Comments on: Are Canadian Cell Phone Wireless Costs Too High? http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/are-canadian-cell-phone-wireless-costs-too-high/ Investing and Personal Finance Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:11:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Darkesha http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/are-canadian-cell-phone-wireless-costs-too-high/comment-page-1/#comment-54309 Darkesha Mon, 04 Jan 2010 01:42:45 +0000 http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/?p=4455#comment-54309 I don't agree on much of your points simply because of this paradox: As time pass by the rates go up, and offered service goes down. I am with fido for over 5 years (8 in total), without contract...and the plan is that much old. I look at what them and their competition offer today and it's almost unbelievable. Five years ago you were able to get much more for much less. I don’t agree on much of your points simply because of this paradox:
As time pass by the rates go up, and offered service goes down.

I am with fido for over 5 years (8 in total), without contract…and the plan is that much old. I look at what them and their competition offer today and it’s almost unbelievable. Five years ago you were able to get much more for much less.

]]> By: Martina http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/are-canadian-cell-phone-wireless-costs-too-high/comment-page-1/#comment-32337 Martina Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:05:26 +0000 http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/?p=4455#comment-32337 Here's a fantastic option for Canadians. I'm writing from Miami, in the US, where many of you vacation over the winter. Now, down here I use a pre-paid TracFone which is available at any Walmart. The TracFone is one of the cheapest cell options in the States and is available for long distance to Mexico and Canada for the same rates we pay. All you have to do is provide your family or friend with a local phone number in those countries to reach you at your TracFone in the U.S. Once you're here, there's no need for you to pay the exorbitant international long distance costs associated with travel. Bon Voyage! Here’s a fantastic option for Canadians. I’m writing from Miami, in the US, where many of you vacation over the winter. Now, down here I use a pre-paid TracFone which is available at any Walmart. The TracFone is one of the cheapest cell options in the States and is available for long distance to Mexico and Canada for the same rates we pay. All you have to do is provide your family or friend with a local phone number in those countries to reach you at your TracFone in the U.S. Once you’re here, there’s no need for you to pay the exorbitant international long distance costs associated with travel. Bon Voyage!

]]> By: Henry http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/are-canadian-cell-phone-wireless-costs-too-high/comment-page-1/#comment-30760 Henry Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:11:10 +0000 http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/?p=4455#comment-30760 Vasile: You are correct that some US carriers such as Sprint, AT&T, and T-mobile does have retention plans and what they do most of the time is give you another 200 minutes per month on $60 plan not a specialized plan. In Taiwan and Hong Kong, there are no such thing as retention plans and I have been able to confirm that. My observation is that some countries may have retentions, but a lot of countries do not. Many of top10 countries in OECD study use exclusively some form of prepaid and do not use monthly plans. I believe the likelihood of retention prepaid is very low for those countries due to lack of need to "keep the customers" and wireless charges are already extremely low. I think my angle on this issue is correct but controversial. Half of young adults I have met are on some sort of retention plans. Occasionally, once or twice a year, Bell would offer retention plans to new customers. Retention plan is accessible to a normal person in Canada. A lot of people have retention plans, but they don't know it and they often think it is a "special" deal just for them. pessimist: Retention plans are given by Customer Relations Department and a regular Customer Service Representative does not have any power to give a retention plan. Actually $40/month including tax sound about right with Rogers due to unlimited incoming calls. Rogers is less willing to give out free unlimited incoming calls nowadays and charge customers $10 for it. You should be able to get it down to $31 a month including tax if you are willing to give up unlimited incoming calls. You will need to resign a 2yr or 3yr contract to get the retention plan unfortunately, but you can get a new phone at a subsidized price. If you don't need a retention plan right now, you can wait until next year when Bell and Telus have their HSPA GSM network up and new carriers appear. The increased competition may give you leverage to get something better than what you can get now. It could be possible that Telus and Bell will have access to the next generation of iPhone next year. Vasile: You are correct that some US carriers such as Sprint, AT&T, and T-mobile does have retention plans and what they do most of the time is give you another 200 minutes per month on $60 plan not a specialized plan. In Taiwan and Hong Kong, there are no such thing as retention plans and I have been able to confirm that. My observation is that some countries may have retentions, but a lot of countries do not. Many of top10 countries in OECD study use exclusively some form of prepaid and do not use monthly plans. I believe the likelihood of retention prepaid is very low for those countries due to lack of need to “keep the customers” and wireless charges are already extremely low. I think my angle on this issue is correct but controversial.

Half of young adults I have met are on some sort of retention plans. Occasionally, once or twice a year, Bell would offer retention plans to new customers. Retention plan is accessible to a normal person in Canada. A lot of people have retention plans, but they don’t know it and they often think it is a “special” deal just for them.

pessimist: Retention plans are given by Customer Relations Department and a regular Customer Service Representative does not have any power to give a retention plan. Actually $40/month including tax sound about right with Rogers due to unlimited incoming calls. Rogers is less willing to give out free unlimited incoming calls nowadays and charge customers $10 for it. You should be able to get it down to $31 a month including tax if you are willing to give up unlimited incoming calls. You will need to resign a 2yr or 3yr contract to get the retention plan unfortunately, but you can get a new phone at a subsidized price. If you don’t need a retention plan right now, you can wait until next year when Bell and Telus have their HSPA GSM network up and new carriers appear. The increased competition may give you leverage to get something better than what you can get now. It could be possible that Telus and Bell will have access to the next generation of iPhone next year.

]]> By: pessimist http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/are-canadian-cell-phone-wireless-costs-too-high/comment-page-1/#comment-30753 pessimist Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:40:14 +0000 http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/?p=4455#comment-30753 Hi. Thanks for this analysis. Can you tell me who is offering this retention plan? Have been with rogers for 2 years and the best price they're giving me for the plan above is $40/month. Thanks. Hi. Thanks for this analysis. Can you tell me who is offering this retention plan? Have been with rogers for 2 years and the best price they’re giving me for the plan above is $40/month. Thanks.

]]> By: Vasile http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/are-canadian-cell-phone-wireless-costs-too-high/comment-page-1/#comment-30742 Vasile Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:21:40 +0000 http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/?p=4455#comment-30742 Hi! I beg to differ on your disagreement :-) with the OECD methodology. Considering the regular plans in other countries against the discounted/retention plans in Ca is an orange-to-apples comparison. One can presume that the operators in those countries also have some retention plans, but that data is not readily available since they are not advertised . I agree the retention plans are better than the retail ones, but how many people know about them ? How many people do you think are under these plans, personal finance blog readers included? 1%? 2%? I agree there's a free market, but there's no way I will shed a tear for the telecom companies. After all, they're experts in fooling the regular Joe with hidden fees and outrageous contract terms hidden in pages of legalese. You can see the results in their profits. Oh, and my pet peeve: the incredible markup on occasional SMS messages if you don't have an "unlimited text" plan. 5c for 140 bytes of data? Give me a break! But again, maybe the markup can be compared with the potatoes turned into fries at McDonald's :-). Regards, Vasile Hi!

I beg to differ on your disagreement :-) with the OECD methodology. Considering the regular plans in other countries against the discounted/retention plans in Ca is an orange-to-apples comparison. One can presume that the operators in those countries also have some retention plans, but that data is not readily available since they are not advertised .

I agree the retention plans are better than the retail ones, but how many people know about them ? How many people do you think are under these plans, personal finance blog readers included? 1%? 2%? I agree there’s a free market, but there’s no way I will shed a tear for the telecom companies. After all, they’re experts in fooling the regular Joe with hidden fees and outrageous contract terms hidden in pages of legalese. You can see the results in their profits.

Oh, and my pet peeve: the incredible markup on occasional SMS messages if you don’t have an “unlimited text” plan. 5c for 140 bytes of data? Give me a break! But again, maybe the markup can be compared with the potatoes turned into fries at McDonald’s :-) .

Regards,
Vasile

]]> By: Henry http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/are-canadian-cell-phone-wireless-costs-too-high/comment-page-1/#comment-30730 Henry Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:45:49 +0000 http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/?p=4455#comment-30730 Andy Glad: I agree that wireless companies overcharge most people. According to an University of Waterloo professor, a text message costs the wireless carrier .03 cents or $.0003. When you round the costs of a text message, the cost is zero. Yet, wireless companies charge 15 cents or even 20 cents per text message and recently, wireless companies charge incoming text messages as well. In Canada, there are 3 tier pricings on wireless usage. The best is retentions, second best is corporate plans, and absolutely worst is retail plans. A lot of people are stuck on retail plans. If you are an employee of a large company, you probably know or have access to a corporate plan. Some corporate plan are as good as retention plans. For most people, I would recommend retention plans for private use, because the retention plan can have things added on to it free of charge as your seniority with the wireless company grows. Even though, you might get a retail plan initially, you need to move to a corporate plan or retention plan as soon as possible. Andy Glad: I agree that wireless companies overcharge most people. According to an University of Waterloo professor, a text message costs the wireless carrier .03 cents or $.0003. When you round the costs of a text message, the cost is zero. Yet, wireless companies charge 15 cents or even 20 cents per text message and recently, wireless companies charge incoming text messages as well.

In Canada, there are 3 tier pricings on wireless usage. The best is retentions, second best is corporate plans, and absolutely worst is retail plans. A lot of people are stuck on retail plans. If you are an employee of a large company, you probably know or have access to a corporate plan. Some corporate plan are as good as retention plans. For most people, I would recommend retention plans for private use, because the retention plan can have things added on to it free of charge as your seniority with the wireless company grows. Even though, you might get a retail plan initially, you need to move to a corporate plan or retention plan as soon as possible.

]]> By: Andy Glad http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/are-canadian-cell-phone-wireless-costs-too-high/comment-page-1/#comment-30723 Andy Glad Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:30:16 +0000 http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/?p=4455#comment-30723 I think everyone is getting a little fed up with mobile service and text messaging being so expensive. I use Send Free Text Messages to send text messages for free. I also can set it up to send to groups which is handy for work, group meetings and for sports teams. This way I don’t have to worry about the cost of sending these messages and it’s much easier to manage. I will continue to use sites such as this until the pricing gets back in line with what’s fair.

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