By The Canadian Press

MONTREAL - Bell Canada (TSX:BCE) said Monday that its new high-speed wireless network will be ready across the country in November, ahead of its original deadline to be ready in time for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

The new network, which gives laptop users mobile Internet services equivalent to being at home or in the office, brings Bell on par with the new Rogers Communications (TSX:RCI.B) high-speed network, but with a wider coverage area.

Wade Oosterman, president of Bell Mobility, said the new network catapults the company forward.

"It really expands and enhances the portfolio of products and services we can bring to the market," Oosterman said in an interview.

For example, an iPhone will be able to run on the new Bell network, but Oosterman said he had no announcements about any new products Monday.

"Our goal is to have the very best handset line up available for our subscribers and we hope to be successful in that goal," was all Oosterman was willing to say about the iPhone.

Rogers, the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in Canada, has frequently been able to hit the market with the newest devices that are often made first for GSM networks which Rogers has built and are the standard in Europe, many parts of Asia and on the biggest U.S. services.

Rogers spokeswoman Liz Hamilton noted that in other markets around the world Apple has started to offer the iPhone to multiple carriers in the same market now that the market for the device is maturing and saturating.

"It's really a device that has ushered in a new era of smartphone interest and usage," said Hamilton, who declined to comment on the specifics of Rogers' contract with Apple regarding the iPhone.

The new Bell network will deliver high-speed mobile access to 93 per cent of the Canadian population including almost 20,000 cities and towns.

The November launch means the network will be ready ahead of the holiday season, a key period for wireless companies as more wireless phones are sold during the Christmas period than at any other time of year, Bell said.

In addition to being faster for data, Oosterman said users on the new network will be able to more easily use their handsets around the world.

"The new network will support global roaming better than our current CDMA network which is really more North American-centric in its feature set and capabilities and coverage," he said.

Vancouver-based Telus (TSX:T), which declined to comment Monday, has said it expects to launch its new network in early 2010.

In September, Rogers launched its improved wireless data network in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal with plans to have it rolled out nationally by the end of 2010.

Industry watchers expect the price of many mobile, smartphone services to come under downward pressure, benefiting consumers, as more competitors fight for market share.