issues . please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . september 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message this article needs to be updated . please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information . june 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message virgin mobile canada type subsidiary industry wireless communications founded march 1 2005 ; 11 years ago 2005 03 01 headquarters toronto ontario area served canada key people joseph ottorino managing director products smartphones wireless plans member benefits program owner bell mobility parent bell canada website www.virginmobile.ca virgin mobile canada is a provider of postpaid and prepaid wireless voice text and data communications services throughout canada . launched on march 1 2005 as a joint venture between virgin group and bce inc. bce took sole ownership on july 1 2009 when it closed a deal to purchase the stake it did not already own . 1 2 virgin mobile calls its customers members and offers a member benefits program 3 which provides its customers with special offers discounts and vip experiences . 4 contents 1 history 1.1 pre launch 2003 2004 1.2 launch 2005 2007 1.3 postpaid services introduced 2008 1.4 acquisition by bell mobility brand re positioning hspa and supertab 2009 2010 1.5 member benefits launch unlimited plans and galaxy nexus exclusivity 2010 2011 1.6 sim only promotion and lte 2012 1.7 tiered plans two year agreements and wireless code of conduct 2013 present 2 networks 3 phones 3.1 featured manufacturers 4 services 4.1 voice 4.2 mobile internet 4.3 member benefits events & sponsorship 5 philanthropy 6 retail presence 7 see also 8 references 9 external links history edit pre launch 2003 2004 edit the virginmobile.ca domain name was registered by virgin enterprises limited on july 4 2003 with the canadian internet registration authority . 5 when accessed it displayed a domain parking page until june 14 2004 when it was replaced with an announcement . there were also links to information about the company related news articles and career opportunities . virgin mobile claimed we work like maniacs to bring you canada s most awesome mobile phone company . 6 launch 2005 2007 edit vmc launch stunt virgin mobile launched in canada on march 1 2005 as a mobile virtual network operator mvno using the bell mobility network . at the time virgin mobile was operating solely as a prepaid service . the company s website showcased several feature phones it offered and advertised itself as a no catch mobile operator . 7 virgin mobile canada was the first mobile carrier in canada to launch without a system access fee . the company s no catch campaign at launch featured cheeky advertisements likening existing canadian mobile carriers as the catch and virgin mobile canada as the cure to unclear contracts and undesirable hidden fees . sir richard branson helped create excitement at launch by zip lining from a high rise building into yonge dundas square in a superhero costume and drove a monster truck over three cars symbolizing the big three mobile carriers in canada rogers telus and bell . since its launch virgin mobile has used edgy and controversial advertising leading to demands for an apology requests to cease and desist the advertising and even boycotts . this marketing technique is still used by virgin mobile canada to this day . postpaid services introduced 2008 edit in february 2008 virgin mobile canada launched postpaid wireless service . to promote and encourage canadians to consider the new postpaid service the company released a new slogan it s better to be a member . at launch this was known as myplan and the company offered a multitude of options including the ability to set one s own timeframe for unlimited calling as opposed to the windows generally offered by competing mobile companies . since then postpaid plans have become a popular choice for new and existing members and plans continue to evolve in the highly competitive telecom market . acquisition by bell mobility brand re positioning hspa and supertab 2009 2010 edit sim fashion show on july 1 2009 bell mobility acquired the 50 % of virgin mobile canada that it previously did not own for 142 million and entered into a long term agreement to use the virgin brand . 2 following this bell greatly reduced its investments into solo mobile in order to invest in and improve its new virgin brand . on december 21 2009 virgin mobile canada s then president robert blumenthal promised a very different virgin mobile with higher value devices and services in 2010 . 8 9 virgin mobile officially launched hspa services on february 2 2010 . this was promoted with a sim fashion show launch event featuring victoria s secret models . the company launched hspa with several phones including the blackberry bold 9700 blackberry curve 8530 the iphone 3g iphone 3gs mifi and samsung m330 . a broadband2go usb mobile broadband modem was also part of the launch lineup . to prepare for the back to school season of that year the virgin mobile supertab was introduced on august 23 as a response to competition from other providers especially koodo mobile . 10 the supertab was only available to postpaid members while hspa products and services were unavailable to prepaid members until around spring in 2011 . member benefits launch unlimited plans and galaxy nexus exclusivity 2010 2011 edit to differentiate itself from other mobile providers virgin mobile canada launched its member benefits program in 2010 . 11 this program is available to all postpaid and prepaid members and provides exclusive discounts and vip experiences with many well known brands in the fashion travel music and entertainment space . since launch the program has grown and offers exclusive offers for its members . in response to competition from major mobile brands and new entrants virgin mobile introduced a city unlimited plan on february 18 2011 . 12 later that year in order to imitate koodo mobile s pricing virgin mobile reduced canadian long distance charges eventually eliminating them altogether . 13 for the same reason a plan with unlimited canadian long distance minutes was launched by virgin priced identically to koodo s equivalent offering . the carrier is notable for being one of canada s two carriers to exclusively carry the galaxy nexus smartphone for the country s christmas and holiday season of 2011 . bell mobility virgin mobile s parent also has this exclusivity during that time period . the flagship device from the google nexus series is the first in the world to run the android 4 operating system . on november 29 virgin mobile invited its members to join the galaxy nexus tester team . each member in this team of five will receive a complimentary galaxy nexus but they must tweet about their experiences with the device . the smartphone was launched on december 8 and the five tester team members were chosen on the following day . 14 other canadian carriers will sell the galaxy nexus in 2012 . sim only promotion and lte 2012 edit on january 9 2012 virgin mobile canada launched a limited time promotion where postpaid customers who activated only a sim card during that month would obtain an ongoing 5 month discount when they subscribed to any talk and text plan . those with a smartphone plan would receive an ongoing 10 month discount instead . 15 on january 25 2013 virgin mobile canada introduced bring your own phone byop which allows members to bring their own phone get a virgin mobile sim card and receive 10 % off their monthly rate every month on a 30 day term . in conjunction with the launch of the third generation ipad virgin mobile canada customers will be able to access bell mobility s lte network . 16 many iconic postpaid phones including the latest releases from samsung and apple are available on the lte network . the 4g lte network provides peak speeds up to 75 mbit s expected average speeds of 12 25 mbit s . outside 4g lte coverage areas our members fall back to the 4g hspa network . tiered plans two year agreements and wireless code of conduct 2013 present edit on august 1 2013 virgin mobile canada discontinued its supertab proposition and introduced a new silver gold and platinum plan proposition where all plans are only available on 30 day monthly terms or 2 year agreements . 17 this allows members to choose a rate plan level to receive a higher or lower subsidy when they activate a new phone with virgin mobile . at launch silver plans offered members a 150 subsidy on their new phone gold plans offered members a 250 subsidy on their new phone and platinum offered a 500 subsidy on their new phone . since then the subsidy offering has evolved to offer members up to 200 off the retail price of their phone on silver plans up to 300 off the retail price of their phone with gold plans and up to 700 off the retail price of their phone with platinum plans . on november 6 2013 virgin mobile became wireless code of conduct compliant before the deadline given to all mobile carriers in canada by the canadian radio television and telecommunications commission crtc . networks edit main article bell mobility networks mobile services provided by virgin mobile previously only used bell mobility s cdma network . since launch virgin mobile has adopted the use of 4g hspa and 4g lte speed network . phones edit featured manufacturers edit virgin mobile offers a wide selection of smartphones available on the hspa and lte network . they can be activated on either a prepaid or a postpaid plan . virgin mobile carries iconic phones from the following manufacturers zte apple google samsung htc motorola alcatel lg huawei services edit various services are offered by virgin mobile for both prepaid and postpaid customers . voice edit since its inception virgin mobile canada offers a prepaid plan that has no monthly fee . customers paid only for the services they used such as per minute billing for local calling or per message fee for each sms sent . virgin mobile never charged for received messages and this practice remains effective to this day . long distance calls to canada or the united states were charged at double the local airtime rate . the 15 top up voucher expires after 30 days while the 25 and then 50 are valid for two months . the most popular voucher option for pay per use members is the 100 voucher which is valid for 365 days . any account that has not been topped up or remains inactive for 120 days will be automatically deactivated and the phone number will be reassigned to new members activating their prepaid cell phones . 18 there are also prepaid monthly plans and add ons available at virgin mobile . the initial pay per use rates however have drastically increased over time . for example virgin mobile eliminated talk time discounts previously available for customers who talked for more than five minutes in a day . 19 in q4 2012 virgin mobile added a prepaid incentive for every six months of payments on a plan costing 20 month or more virgin mobile will allow that member to add unlimited local calling to any one regular number . until q1 2013 virgin mobile canada had two types of postpaid plans choice and combo . the choice category was low end and only included talk and text while combo was high end and added mobile internet access .