Neumann Cut Loose; Rogers Blows Wi-Fi
Can't say it was terribly surprising Bell Mobility CEO Michael Neumann was fired given the country's second largest wireless carrier has struggled in the past year relative to rivals Rogers and Telus. If anything, Bell Mobility seems to lack momentum. Rogers is on a roll with the $1.4-billion acquisition of Microcell and the strong growth of its data business, while Telus continues to sport the highest ARPU in the business and it is chalking up good market share growth. When you think about the fact Bell Mobility is supposed to be one of BCE Inc.'s growth engines, it makes sense someone has to take the fall if there are problems. That said, you can't blame Neumann for Bell Mobility's billing system disaster, which stunted growth last year.
In other wireless news, Rogers blew an amazing opportunity to capture the Wi-Fi market with a silly marketing alliance with the Second Cup coffee chain. Rogers plans to charge latte drinkers $0.15 a minute for wireless access, or $15 for a 24-hour period. That's fine for people on expense accounts but Rogers could have scored a huge strategic victory by giving it away for free or charging a small fee to its 5M+ wireless customers. Instead, it's more than likely only a small handful of people will give Rogers' Wi-Fi service a go. To be honest, I expect better from Rogers but maybe ARPU and the focus on profitable growth has taken away any marketing creativity at Rogers.
