Bell Canada: Mobility rings true
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By Julia Yao
Canada, despite its laidback reputation, represents the front line in the struggle against
the data surge. With the world’s highest smartphone penetration rate and a population
density in the bottom ten, staying on the right side of profitable is far from easy; Bell
Canada’s CTO sits down with WinWin to discuss how the operator is doing just that.
When last we spoke with Stephen Howe (November 2008), then CTO of Bell
Mobility, the world was a very different place. The impetus for that interview was his
company’s recent commitment to an HSPA network launch, and today the article
reads as positively quaint. The conversation focused on roaming charges, network
sharing, and Canada’s then modest wireless penetration rates. The word smartphone
did not come up once, nor did the various iterations of social media, data surge,
signaling storm, or pretty much any of the other issues that currently give our readers
sleepless nights. Today, Bell is already seven months into its LTE era, and Mr. Howe
(now EVP & CTO of Bell Canada) is back to talk with us again about where Bell has
been and where it is going.
WinWin: What benefits has HSPA+ network deployment yielded for Bell and its
customers?
Howe: Our HSPA+ network has enabled Bell and our customers to take full
advantage of a truly global ecosystem in wireless communications. Our customers
have gained access to the latest superphones, data services, and international roaming
capability, while Bell has been able to leverage leading-edge network features and
cost advantages.
WinWin: What role did Huawei play in helping Bell with its HSPA+ achievements?
Howe: Huawei was instrumental in delivering a significant portion of our RAN
(Radio Access Network) with the flexibility and support that enabled us to complete a
full network overlay in less than twelve months.
WinWin: Bell is committed to delivering the “best networks” – how would you define
this in terms of customer experience?
Howe: Bell works to deliver the best network quality, broadest coverage and fastest
possible download speeds to our customers across Canada. Our HSPA+ network
supports speeds of up to 21Mbps as a baseline capability. In late 2010, we introduced
dual-carrier HSPA, which now delivers up to 42Mbps to a majority of the Canadian
population, and in September 2011, we introduced LTE, also in partnership with
Huawei, with initial speeds of up to 75Mbps. Our HSPA+ network now covers over
1.5 million square kilometers and 97% of the Canadian population, and we offer LTE
service in 14 urban centers – many more than our largest wireless competitor. In
terms of quality, we look closely at specific customer-centric metrics, compare
ourselves to our competitors, and work hard to ensure that we’re better. One example
would be our recently-launched HD voice service that provides crystal-clear sound
quality and greatly decreased background noise.
WinWin: Bell commenced commercial LTE operations in September 2011. What
have you learned thus far?
Howe: One key lesson so far has been that the preparation work we executed with our
initial HSPA+ implementation ensured a very manageable program in the deployment
of LTE.
WinWin: What have you encountered that you did not expect?
Howe: Given that we are in the early stages of global LTE deployment, we are
pleasantly surprised with the very high level of stability of LTE infrastructure.
WinWin: What are your plans for LTE and what role do you see Huawei playing in
those plans?
Howe: Bell was recently involved in a signing ceremony with Canadian Prime
Minister Stephen Harper in which we confirmed our partnership with Huawei on our
LTE deployment going forward. We will continue to roll out LTE in additional
markets in 2012, including rural and remote locations, contingent on the Canadian
government’s decisions concerning 700MHz spectrum availability. Huawei plays a
major role in our network expansion as our key LTE RAN supplier.
WinWin: Canada’s smartphone penetration rate is the highest in the world. How is
Bell managing with the signaling surges that these phones create on the network?
Howe: Bell Mobility has taken a three-pronged approach to deal with this issue.
1. Proactive forecasting of signaling demands and setting reasonable engineering
limits so the network is provisioned adequately to support demand.
2. Working with our vendors to develop, test, and implement new network features
that deal with smartphone challenges more efficiently (for example, we’re partnering
with Huawei on the Enhanced Fast Dormancy feature to reduce signaling messages).
3. Proactive verification and characterization of smartphone application behavior. Bell
has worked with OEMs and application developers directly on optimizing application
behavior, and we will be participating in a forum being established with Huawei and
network operators to create test procedures and actions to reduce the unique network
impacts of smartphones.
WinWin: Bell purchased CTV (Canada’s largest TV broadcaster) and a significant
interest in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), Canada’s largest sports and
entertainment company. How does content fit into Bell’s strategy?
Howe: The acquisitions of CTV and ownership stake in MLSE (with the latter
transaction expected to close in mid-2012) support Bell’s strategy to invest in
world-leading broadband networks to deliver the best content to any screens our
customers choose.
As Canada’s largest communications provider, Bell is delivering sports, news,
business and entertainment content across traditional television with Bell TV, online
with Bell Internet, and to smartphones and tablets with Bell Mobility. Bell has
certainly taken a leadership in Mobile TV, thanks in large part to our acquisition of
Canada’s No. 1 broadcaster and its more than 30 specialty channels. Our interest in
MLSE and its NHL, NBA and MLS pro sports teams will also ensure access to the
best live sports content going forward.
WinWin: How has Huawei’s partnership with Bell worked out over the past few years
and what do you expect for the future?
Howe: The Bell-Huawei partnership has worked well over the past four years because
Huawei has been able to deliver the key enabling products that we need to grow our
wireless network at such a critical time in our development. I anticipate that we will
build on this momentum as the wireless network evolves, and foresee opportunities
for Huawei to grow their business with Bell in other areas of the network.
WinWin: Bell and Huawei have set up a Joint Innovation Center. What do you hope
for it to achieve?
Howe: We expect the Joint Innovation Center to bring forward opportunities and
challenges that remain unsolved in the Bell network and the networks of other
operators. We’ll work with Huawei to define, develop, test, and implement solutions
that will help not only Bell but other Huawei customers around the world. Bell is one
of the biggest spenders on R&D in Canada (in fact second only to Research In Motion)
and we’re excited to work with a global leader like Huawei to move mobile
innovation forward.
WinWin: What would you consider Huawei’s key strengths in helping Bell achieve its
objectives?
Howe: Huawei’s key strength is its global perspective as a major telecom
infrastructure provider, which fits Bell’s desire to bring the world’s best technology to
Canadians. This international view enables Huawei to consider a broad range of
inputs as they make decisions to develop product and services, and has created a
strong desire in the company to deliver technology insight and capabilities that lead
the global industry. Huawei also provides an exceptionally talented pool of experts
who understand the importance of teamwork – qualities that are shared by our team at
Bell. It has been a very positive and productive relationship.
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