Northwestel announced on October 21, 2013 the transfer of its wireless business to Bell Mobility, offering northern consumers and businesses better access to the best wireless products and services available in Canada. Northwestel and Bell Mobility are subsidiaries of Bell Canada.

“We are very pleased that Northwestel and Latitude wireless customers are gaining access to Bell Mobility’s world-beating products and services,” said Paul Flaherty, President and Chief Executive Officer of Northwestel. “Increased access to advanced wireless services is an important part of our Modernization Plan for the North, and we’re working closely with Bell Mobility to meet all of our commitments. With its national scale, Bell Mobility is well positioned to deliver on the capital investments required to bring new mobile technologies to the North while Northwestel remains focused on expanding the availability and capabilities of our wireline services that we know are extremely important to northerners.”

The transfer is expected to take effect in the first quarter of 2014 and be seamless for all post-paid and pre-paid Northwestel and Latitude wireless customers. Existing customers will retain their current cell phones and phone numbers, and contracts, including current rates and charges, will simply be transferred to a Bell Mobility account.

“The Bell Mobility team is thrilled to welcome wireless customers in Canada’s North and we look forward to investing in new mobile networks and services to make service across the region even better,” said Wade Oosterman, President of Bell Mobility. “Bell is acknowledged in Canada and globally for our network investment and innovation, delivering the best mobile products the world has to offer to both consumers and business users. We’re bringing that same focus and energy to northern Canada and to meeting the targets set out in Northwestel’s Modernization Plan.”

As part of the transition, Northwestel has acquired from the Dakwakada Development Corporation (DDC) its interest in Latitude Wireless, a partnership originally formed by Northwestel and DDC to provide digital cellular service across the Yukon.

“We are extremely thankful to our customers and proud of what we’ve accomplished with Northwestel over the past seven years,” said Brian MacDonald, Chair of DDC. “While we’ve successfully rolled out advanced cell phone technology to many communities, we believe the scale and expertise of a world leader like Bell Mobility is necessary if consumers and businesses in the North are to keep pace with the global evolution in wireless services. DDC looks forward to new business opportunities that will foster growth in the Yukon.”

Northwestel and Latitude wireless customers will receive more information in the coming weeks and months, including details about the transition of their accounts to Bell Mobility. Information is also available at http://www.nwtel.ca or http://www.latitudewireless.ca.

Source: Northwestel Media Release, October 21, 2013.