President, Bell Mobility and Bell Distribution, Chief Brand Officer, Bell Canada
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INTERVIEW WADE OOSTERMAN President, Bell Mobility and Bell Distribution, Chief Brand Officer, Bell Canada s President of Bell Mobility and Bell Distribution, Wade Oosterman leads Bell Canada’s national wireless business and its retail and Adistribution channels. As Chief Brand Officer for Bell Canada, Wade leads brand strategy and direction for one of Canada’s most recognized companies. Mr. Oosterman began his 20- in the distribution operation of Bell year career in telecommunications Cellular, as the wireless business was as an executive with Bell Cellular then known. Those were the very Distribution Services Inc., which earliest days of the wireless phone became the largest sales agent for Bell business in Canada, and it was an Mobility’s predecessor company, Bell exciting time indeed. Now, 20 years Cellular. and many other wireless experiences Wade was also instrumental in the later, it’s hard for me to recognize Bell national buildouts of two wireless as the same company or wireless as carriers, Clearnet Communications the same industry. But then, I look a and TELUS Mobility. He served as little different myself – though I’m Executive Vice President of Sales and surely no less excited about being a Marketing and was a Board member part of this dynamic sector. of Clearnet until 2000, when the I’m especially happy to be a part of company was acquired by TELUS the Mobility team. We have a first-rate Corporation. Wade then served as group of people here, and they’re a big Executive Vice President, Sales and part of the reason Bell Canada itself Marketing for TELUS Mobility and has changed so dramatically. By the Chief Marketing Officer for TELUS. end of 2006, and for the first time in He joined Bell in 2006. its history, the majority of Bell revenue Wireless Telecom: Congratulations was made from growth services such on your appointment as President of as wireless. That’s a major change, Bell Mobility. Can you tell us a little especially for those people who still about what you will be focusing on in think of Bell first and foremost as a your new role? traditional phone company. Wade Oosterman: Thanks very Bell Mobility is here to compete much. I actually started my career in in wireless. We’re working to ensure Photography: Rodney Daw telecom at Bell, serving as an executive we always capture our fair share 24 Wireless Telecom/Issue One 2007 of new subscriber additions, and be when you began your career in this That huge investment, by the way, we’re building on our leading churn business more than 20 years ago? puts us slightly ahead of the US in numbers with an intensified focus on W.O.: As I mentioned, the terms of investment per subscriber, customer service and retention. We’re Canadian wireless business has seen which says a lot about both the looking at a refreshed and expanded fundamental changes in the last two competitive nature and the foresight distribution approach across Canada, decades, and you’ll see those changes of our industry. We’ve been able to and you will certainly see disciplined reflected in Bell Mobility. bring digital wireless coverage to more but very competitive pricing strategies As wireless penetration rates have than 95% of the entire population – a from us. grown dramatically and the price real feat when you consider the vast A great example there is our Solo of voice calling has dropped, we’ve geography of this country and the fact brand, which we’re rolling out as seen usage go through the roof across that our population density is about a national discount offering with both the consumer and business three people per square kilometre. The pricing that will not be beat, and with sides. When I think back to when US has a density 10 times that, and features that make it attractive for I first started in the business, the Europe and Asia of course have much people to sign up. phones were like bricks and they cost denser population distributions still. OOSTERMAN We’ll continue to expand and more than anyone but the heaviest Yet our service, pricing and coverage enhance our networks, including the business user could afford. Now? are very comparable. ongoing buildout of our high-speed The power of the mobile devices we There is one other thing we knew wireless data services. We’re already offer is incredible, the pricing is truly even 20 years ago – that wireless upgrading to the newest generation of affordable and there’s a device for would be a fast growing and very wireless data network technology, and every need and price range. They let competitive business. But back then, the even higher throughput speeds will you talk, download music, send text there were really only two wireless soon make wireless video-conferencing messages, watch movies… carriers. Now there are three truly and other bandwidth-intensive When cellular service was originally national operator plus multiple brands business applications a reality. launched in Canada, the World and MVNOs. So there are a lot of That capital investment lines up Wide Web was still eight years away people spending a lot of time every with our strong focus on data services, and the Internet itself was limited day figuring out how to deliver the as evidenced by our continued mostly to academics and government. products and services that will do rollout of innovative new features, Downloading wasn’t even part of even more for their customers. such as our recent mobile movies the language. Who knew that a tiny I’d say the industry’s outstanding announcement. Canadians have mobile phone could be a messaging record of investment, innovation already selected the mobile phone as device, an Internet access point, that and service flows directly from that the one device they’ll carry with them we could even fit a video camera in intensely competitive structure. at all times, and we aim to ensure we one – and that people would use that W.T.: What do think will be the provide them with the latest and the functionality every day? major impacts on both the industry best in pricing and service offerings. I’m proud of the investments we’ve and consumers now that Canada At Bell, we’re able to offer the full made in the industry. There are at has introduced wireless number range of communications assets to least 25,000 people working directly portability? our customers, including high-speed in wireless across Canada, and the W.O.: Wireless is a high-profile Internet access, satellite television industry is creating at least 1,500 new business that gets plenty of attention, and a lot more. Overall, we think we jobs every year. And as an industry, so it can be easy to over-estimate the have a pretty compelling offer to the we’ve poured more than $20 billion potential impact of number portability marketplace. in investment into our operations to on either consumers or the industry. W.T.: Is today’s wireless landscape serve the 18 million Canadians using While there will be a segment of the anything like you imagined it would wireless every day. public who want to exercise their Bell Mobility President Wade Oosterman (centre) and members of the Bell Mobility team Wireless Telecom/Issue One 2007 25 choice to move their numbers from result of competition, and both the wireless carrier is viable or would one one provider to another for various business user and the consumer have meaningfully increase competition in reasons, we haven’t perceived a huge benefited – as the usage numbers Canada? pent-up demand by any means. underline. W.O.: The real questions are, The experience with number The industry’s ability to get the should there be special measures to portability in the US shows there cost of voice calling down, and keep help support a new participant, and are indeed people who will take pushing it lower, just can’t help but how viable would any entrant be if it advantage of the capability right away, drive usage. Among the G7 countries, needed such measures? but in general there was little overall only US carriers charge less on a per- If you look at this from the impact on churn levels there. In fact in minute basis than we do. That’s really consumer’s point of view, it’s tough to some markets worldwide, the number only on the higher-end big bucket argue that there should be special set- of people switching carriers actually plans, which the US can do more asides of spectrum for a new carrier or decreased when WNP was deployed. easily given its greater population some of the other artificial measures But Canada is just the second density. floated as ways to push a new carrier country in the world after the US Canadians on average pay less than in. Right now, 90% of Canadians to roll out full wireless-to-wireless, half what people do in comparable have at least three wireless carriers wireless-to-wireline and wireline- countries. Consequently, usage is at to choose from in their communities. to-wireless number portability. least twice as high as in countries Given that there are multiple national It was an 18-month process to like the UK, Australia, Germany and and regional providers, not to mention implement because of the many Japan. Over the last five years, our per- the booming MVNO market, many cross-carrier technical hurdles and minute rates have dropped more than Canadians can choose from a whole regulatory changes involved, but in in any other G7 country except the US lot more than three, especially in the end it’s the fastest any country – by over 40%.