Bell Mobility's newly appointed president Wade Oosterman believes that while the wireless carrier is back on the right track, its transformation needs to be kicked up a notch.

After two weeks in the corner office, the former Telus Corp. marketing executive has his sights set on a clear goal: closing the performance gap between Bell Mobility and both its rivals and other Bell Canada businesses. But he insists that reaching that target is a matter of changing the tempo rather than a drastic strategic shift.

"It's not as if we have to take the organization, and it was pulling it this way and now we have to turn it 180 degrees the other way and sort of slam on the brakes and reverse," Mr. Oosterman said in his first interview since taking the helm.

"It is a continuation of a plan that was put in place that is consistent with, I would say, my own views on how to create value," he explained.

One area of focus will be making sure the wireless business makes better use of the assets within the entire Bell Canada family.

"To the extent that we lag behind the peer group in the Bell family of businesses, and to the extent we lag behind our competitive peers, we need to address that," the 46-year-old executive said. "Because if you talk about the resources available for this organization, and the asset pool it has at its disposal, it should hold its own and then some."

Mr. Oosterman, who made his mark with Telus's popular animal advertising campaigns, inherits a business that has lagged competitors in recent years.

For example, Bell Mobility's overall average revenue per user (ARPU), a key financial measure, was $51 in the second quarter compared with $63.18 at Telus. In the customers with contracts segment, Bell Mobility's ARPU was $63, less than Rogers Wireless's $67.26.

Telus's ARPU is boosted by its Mike walkie-talkie service, while Rogers benefits from a focus on the data-hungry business market, along with roaming revenue from its GSM devices that can be used worldwide, said UBS Securities Canada Inc. analyst Jeffrey Fan.

Glitches with a new billing system were also to blame for Bell Mobility's ARPU weakness, explained Genuity Capital Markets analyst Dvai Ghose. "That billing system issue was a catastrophe in 2004, but by 2006 it's come to an end so Bell has to be more aggressive in raising ARPU," Mr. Ghose said.

Bell Mobility has taken steps over the past year to improve its ARPU, according to Mr. Oosterman, by moving from a reliance on price to cutting-edge applications.

He points to the feature-rich Samsung A900 cellphone that is only available through Bell Mobility. "It's a knock-your-socks-off device," Mr. Oosterman said. "That's the kind of tactic that helps you create higher-value subscribers."

Bell Canada's overall marketing could be due for a makeover as Mr. Oosterman is also the new chief brand officer for the company. While Bell's units have been consistent with its culture and client service, the same cannot be said for its messaging and value propositions, he acknowledged.

"They've been reactive rather than proactive," said Brian Sharwood, a principal at telecom consultant SeaBoard Group, referring to Bell Mobility's launch last year of the Solo brand a few months after the introduction of its Virgin Mobile Canada joint venture that targeted the same youth segment.

Wireless is an industry with which Mr. Oosterman is well acquainted and one he clearly enjoys. He spent more than a decade at wireless carrier Clearnet Communications Inc., where he worked closely with chief executive officer George Cope. They both moved to Telus when it bought Clearnet in 2000. At Telus, Mr. Oosterman headed sales and marketing for the wireless business, and later assumed responsibility for marketing the whole company. Mr. Cope was Telus Mobility president.

When Mr. Cope left Telus last October to take on the role of president and chief operating officer at Bell Canada, Telus decided to merge its land-line and wireless units. That move eliminated the chief marketing officer position. By December, Telus said no "suitable alternative" role had been found for Mr. Oosterman. He joined Bell Canada on May 1.

At Bell Mobility, Mr. Oosterman will report to BCE Inc. CEO Michael Sabia because Mr. Cope can't oversee the wireless business until a non-compete agreement with Telus ends in October. (BCE controls Bell Globemedia, the owner of The Globe and Mail and CTV.)

Mr. Cope and Mr. Oosterman have shown they are a good team, Mr. Ghose said. "My expectations for 2007 are much higher than for 2006."