Chatr

Chatr Wireless

Type	Mobile Phone Provider
Industry	Wireless Services
Founded	July 28, 2010
Headquarters	Toronto, Ontario
Key people	Garrick Tiplady, Senior Vice President
Products	Prepaid cellular service
Parent	Rogers Communications
Website	www.chatrwireless.com

Chatr is a Canadian wireless service provider targeting price-conscious customers^[1] It is the third wireless service network owned by Rogers Communications, after Rogers Wireless and Fido Solutions. The provider launched their network in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and now Montreal (September 16, 2010) and later expand to more markets. The brand is "designed to offer Canadians more choice." Chatr launched its service on July 28, 2010^[2]. Their "chatr zone" coverage is artificially limited to match the coverage of Wind Mobile, Public Mobile and Mobilicity, and so using a Chatr phone outside of these zones results in additional charges.^[3]

Network

Main article: Rogers Wireless#Networks

The Chatr network is similar to Fido and its CityFido zones, in that customers can make and receive unlimited phone calls when in certain zones. When they leave such zones and use the Rogers network, there are no extra fees for text messages, but there are extra fees for phone calls. The only way for a customer to know if they are in a Chatr zone is to check the coverage map.^[4] Mobilicity, Solo Mobile, and Wind Mobile, by contrast, offer more ways for customers to tell if they are in their carrier's zones.^[5]

Products

Chatr mostly sells feature phones, but also carries a smartphone. Additionally, Chatr SIM cards allow any compatible GSM or HSPA+ device to be used with the provider. Five devices are made by Nokia, while two are from LG and one is from Sony. Each has a nickname given by Chatr.

Feature phones

• LG A133 - The Catch
• Nokia 1616 - The Fundamental
• Nokia 1661 - The Essential
• Nokia 2220 - The Charmer
• Nokia C2-02 - The Appeal
• Nokia C3 - The Associate
• Sony Ericsson txt pro - The Speedster

Smartphone

• LG P505 - The Social

SIM cards

SIM cards from Chatr cost $10 each.

Services

Chatr offers three monthly plans. Customers can pay for the plans either by purchasing prepaid credits or by choosing an automatic payment option with a credit card. Unlimited calling features can only be used when a phone call is placed in a "Chatr zone", while text messages and data included can be used in any region served by the Rogers network. Except for Chatr's customer service, additional charges apply for any call made or received outside of the zone.^[6].

Unlimited Talk 25$/month

• Unlimited outgoing calls to anywhere in zone's province
• 50 sent text messages from Canada to Canada or USA
• Voicemail with 25¢ per minute retrieval charge

Unlimited Talk & Text 35$/month

• Unlimited outgoing calls to anywhere in Canada
• Unlimited sent text messages from Canada to Canada or USA
• Voicemail with no retrieval charge

Unlimited Talk & Text plus Data 100 45$/month

• All features of the $35/month plan
• 100 MB of data per month

All plans include the following four calling features: Call display, Call waiting, Call forwarding and Group calling. Additionally, incoming text messages are always free, and any incoming call answered in a Chatr zone is also free.^[6]

There is also SMS short code support for messaging via the Facebook and Twitter services.

Controversy

Several controversies regarding Chatr received mainstream media coverage. The company received two accusations of breaching the Competition Act in Canada.

Fighter brand

Chatr has been accused of violating the Competition Act because it is a fighter brand created by Rogers.^[7] Chatr's pricing policy closely reflects that of Wind Mobile, Mobilicity and Public Mobile. Mobilicity's chairman, John Bitove, said that "[Rogers is] leveraging the other parts of their business to kill the competition […] If they succeed in killing us off there's no question they'd kill the Chatr brand off".^[8]

Advertising claims

Shortly after its launch, Chatr published many advertisements claiming that their network has “fewer dropped calls than new wireless carriers”. Following a complaint by wireless carriers Wind Mobile and Mobilicity, the Federal Competition Bureau has asked the Ontario Superior Court of Justice under the Misleading Advertising Provisions of the Competition Act to order Rogers to:

1. Stop Chatr's advertising campaign
2. Pay a 10-million dollar penalty
3. Pay restitution to any customers affected by the misleading claim
4. Send out a corrective notice to inform the public about the issue

The Bureau has accused Rogers of:

1. using misleading advertising to promote its talk-and-text service Chatr..."
2. having "...no evidence support[ing] Chatr's claim that their customers will experience fewer dropped calls than they would with new rival wireless carriers..."
3. directly breaching Section 78 of Misleading Advertising Provisions relating to "False or Misleading Representations and Deceptive Marketing Practices"

According to the Court documents from the preceding, the bureau found that the on average there is no significant difference between the number of dropped calls on Chatr and new carriers. Furthermore, in the cases of Ottawa and Toronto, new carriers experienced slightly fewer dropped calls than did Chatr.^[9]

Advertising

Chatr distributes various promotional merchandise.

Chatr Wireless' slogan is "No worries, talk happy." During the Christmas and holiday season, the slogan used instead was "No worries, gift happy." Both resemble the name of the song Don't Worry, Be Happy, and a whistled version of this song is used in Chatr commercials. Since Chatr started offering mobile broadband, the "Now data happy" tagline accompanies any promotional material concerning such services.

The company also gives out various promotional merchandise, including pens, highlighters, mousepads, water bottles, planting seeds and Chatr-branded orange M&M's. Merchandise is given away both to customers and to non-customers as a way to spread the word about the operator.

Previously, Chatr claimed to have "fewer dropped calls than new wireless carriers." However, the company's parent, Rogers, was subject to controversy for this claim.

To promote its network, provided by Rogers Wireless, Chatr now claims that they have "great coverage thanks to tons of network sites."

Retail presence

Chatr products and services were previously available at Shoppers Drug Mart.

Chatr has its own retail stores. Additionally, Best Buy, Costco, Future Shop, London Drugs, Tbooth, Walmart, WirelessWave and Zellers sell Chatr prepaid products and top-up cards.

While Shoppers Drug Mart carried only Rogers Wireless prepaid phones at one time, the stores temporarily partnered with the network operator to carry both prepaid and postpaid products and services for Rogers and its two other brands, Fido and Chatr. There was an in-store display, showcasing many of the phones available. As of March 2011, however, Shoppers stores ended their partnership. They only sell prepaid top-up vouchers for these providers.

See also

• List of Canadian mobile phone companies
• Rogers Wireless

References

1. ^ Melanson, Donald (2010-07-02). "Rogers announces plans for budget-minded 'Chatr' wireless brand". Engadget. http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/rogers-announces-plans-for-budget-minded-chatr-wireless-brand. Retrieved 2010-08-27. 
2. ^ Mathieu, Emily (2010-07-28). "Mobilicity to take Rogers to court over new discount service". Toronto Star. http://www.thestar.com/business/companies/mobile/article/841014--rogers-launches-unlimited-service-competitor-cries-foul. Retrieved 2010-08-27. 
3. ^ chatr wireless - Coverage. Retrieved on August 27, 2010.
4. ^ MadFerIt2006. "How does one enable only chatr zone coverage (post 6)". HowardForums Chatr forum. http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1662806-How-does-one-enable-only-chatr-zone-coverage#post13934341. Retrieved 2011-07-07. 
5. ^ nzoka; MadFerIt2006; volodyan. "How does one enable only chatr zone coverage (posts 1, 6, and 9)". HowardForums Chatr forum. http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1662806-How-does-one-enable-only-chatr-zone-coverage. Retrieved 2011-07-07. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Chatr voice plans
7. ^ Moretti, Stefania (2010-07-09). "Mobilicity prepared to take legal action over Chatr". Canoe. http://technology.canoe.ca/2010/07/09/14658291.html. Retrieved 2010-08-27. 
8. ^ Marlow, Iain (2010-07-09). "Mobilicity says Roger's chatr may violate Competition Act". FinancialPost.com. http://www.cbc.ca/fp/story/2010/07/09/3255614.html. Retrieved 2011-06-10. 
9. ^ Marlow, Iain (2010-11-29). "Comparison of dropped-call data weakens Rogers claims". The Globe & Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/globe-on-technology/comparison-of-dropped-call-data-weakens-rogers-claims/article1817477/. Retrieved 2010-12-04. 

External links

• Official website