Bell Lets Virgin into the House
While hardly earthshattering news, Bell Canada has agreed to let its
MVNO joint venture partner, Virgin Mobile, into Bell World retail
stores. There is happy-happy talk from both sides but it is intriguing
this sales arrangement didn't happen earlier. You figure Bell would
have been happy to give Virgin a helping hand establishing its brand
earlier in the game by bringing the 375 Bell World stores into the mix.
Perhaps this rapproachment is an indication that Bell Mobility's latest
CEO, Robert Odendaal, is willing to be more open and creative as Bell
and Virgin battle growing competition in the pre-paid market from
Rogers and Telus. It could also suggest Bell is more comfortable with
letting Virgin into the house now that its own pre-paid program has
been revitalized in recent months with the re-launch of Solo.
