MONTREAL - Bell (TSX:BCE) and Telus (TSX:T) customers should have a greater choice of mobile phones, possibly Apple's iPhone, and better prices when the wireless companies roll out next-generation networks in early next year, analysts say.

The move will put both Bell and Telus in a better competitive situation against Rogers Wireless (TSX:RCI.B), analysts said Tuesday.

"Levelling the playing field is what this is all about," said analyst Nick Agostino of Research Capital Corporation.

"The benefit is definitely going to be for the consumer for a change."

Bell and Telus are building an HSPA network which is becoming the main platform for wireless carriers worldwide and is the same kind of network that Rogers has.

The networks are slated to be in place for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

Rogers has had the advantage because of its network, Agostino said.

"They have been able to get all of the latest and greatest devices first."

Rogers currently has the only network in Canada capable of running Apple's iPhone.

Rogers wouldn't comment Tuesday on the length of its agreement with Apple to sell the iPhone to Canadian consumers.

Agostino said with Rogers, Bell and Telus all having the same type of network that should lower prices for data plans that allow consumers to do such things as stream video and prices for the devices themselves. It could also lower contracts to two years from three for some mobile phones, he added.

It has been reported that the iPhone will be coming to Bell and Telus when their new networks are completed.

Telus spokesman Jim Johannsson wouldn't comment on the rumour, but said the new network opens up potentially more mobile phones for consumers when its up and running early next year.

"It's a faster network for consumers who have advanced smartphones or feature phones that have web browsing capabilities," he said.

Bell Mobility also wouldn't comment on whether it would be offering the iPhone in the future.

The new networks also put both Bell and Telus on the path to a more advanced and faster network called LTE, or Long-Term Evolution, that is also expected to eventually become the dominant global standard for wireless carriers.

IDC Canada analyst Kevin Restivo said if the iPhone is eventually sold by Bell and Telus, that would change the landscape for BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (TSX:RIM).

"All of a sudden, RIM's got just a much stronger competitor on its hands when it comes to the consumer segment, in which RIM is already in a fierce battle," Restivo said from Toronto.

RIM and Apple were No. 1 and 2 respectively in North America for smartphone shipments, IDC says.

Restivo said if Bell and Telus eventually sell the iPhone, that's a big opportunity for their customers to upgrade to that touchscreen phone.

More than half of the wireless subscribers in Canada are on those two networks, he said of Bell and Telus.

"It gives those customers one more reason to stay," Restivo said.

Even if the iPhone doesn't come to Bell and Telus, there will be "another hot device," he said.

Rogers said Thursday that in the second half of 2008, it sold about 385,000 3G iPhones. Since the recent launch of the new iPhone 3GS, Rogers and Fido have sold "tens of thousands units," the carrier said.

Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved

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BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. are set to announce an upgrade to a next-generation wireless network next week that will allow the companies to provide the same popular mobile devices, such as the iPhone 3G, that industry leader Rogers Communications Inc. offers, sources have told the Financial Post.

Multiple sources in the telecom industry said Bell Canada and Telus are expected to share the costs of upgrading from their current code division multiple access (CDMA) networks to the globally adopted high speed packet access (HSPA) network. It is estimated to cost the two companies as much as $1-billion and take about one year to install.

The announcement will put pressure on Rogers and not just because its two entrenched competitors will be able to offer a similar high-speed network. As well, new wireless companies may now choose to negotiate with Bell or Telus for roaming agreements, giving the two incumbent telcos a revenue boost.

The new network will allow the companies to support such popular mobile devices as Apple Inc.'s iPhone 3G and Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry Bold, which are already offered by Rogers but so far unavailable to Bell and Telus customers due to incompatible networks.

Nokia Siemens Networks, one of the largest telecommunication-equipment makers in the world, is said to be the vendor that will provide Bell Canada and Telus with the HSPA network upgrade.

Sources said Bell and Telus won't offer so-called "2G" GSM devices to avoid their customers paying roaming charges that would eventually go to Rogers, the only wireless provider in Canada with a GSM network.

Genuity Capital Markets equity analyst Dvai Ghose said avoiding a GSM network build-out will help the companies save capital expenditure costs while being able to tap into the "plethora" of new HSPA devices that will become available to cellphone users in the next year.

"It may not be an immediate reason to do it for the cost savings, but there's a more immediate reason to do it for the iconic devices," Mr. Ghose said.

Representatives from Bell Canada and Telus declined to comment on the possibility of a unified network upgrade.

The timing of the network announcement may be no accident.

This Wednesday will be the due date that wireless companies will have to pay Industry Canada following the conclusion of the federal government's spectrum auction this past July.

After more than one month of bidding by 15 companies, several new potential cellphone companies emerged such as Quebecor Inc., Shaw Communications Inc., Data & Audio-Visual Enterprises (DAVE) Wireless Inc. and Globalive Communications Corp. which appears positioned to become Canada's next national wireless carrier.

According to Industry Canada, to encourage competition in the $14-billion industry any new entrant will be allowed to roam on an incumbent operator's network while building out its own infrastructure for five years.

Although the new entrants have not released details of their cellphone businesses, analysts say DAVE Wireless and Globalive have stated their wish to pursue a low-cost voice-centric model to appeal to the roughly one-third of Canadians who do not have cellphones.

"If you want to want any of the new entrants roaming revenue, you pretty much have to be on HSPA," Mr. Ghose said. "This is important in the near to medium term [for Bell and Telus] to offset the loss of market share they will have."

However, telecom consultant Iain Grant of the Seaboard Group disagreed. He said that wireless companies focussing on voice packages, not data, will not necessarily need an HSPA network to roam on.

Financial Post

dgeorgecosh@nationalpost.com

Bell Canada Inc. and Telus Corp. plan to jointly invest an estimated $1 billion in new network technology that will end Rogers Communications Inc.'s monopoly on devices such as the iPhone and BlackBerry Bold in Canada.

In a widely anticipated-move, the two phone companies said today that they will "overlay" a third-generation, or 3G, wireless technology that's linked to the GSM (Global System for Mobile) standard onto their existing CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) networks by 2010, in time for the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Both Bell and Telus already offer a high-speed 3G technology based on the CDMA platform and have an agreement in place that allows subscribers to roam on each other's wireless networks, providing national coverage.

However, GSM-based wireless technologies have emerged as the global standard, with some 80 per cent of devices around the world now running on GSM-based networks.

That has given GSM carriers, including Rogers, Canada's only GSM provider, a key advantage because most handset manufacturers tend to make their devices for GSM carriers months or years before they offer a CDMA model.

For example, Apple Inc.'s popular iPhone is currently available only as a GSM device.

Darren Entwistle, the CEO of Telus, said during a conference call with analysts and investors that offering two 3G networks side-by-side will help to "future-proof" Telus as the entire wireless industry moves toward a common standard over the next few years.

"This will enable a smoother transition to a fourth-generation wireless network," Entwistle said.

Entwistle stressed that Telus is not swapping its legacy CDMA network, meaning that Telus customers using CDMA-based devices won't be forced to make a switch. Instead, the phone company will build a second voice and data network using the same HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) technology that rival Rogers uses to run high-end devices such as the iPhone and BlackBerry Bold, among others.

The Star first reported in January that Telus was exploring the possibility of adopting GSM-based technologies and that Bell faced a similar decision.

In addition to being able to offer a wider selection of devices, Telus and Bell may also have an opportunity to take advantage of lower prices for handsets and more revenue from international roaming agreements.

However, analysts note that most of those financial advantages may be muted initially because devices running on HSPA technology tend to be expensive smartphones that offer thinner margins, and because most international roaming is still done with second-generation GSM phones.

"The benefits are hard to quantify and may not materialize for some time," said Jeffrey Fan, an analyst at UBS Investment Research, in a note to clients.

Telus didn't disclose exactly how much the effort would cost, but said it wouldn't need to adjust its 2008 capital expenditure guidance of $1.9 billion. Spending next year will be higher than forecast at $750 million, Telus said.

Bell also declined to comment on how much it planned to spend on its HSPA build-out , but analysts estimate it will cost as much as $1 billion split between the two carriers.

"Investing in broadband networks and services and accelerating wireless are strategic imperatives for the Bell team, and they are key to achieving our goal - to be recognized by customers as Canada's leading communications company," said George Cope, the CEO of Bell Canada.

Cope recently took over as CEO from Michael Sabia in connection with the outstanding $52 billion privatization of parent BCE Inc. by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and U.S. private equity investors. The transaction is scheduled to be completed by Dec. 11, but investors are concerned that the ongoing global financial crisis may derail what's been described as the biggest-ever leveraged buyout.

The two carriers have selected Nokia Siemens Networks and Huawei to supply the necessary telecommunications equipment for the HSPA overlay.