LTE into most areas of Canada where it has HSPA coverage, and launched LTE on to

2106-572: Is typically referred to as "crippling". Examples of claims of restricted features are the inability to perform Bluetooth file transfers, for example with the OBEX profile or with a USB cable. Restrictions also include increasing the GPS lock time (2–10 minutes) and resolution (1-2.5 km) of third-party applications while maintaining the speed (10-15 s) and accuracy (10–25 m) of the branded GPS Nav program. GPS Nav service costs $ 10/month or $ 3.50/day in addition to

2187-521: The COMDEX computer-industry trade-show. A refined version of the product was marketed to consumers in 1994 by BellSouth under the name Simon Personal Communicator . The Simon was the first device that can be properly referred to as a "smartphone", even though that term was not yet coined. AMPS is a first-generation cellular technology that uses separate frequencies , or "channels", for each conversation. It therefore required considerable bandwidth for

2268-952: The Calgary Stampede in Calgary , AB, and Virgin Mobile presents Squamish Valley Music Festival in Squamish Valley , BC. Virgin Plus offers Members the opportunity to enter contests on the Member Benefits webpage to win VIP experiences at these events. Virgin Plus sponsors the music venue Virgin Mobile Corona Theatre in Montreal , and formerly sponsored Virgin Mobile Mod Club in Toronto . Since its inception, Virgin Plus has its own dedicated retail kiosks. Such booths are usually located in

2349-511: The Canadian Internet Registration Authority . When accessed, it displayed a domain parking page until June 14, 2004, when it was replaced with an announcement. There were also links to information about the company, related news articles, and career opportunities. Virgin Mobile claimed: "we work like maniacs to bring you Canada’s most awesome mobile phone company." Virgin Mobile launched in Canada on March 1, 2005, as

2430-492: The GAIT standard). In 2002, the FCC decided to no longer require A and B carriers to support AMPS service as of February 18, 2008. All AMPS carriers have converted to a digital standard such as CDMA2000 or GSM. Digital technologies such as GSM and CDMA2000 support multiple voice calls on the same channel and offer enhanced features such as two-way text messaging and data services. Unlike in

2511-576: The Google Nexus series is the first in the world to run the Android 4 operating system. On November 29, Virgin Mobile invited its Members to join the Galaxy Nexus Tester Team. Each Member in this team of five received a complimentary Galaxy Nexus, but they had to tweet about their experiences with the device. The smartphone was launched on December 8, and the five Tester Team members were chosen on

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2592-637: The $ 25 and then $ 50 are valid for two months. The most popular voucher option for Pay Per Use members is the $ 100 voucher which is valid for 365 days. Any account that has not been topped up or remains inactive for 120 days will be automatically deactivated and the phone number will be reassigned to new members activating their prepaid cell phones. There are also prepaid monthly plans and add-ons available at Virgin Plus. The initial pay-per-use rates, however, have drastically increased over time. For example, Virgin Plus eliminated talk time discounts previously available for customers who talked for more than five minutes in

2673-729: The 1980s and into the 2000s. As of February 18, 2008, carriers in the United States were no longer required to support AMPS and companies such as AT&T and Verizon Communications have discontinued this service permanently. AMPS was discontinued in Australia in September 2000, in India by October 2004, in Israel by January 2010, and Brazil by 2010. The first cellular network efforts began at Bell Labs and with research conducted at Motorola . In 1960, John F. Mitchell became Motorola's chief engineer for its mobile-communication products, and oversaw

2754-506: The 1990s. Would-be cloners required three key items : The radio, when tuned to the proper frequency, would receive the signal transmitted by the cell phone to be cloned, containing the phone's ESN/MDN pair. This signal would feed into the sound-card audio-input of the PC, and Banpaia would decode the ESN/MDN pair from this signal and display it on the screen. The hacker could then copy that data into

2835-463: The 2600 MHz (Band 7) frequency for additional bandwidth in March 2012 and on to the 700 MHz spectrum (paired bands LTE Band 12/17 and 13 and unpaired Band 29) in 2014. Bell will use either Band 13 or Band 12 depending on provinces. As of May 2017, LTE coverage reaches 97% of Canada's population, but there are gaps in coverage in smaller communities and between communities, where Bell's HSPA+ network

2916-428: The 3G HSPA+ network. On August 1, 2013, Virgin Mobile Canada discontinued its SuperTab proposition, and introduced a new Silver, Gold, and Platinum Plan proposition where all plans are only available on 30 Day (monthly) terms or 2 Year Agreements. This allows Members to choose a rate plan level to receive a higher or lower subsidy when they activate a new phone with Virgin Mobile. At launch, Silver Plans offered Members

2997-514: The 850 MHz Cellular band. For each market area, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allowed two licensees (networks) known as "A" and "B" carriers. Each carrier within a market used a specified "block" of frequencies consisting of 21 control channels and 395 voice channels. Originally, the B (wireline) side license was usually owned by the local phone company, and the A (non-wireline) license

3078-507: The BBC reported a customer with a $ 7/month unlimited mobile browser plan received a $ 85,000 bill. The customer had used his phone as a wireless modem for his computer, and so data transferred was not included under the customer's unlimited mobile browser plan. Bell Mobility now releases in detail acceptable data usage in the terms of service. [2] The BBC reported "Canadians complain that their mobile phone charges are much higher for comparable service in

3159-680: The BBM Music service directly on their Virgin Plus bill. Virgin Plus TV (initially known as simply Virgin TV ) is a television and Internet service bundle that launched on July 14, 2020. It is available in Ontario and Quebec as a white-label version of Bell Fibe TV 's app-only product (previously known as Alt TV). Virgin TV service must be paired with an unlimited Virgin Plus home Internet package capable of 15 Mbit/s or higher bandwidth speeds. The service uses an Internet connection and does not function as

3240-668: The CDMA and UMTS networks use the 850 and 1900 MHz frequencies. Bell's LTE network uses Band 4 Advanced Wireless Services (AWS 1700/2100 MHz) and Band 2 Personal Communications Service (PCS 1900 MHz) in most coverage areas and Band 7 (2600 MHz) in a few areas. As of April 30, 2019, all CDMA service from Bell has been discontinued. In October 2009, Telus Mobility and Bell announced plans to deploy HSPA technology by 2010 as part of an effort to eventually upgrade to LTE technology. The network, using largely shared infrastructure, launched on November 4, 2009. According to Bell,

3321-454: The Oki 900 phone and reboot it, after which the phone network could not distinguish the Oki from the original phone whose signal had been received. This gave the cloner, through the Oki phone, the ability to use the mobile-phone service of the legitimate subscriber whose phone was cloned – just as if that phone had been physically stolen, except that the subscriber retained his or her phone, unaware that

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3402-469: The US are built into all postpaid plans. All talk and text plans automatically include pay-per-use data, a flexible mobile broadband add-on imitating Koodo's pricing for its "Data Saver" add-on. Initially branded as Commitment-Free Data , Virgin Plus was innovative in that it was the first to charge $ 0 for the add-on. Koodo customers, on the other hand, previously had to pay for their data add-on even if unused for

3483-471: The US which prohibited the FCC type acceptance and sale of any receiver which could tune the frequency ranges occupied by analog AMPS cellular services. Though the service is no longer offered, these laws remain in force (although they may no longer be enforced). In 1991, Motorola proposed an AMPS enhancement known as narrowband AMPS (NAMPS or N-AMPS). Later, many AMPS networks were partially converted to D-AMPS , often referred to as TDMA (though TDMA

3564-498: The USA. Bell launched a proprietary Video Calling service on November 4, 2009 for select HSPA+ mobile phones. The service featured a cost of $ 5 CAD per month for unlimited video calls. It was supported by the LG Xenon , Nokia C6 , Nokia N97 , Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant, Samsung Omnia II and Samsung Wave smartphones. These devices have all been discontinued. It is unknown whether or not

3645-694: The United States". In July 2008, along with Telus Mobility Bell introduced charges of 15¢ for incoming SMS messages. Critics were quick to point out that there is no way of blocking incoming message fees and suggested Bell and Telus were price fixing as both had announced the fees simultaneously. Bell (and Telus) are now being sued by frustrated consumers and subscribers, as they demand change in text charges. Many customers were frustrated because this fee also apply to existing customers with ongoing contracts. In addition to running its own retail operations, Bell co-owns Glentel alongside their chief telecom and media rival, Rogers . Bell Mobility also distributes through

3726-476: The United States, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and Industry Canada have not set any requirement for maintaining AMPS service in Canada. Rogers Wireless has dismantled their AMPS (along with IS-136 ) network; the networks were shut down May 31, 2007. Bell Mobility and Telus Mobility , who operated AMPS networks in Canada, announced that they would observe

3807-551: The abilities and lack thereof is recommended before purchasing a phone or PDA device, as some desired features may be lacking in the initial choice. Some clients claim that Bell Mobility withholds firmware upgrades, especially for devices that are not meeting sales expectations. While some SKUs do receive updates on a regular basis, Bell Mobility is reluctant to release upgrades that add enhancements to product, focusing only on firmware releases that fix issues. Oftentimes those upgrades fail to become available as well. In December 2007

3888-428: The ability to set one's own timeframe for unlimited calling, as opposed to the windows generally offered by competing mobile companies. Since then, postpaid plans have become a popular choice for new and existing Members, and plans continue to evolve in the highly competitive telecom market. On July 1, 2009, Bell Mobility acquired 50% of Virgin Mobile Canada that it previously did not own for $ 142 million and entered into

3969-424: The advertising, and even boycotts. This marketing technique is still used by Virgin Mobile Canada to this day. In February 2008, Virgin Mobile Canada launched postpaid wireless service. To promote and encourage Canadians to consider the new postpaid service, the company released a new slogan, "It's Better to Be a Member". At launch, this was known as 'myPlan', and the company offered a multitude of options, including

4050-546: The antics of the dimwitted Gordon. Analysts covering a potential restructuring of BCE suggested getting rid of the Frank and Gordon ad campaign. They have also criticized some of Bell Mobility's initiatives as failing to tap the market, such as offering full-length movies. The ad campaign was canceled by Bell on August 1, 2008 and replaced with the "Today just got better" campaign. Some clients of Bell Mobility have claimed that their phones' features have been restricted. This action

4131-464: The base stations, paired with 416 frequencies in the 869–894 MHz range for transmissions from base stations to the mobile stations. Each cell site used a different subset of these channels than its neighbors to avoid interference. This significantly reduced the number of channels available at each site in real-world systems. Each AMPS channel had a one way bandwidth of 30 kHz, for a total of 60 kHz for each duplex channel. Laws were passed in

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4212-459: The battery and/or antenna. The Oki 900 could listen in to AMPS phone-calls right out-of-the-box with no hardware modifications. AMPS was originally standardized by American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as EIA/TIA/IS-3. EIA/TIA/IS-3 was superseded by EIA/TIA-553 and TIA interim standard with digital technologies, the cost of wireless service is so low that the problem of cloning has virtually disappeared. AMPS cellular service operated in

4293-608: The brand announced a partnership with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures . The following month, Virgin Mobile partnered with H&M . In June of that same year, Flight Centre began offering exclusive discounts to Virgin Mobile Members. Numerous other partners have been added over time, such as New York Fries , The Body Shop and Zipcar . Cineplex Entertainment , and Porter Airlines were added in May 2012, and while current Cineplex offers are only valid for new Cineplex Scene customers,

4374-633: The cinema chain announced future deals for existing customers as well. In 2013 & 2014, more new partners have come on board, including Banana Republic , Warner Bros. Entertainment , G Adventures , and Dynamite. Virgin Plus also sponsors several nationally recognized events & creates unique experiences and opportunities for Members. For example, Virgin Plus sponsors the Virgin Mobile presents Osheaga Musique Festival et Arts in Montreal , QC, Virgin Mobile Stampede Concert Series at

4455-639: The control centers. Cellular companies who own an A or B license (such as Verizon and Alltel) were required to provide analog service until February 18, 2008. After that point, however, most cellular companies were eager to shut down AMPS and use the remaining channels for digital services. OnStar transitioned to digital service with the help of data transport technology developed by Airbiquity, but warned customers who could not be upgraded to digital service that their service would permanently expire on January 1, 2008. Telstra (formerly Telecom Australia) – operated an AMPS network in Australia from February 1987 until

4536-464: The cost of a data plan. The phones affected include the BlackBerry 8830 World Edition, BlackBerry 8130 Pearl, and BlackBerry 8330 Curve. Some clients claim that Bell Mobility purposely restricts these features in order to force them to use the data services and as a result pay more usage charges. Methods around these restrictions are to use an external memory card or software such as BitPim . Researching

4617-470: The cure to unclear contracts and undesirable hidden fees. Sir Richard Branson helped create excitement at launch by zip-lining from a high-rise building into Yonge-Dundas Square in a superhero costume, and drove a monster truck over three cars symbolizing “The Big Three” mobile carriers in Canada – Rogers, Telus, and Bell. Since its launch, Virgin Mobile has used edgy and controversial advertising, leading to demands for an apology, requests to cease and desist

4698-587: The deadline given to all mobile carriers in Canada by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). On July 16, 2021, the company informed customers of an upcoming rebranding as Virgin Plus, effective July 19, 2021. In announcing the rebranding publicly, the company noted that it reflects the brand's expansion into home internet and TV service in some parts of Canada. Virgin Plus customers use Bell Mobility's LTE , HSPA+ , and 5G networks. Virgin Plus offers smartphones from

4779-458: The development and marketing of the first pager to use transistors. Motorola had long produced mobile telephones for automobiles, but these large and heavy models consumed too much power to allow their use without the automobile's engine running. Mitchell's team, which included Dr. Martin Cooper , developed portable cellular telephony. Cooper and Mitchell were among the Motorola employees granted

4860-487: The end of 2000. As part of the introduction of mobile phone competition in Australia, the Australian government mandated GSM as the new standard for mobile networks, and required that Telstra close the AMPS network by 2000. However, GSM base stations could only serve a limited area. While this was OK for Europe, it meant that GSM could not cover large, sparsely populated rural areas of Australia cost effectively. Telstra deployed

4941-423: The final 832 (416 pairs per carrier). The additional frequencies were from the band held in reserve for future (inevitable) expansion. These frequencies were immediately adjacent to the existing cellular band. These bands had previously been allocated to UHF TV channels 70–83. Each duplex channel was composed of 2 frequencies . 416 of these were in the 824–849 MHz range for transmissions from mobile stations to

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5022-588: The following day. Other Canadian carriers sold the Galaxy Nexus in 2012. On January 9, 2012, Virgin Mobile Canada launched a limited time promotion where postpaid customers who activated only a SIM card during that month would obtain an ongoing $ 5/month discount when they subscribed to any talk and text plan. Those with a smartphone plan would receive an ongoing $ 10/month discount instead. On January 25, 2013, Virgin Mobile Canada introduced "Bring Your Own Phone (BYOP)" which allows members to bring their own phone, get

5103-498: The following manufacturers, available on the HSPA+ and LTE network. They can be activated on either a prepaid or a postpaid plan: Various services are offered by Virgin Plus for both prepaid and postpaid customers. Virgin Plus offers eSIM to their customers to connect and access their network. Customers with the eSIM compatible device will be able to utilize their eSIM product to get the services. Since its inception, Virgin Plus offers

5184-646: The former Aliant wireless operations in Atlantic Canada as part of a larger restructuring of both Bell and Aliant, and continued to do business there as Aliant Mobility until re-branding as Bell in April 2008. Bell similarly acquired MTS in Manitoba in 2017, rebranding it as Bell MTS; initially operating autonomously as Bell MTS Mobility , its wireless customers were brought under Bell Mobility in late-2018. Although both are different and independent from one another, both

5265-677: The independent Cellcom Communications , mainly in the Greater Montreal area. Bell purchased ownership in The Source (formerly known as RadioShack ) to increase its retail presence. Virgin Mobile Canada Virgin Plus is a Canadian provider of postpaid and prepaid wireless voice, text and data communications services throughout Canada. They also offer home Internet and TV services in select areas of Ontario and Quebec. Launched as Virgin Mobile Canada on March 1, 2005, as

5346-480: The middle of a mall hall, but can sometimes be found in its own corner or built as a mini-store. On June 10, 2011, Virgin Group chairman Richard Branson and Glee star Cory Monteith celebrated the opening of Virgin Mobile Canada's first street-front store, located in Montreal, Quebec . A few days later, on June 17, a second Virgin store was built inside the MuchMusic headquarters in Toronto, Ontario . This store

5427-442: The now-discontinued Palm Pre , and normally cannot be used for tethering unless the device is a mobile broadband modem . Its active Virgin Mobile Canada brand also have grandfathered accounts with unlimited mobile broadband. Bell Mobile TV was launched for Bell smartphones on October 18, 2010. On April 24, 2012, Bell launched an improved Push-To-Talk (PTT) service. It is powered by Bell's newer HSPA+ network, in contrast to

5508-556: The operator's older PTT (Officially titled 10-4) service which used the CDMA network. HSPA+ service is available at one flat rate for unlimited Bell-to-Bell PTT service from and to Canada. The monthly service can either be purchased alone, or added to any plan at a lower cost. PTT roaming in the United States or other countries is billed per megabyte. One megabyte offers approximately ten minutes of PTT talk time. Consequently, Bell offers approximately 100 to 400 PTT roaming minutes for traveling in

5589-508: The phone had been cloned—at least until that subscriber received his or her next bill. The problem became so large that some carriers required the use of a PIN before making calls. Eventually, the cellular companies initiated a system called RF Fingerprinting, whereby it could determine subtle differences in the signal of one phone from another and shut down some cloned phones. Some legitimate customers had problems with this though if they made certain changes to their own phone, such as replacing

5670-479: The same as offered by the other two large carriers in Canada, Rogers Wireless and Telus Mobility . Due to the age of the technology as deployed by Bell, CDMA smartphones are no longer supported by Bell Mobility. The first cell phone conversation in Canada took place on the Bell network between Jean Drapeau and Art Eggleton , the mayors of Montreal and Toronto, on July 1, 1985. The first cell phone customer in Canada

5751-477: The same frequency to be re-used, without interference, if locations were separated enough. The channels were grouped so a specific set was different of the one used on the cell nearby. This allowed a larger number of phones to be supported over a geographical area. AMPS pioneers coined the term "cellular" because of its use of small hexagonal "cells" within a system. AMPS suffered from many weaknesses compared to today's digital technologies. As an analog standard, it

5832-490: The same reason, a plan with unlimited Canadian long-distance minutes was launched by Virgin, priced identically to Koodo's equivalent offering. The carrier is notable for being one of Canada's two carriers to exclusively carry the Galaxy Nexus smartphone for the country's Christmas and holiday season of 2011. Bell Mobility , Virgin Mobile's parent, also has this exclusivity during that time period. The flagship device from

5913-480: The same timetable as outlined by the FCC in the United States, and as a result would not begin to dismantle their AMPS networks until after February 2008. OnStar relied heavily on North American AMPS service for its subscribers because, when the system was developed, AMPS offered the most comprehensive wireless coverage in the US. In 2006, ADT asked the FCC to extend the AMPS deadline due to many of their alarm systems still using analog technology to communicate with

5994-486: The single-channel HSPA+ network is available to 96% of the Canadian population. It provides download speeds of up to 21 Mbit/s, with typical speeds ranging between 3½ and 8 Mbit/s. The dual-channel network, on the other hand, began in 2010 and is available to 70% of the Canadian population. It can reach download speeds of up to 42 Mbit/s but with typical speeds of 7 to 14 Mbit/s. Bell's HSPA+ network coverage

6075-559: Was Victor Surerus, a travelling funeral director out of Peterborough, Ontario who purchased a $ 2,700 CAD telephone set and took out a service subscription with Bell Canada in July 1985. Bell Mobility discontinued its Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) analog mobile network in February 2008. Bell offers a service to check account balances, minutes and megabytes of mobile data used, add features and answers to frequently asked questions. The service

6156-571: Was also added on that day. This category is considered mid-range. Virgin Plus changed its focus to postpaid plans since 2008. Virgin Plus still has a few minor distinctions which make some of its plans unique. For example, Virgin Plus's plans allowed Members to choose either the caller ID and voicemail calling features or the SMS and MMS messaging features. More recently, Canada-Wide minutes, Voicemail & Caller ID, Unlimited International Text Messaging, and Unlimited Picture and Text Messaging to Canada and

6237-555: Was an analog mobile phone system standard originally developed by Bell Labs and later modified in a cooperative effort between Bell Labs and Motorola. It was officially introduced in the Americas on October 13, 1983, and was deployed in many other countries too, including Israel in 1986, Australia in 1987, Singapore in 1988, and Pakistan in 1990. It was the primary analog mobile phone system in North America (and other locales) through

6318-419: Was given to wireless telephone providers. At the inception of cellular in 1983, the FCC had granted each carrier within a market 333 channel pairs (666 channels total). By the late 1980s, the cellular industry's subscriber base had grown into the millions across America and it became necessary to add channels for additional capacity. In 1989, the FCC granted carriers an expansion from the previous 666 channels to

6399-400: Was introduced on August 23 as a response to competition from other providers, especially Koodo Mobile . The SuperTab was only available to postpaid Members, while HSPA+ products and services were unavailable to prepaid Members until around spring in 2011. To differentiate itself from other mobile providers, Virgin Mobile Canada launched its Member Benefits program in 2010. This program

6480-542: Was promoted with a “SIM Fashion Show” launch event featuring Victoria's Secret models. The company launched HSPA+ with several phones, including the BlackBerry Bold 9700, BlackBerry Curve 8530, the iPhone 3G , iPhone 3GS , MiFi and Samsung M330. A Broadband2Go USB mobile broadband modem was also part of the launch lineup. To prepare for the back-to-school season of that year, the Virgin Mobile SuperTab

6561-455: Was susceptible to static and noise, and there was no protection from 'eavesdropping' using a scanner or an older TV set that could tune into channels 70–83. In the 1990s, an epidemic of "cloning" cost the cellular carriers millions of dollars. An eavesdropper with specialized equipment could intercept a handset's ESN (Electronic Serial Number) and MDN or CTN (Mobile Directory Number or Cellular Telephone Number). The Electronic Serial Number,

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