BELL READY TO PUT NEWBIES ON THE NET
By Adnews Staff
Bell Canada's Internet access was designed to be "outrageously simple," Lib Gibson said yesterday at the unveiling of the service in Toronto. Gibson is marketing vice-president of Worldlinx Telecommunications Inc., the Bell subsidiary that developed the Internet access system marketed by Bell Global Solutions, a division of the Bell subsidiary operating the service, Bell Sygma. Despite the complicated corporate structure behind it, the new service is being sold on its simplicity. With a name chosen to imply user friendliness, Sympatico, the system is designed for Net neophytes in homes and small offices. Sympatico includes a software package sold in phone centres and other retail outlets. While it is far from the cheapest way to get on the Net, it may be one of the easiest. Bell's claim is that you just load the software, push a button and you're ready to surf. To guide you, Sympatico has its own World Wide Web home page <http://www.sympatico.ca> with links to 1,500 sites. Daily newspapers are being used for launch advertising, with subway posters added in Toronto. English advertising was created by Richard Clewes, who is on his own after recently ending a seven-month relationship with Marshall Fenn. Toronto-based media specialist Harrison, Young, Pesonen & Newell is placing advertising. French creative comes from Tam Tam Publicité in Montreal. Sympatico was launched yesterday in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec City. Next month other provincial and regional phone companies in the Stentor consortium will start selling it. The rollout will continue into 1996.