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Cellular Phone Forum / Providers / Fido / August 2005Rogers vs Fido?
I'm in Calgary, but potentially moving to Winnipeg in the future. I'm currently a TELUS Mike user, and looking to switch away from Mike (which is on a proprietary iDEN platform) I want a SIM card as I tend to swap handsets frequently and I don't like TELUS and Bell's "No foreign handset" rules, nor do I like paying my carrier money to change handsets whenever I pick up a new phone, so I'm thinking GSM is the way to go. That means either Rogers or Fido. From what I understand at this point in the merger the signal strength/reception should be virtually identical at this point, so is any strong preference on way or the other? Other then rate plans are there any significant differences? I'm a fairly low volume user right now, 100-200 minutes a month. Free incoming calls would be useful, I'd use a lot more minutes that way, but it's not a big deal. Looking at my current phone calls, a whole ton of my calls are between 1:00 and 1:30, so per-second billing would be nice, but again, not a big deal. I rarely call customer care, and I have a good speaker phone, so I don't mind longer hold times (although I do tend to rant about hold times sometimes :) I don't roam outside of Calgary much, but when I do, it's typically to the US (Texas for work), but roaming isn't a big deal, if it costs more then $0.25/minute daytime and $0.12/minute E&W then I'll just use a prepaid cell when I'm in the US (I already have the phone and it's only $20/3months to keep it active, and the airtime accumulates), so roaming in the US isn't a big deal. Ideally I don't want to pay extra when I'm roaming in the US, my g/f is moving from the US to Winnipeg, I don't want to get raped on airtime when I'm in Winnipeg, but I take my Vonage phone adapter with me so it's not a big deal.  Signature"I think women and sea men don't mix" -- Smithers, Simpsons Rogers recently bough the Fido network - so the companies are sort of the same, but with different names. Rogers has a great Plan on right now, where you get: -Free Incoming Calls for life of term -100 Anytime minutes -1000 Eve and Weeknd mins -100 Long distance minutes -First 6 months unlimted local calling -Activation fee is waived Cost - $25 / month Rogers recently bought the Fido network - so the companies are sort of the same, but with different names. Rogers has a great plan on right now, where you get: -Free Incoming Calls for life of term -100 Anytime minutes -1000 Eve and Weeknd mins -100 Long distance minutes -First 6 months unlimted local calling -Activation fee is waived Cost - $25 / month >Rogers recently bought the Fido network - so the companies are sort of >the same, but with different names. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > >Cost - $25 / month Per-minute or per-second billing? That looks identical to the Fido "Unlimited Incoming Calls package", except that Fido is per-second. Fido also includes "Unlimited incoming instant, picture and text messages" FWIW, I couldn't find that plan on Rogers' site SignatureI spend a lot of my money on drinks, babes and fast cars. The rest, I just squander. >>Rogers recently bought the Fido network - so the companies are sort of >>the same, but with different names. [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > FWIW, I couldn't find that plan on Rogers' site Incoming text messages are always free, you pay to send it (which is logic). The main differences in the two plans are per second billing on fido (this give you 140 min by the minute on average) and 100 LD minutes on rogers (this is good since Fido is now 20 cents/min for LD) So your choice depend of your usage. >>>Rogers recently bought the Fido network - so the companies are sort of >>>the same, but with different names. [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] >(this is good since Fido is now 20 cents/min for LD) So your choice depend >of your usage. I'll do per-second billing over LD any day. I make a ton of really short calls -- I just reran the numbers (I download my call logs from TELUS Mobility), over 50% of my calls are between 1:00 and 1:20 long, those extra minutes add up. As far as LD, I have Vonage (unlimited local and LD calling), I have a ton of inbound numbers all around Canada and the US, and my own tollfree, so the most LD I tend to use is "Hey! Phone me back at one of my numbers that is a local call to you" Thanks for the information, that's the direction I was leaning anyway but it's always good to have a second opinion! SignatureIf men can run the world, why can't they stop wearing neckties? How intelligent is it to start the day by tying a noose around your neck? Note: one has to look beyond the published plans. You need to look at whether the advertised price is real or fake (eg: is there a hidden fee such as Fido charging a $6.95 fee on top of most packages ? You need to look at voice mail costs. For instance, does accessing voice mail from landline incur air time fees or not. Roaming. You need to compare roaming costs when in canada (Fido is $0.25 when outside its original footprint, not drawn from you monthly plan minutes, Rogers is included at no cost), and then look at Roaming in the USA. Long distance. Fido used to be very compatitive at 0.10 per minute, but they just doubled long distance fees at a time where nobody ever expects such fees to go up. How much does Rogers charge for long distance ? Remember that billing by the minute results in roughly a 40% increase in costs on average. (unless you end up making few but very long calls). So you need to factor this in for both airtime and long distance. And there are also subtle differences. Fido used to be answer-to-end, AT&T (at the time) was send-to-end which means a few more seconds per call. Now, Fido is also send-to-end, so there is no difference. With Rogers, if you talk for 59 seconds, you are still billed for 2 minutes because it dings you for the time to establish the call and the person at the other end to pick up. With Fido, the impact is less because it is billed by the second. Fido has show it can and has changed add-ons at will with litle or no warning. I have yet to receive any litterature from Fido which explains the removal of analogue and change in roaming on the Rogers network, and that went into effect Aug 3. So little by little, Rogers is reducing the difference between Fido and Rogers with all those add-ons and I suspect that this si where the profits are made (icing on the cake). >Note: one has to look beyond the published plans. That's why I'm here -- I can work out the plan details myself :) >You need to look at whether the advertised price is real or fake (eg: is >there a hidden fee such as Fido charging a $6.95 fee on top of most >packages ? Doesn't Rogers do the same? >You need to look at voice mail costs. For instance, does accessing voice >mail from landline incur air time fees or not. Potentially an issue. I'm 50/50 about voicemail though, I don't even advertise my cell phone, all I give out is my home phone (Vonage), it rings my cell phone simultaneously. Point taken though. >Roaming. You need to compare roaming costs when in canada (Fido is $0.25 >when outside its original footprint, not drawn from you monthly plan >minutes, Rogers is included at no cost), and then look at Roaming in >the USA. Roaming in Canada isn't a big deal, I'm a city guy myself and I'll eat the charges when I'm not (Although the $5/month isn't bad) -- Roaming in the US is a bigger deal, but I can just pick up a prepaid cell when I'm traveling (I tend to travel for anywhere from a week to over a month at a time, so it's worth the $10 activation charge) >Long distance. Fido used to be very compatitive at 0.10 per minute, but >they just doubled long distance fees at a time where nobody ever expects >such fees to go up. How much does Rogers charge for long distance ? Rogers is $0.25 per minute for long distance calls from Canada to anywhere in North America (except Mexico). I assume that's plus airtime? >Remember that billing by the minute results in roughly a 40% increase in >costs on average. (unless you end up making few but very long calls). So >you need to factor this in for both airtime and long distance. Agreed -- This is why I'm looking at Fido at all. >And there are also subtle differences. Fido used to be answer-to-end, >AT&T (at the time) was send-to-end which means a few more seconds per [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >at the other end to pick up. With Fido, the impact is less because it is >billed by the second. Yup. Double-whammy. I don't mind send-to-end (since that's the airtime I'm actually using), but I mind it combined with per-minute. >Fido has show it can and has changed add-ons at will with litle or no >warning. I have yet to receive any litterature from Fido which explains >the removal of analogue and change in roaming on the Rogers network, and >that went into effect Aug 3. Yeah, this annoys me. Rogers seems to be less annoying in this respect, although I can't really tell for sure. >So little by little, Rogers is reducing the difference between Fido and >Rogers with all those add-ons and I suspect that this si where the >profits are made (icing on the cake). Yup, and this is why I'm considering Rogers at all -- If they're taking away the Fido "perks", I may as well just go for Rogers, get something "stable" and get something I'm happy with. SignatureWhen you're arguing with a fool, make sure he isn't doing the same thing. > Note: one has to look beyond the published plans. > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > at the other end to pick up. With Fido, the impact is less because it is > billed by the second. When did fido become send-to-end? Does this mean if i amwaiting for a person to answer i am being charged airtime. So when my phones say conecting ( timer not started/ waiting for answer) i am being charged. I thought one of the benifits of gsm was answer - to end. If the call gets answered do i get charged for the secs of ringing i had to listen to? > > Note: one has to look beyond the published plans. > > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > I thought one of the benifits of gsm was answer - to end. > If the call gets answered do i get charged for the secs of ringing i had to > listen to? Yes. But a CSR told me that if the call is not answered, you are not charged for the call at all. > If the call gets answered do i get charged for the secs of ringing i had to >listen to? Fido is send-to-end so yes, you will be billed for time the call starts (including ringing time) if the call answers. - - > When did fido become send-to-end? Does this mean if i amwaiting for a person > to answer i am being charged airtime. So when my phones say conecting ( > timer not started/ waiting for answer) i am being charged. Correct. And the change happened totally without any official announcement from Fido. It was a couple of years ago. > I thought one of the benifits of gsm was answer - to end. It is one of the capabilities of GSM that was generally implemented worldwide. Fido did so when it installed the GSM software for its system, but instead of marketing this advantage, it decided to kill this advantage it had over all the others in Canada. When Fido started, it bragged about being way ahead of the others because it chose the GSM technology. And yes it was. But then it decided not to leverage any of those advantages, didn't really advertise SMS much, blocked SMS gateways such as Martin Renter's which provided intelligent SMS messages and emaili gateway, instructed its CSRs to lie to customers about non-availability of DATA. It is only when its competitors introduced such services years later that Fido started to admit having those services, and it made Fido look like an also-ran because ity would start advertising those services after its competitors. Answer-to-end was one technological advantage that Fido never mentioned, never leveraged and widthdrew wihout a word. I believe that the unlimited incoming instant, picture, and text messages that you refer to is charged if they are not coming from another cellphone. I'm not sure whether you are also charged if the originator of the message is using a different carrier. > >>Rogers recently bought the Fido network - so the companies are sort of > >>the same, but with different names. [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > (this is good since Fido is now 20 cents/min for LD) So your choice depend > of your usage. One other consideration is phone selection. As far as I can tell, none of Fido's phones appeal to me. My needs for a phone, roughly in order... -Reception -Sound quality without a headset -850is required. -T9 is almost a requirement, although for the right phone I might be willing to make an exception, but I'd likely be angry at the phone for not having something so basic. -Bluetooth (data and headset required, the ability to load ring tones and games and whatever would be a nice bonus) -Wired headset comes in handy, but it's not critical -Clamshell preferred I'd use a camera occasionally but I carry a Palm with a camera and a 4MP digital camera with me most of the time, so the camera isn't critical. With that in mind, I don't think any of Fido's phones appeal to me. I picked up a Nokia 6670, but the keypad is way too tiny to be useful. Part of me is leaning towards eating the cost of a Razr, but I'm curious if anybody else can suggest any phones that meet my needs. I'm debating the merits of purchasing a phone from a carrier, vs purchasing one outright and using it on my carrier of choice, but since both of the GSM carriers in my area (Fido and Rogers) seem to have plans I can live with, I think that getting a discount from the carrier is the way to go. SignatureAh, the miracle mile, where value wears a neon sombrero and there's not a single church or library to offend the eye. -- Homer I'm not sure what you mean by T9 but a Treo 650 satisfies all your requirements except for the clamshell design. You can also get rid of your Palm with camera. > One other consideration is phone selection. As far as I can tell, none > of Fido's phones appeal to me. [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > I can live with, I think that getting a discount from the carrier is the > way to go. >I'm not sure what you mean by T9 but a Treo 650 satisfies all your >requirements except for the clamshell design. You can also get rid of your >Palm with camera. T9 Predictive Text. If I wanted to type "Hello" without it, I'd type 4433555R555666 (Where the "R" is typically the "right" button). With T9 enabled, you'd type 43556. With a Treo it's less important. However, I'm not a fan of combining cell phones and PDAs for a couple reasons: First, these are the two things I carry with me that I'm likely to need to use at the same time. I often need to write down an address, or write down a phone number while I'm on the phone. Second, if my cell runs out of battery power, I absolutely need my Palm working so that I can look up a phone number (and use a payphone or borrow someone's cell), or conversely, if my Palm runs out of power, I need my phone working (since I can access all of my contacts over the net from my cell) -- I don't want both to die together. SignatureA procrastinator's work is never done. Personally, I have a Treo 600 and I'm very happy not having to carry around both a cellphone and a PalmOS PDA. The only thing is that I need to charge my Treo 600 at least once a day since between the phone calls, the GPRS usage, listening to MP3's, and using my PDA, I only have around 50% battery strength once I get home after work.While on a phone call, I use my PDA to enter dates in the calender, etc. so having it as an all in one device doesn't affect me. If I had a Treo650, using my PDA would be easier while on a call especially since I would be able to use a bluetooth headset and use my PDA more easily. > >I'm not sure what you mean by T9 but a Treo 650 satisfies all your > >requirements except for the clamshell design. You can also get rid of your [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > need my phone working (since I can access all of my contacts over the > net from my cell) -- I don't want both to die together. >Personally, I have a Treo 600 and I'm very happy not having to carry around >both a cellphone and a PalmOS PDA. The only thing is that I need to charge [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >a call especially since I would be able to use a bluetooth headset and use >my PDA more easily. I don't want to be required to bother with a headset though -- For a longer call they're definitely worth it, but for a quick "Where do you want to meet? / The Pickle? / Do you have the address?" type call, it's too much hassle. GPRS usage sounds like fun, but that's why god invented Bluetooth (And why I plan on getting a phone with Bluetooth) SignatureSo you're a feminist. Isn't that cute. > -Reception > -Sound quality without a headset [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > -Wired headset comes in handy, but it's not critical > -Clamshell preferred Sony Ericsson's Z600 seems to cover all these bases. Not really sure about reception since I don't have one, byt my Z500 seems to do pretty well in that respect. >> -Reception >> -Sound quality without a headset [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >reception since I don't have one, byt my Z500 seems to do pretty well in >that respect. That's the phone I was planning on buying when I got up this morning, but it only does 900/1800/1900MHz, it doesn't do 850MHz which is what Rogers is apparently using in some/many areas. Also, the drone at Fido told me it doesn't have predictive text, although looking online, that appears to be incorrect. SignatureUsenet is like a herd of performing elephants with diarrhea -- massive, difficult to redirect, awe-inspiring, entertaining, and a source of mind-boggling amounts of sh.t when you least expect it. Check out the webpage www.cellphones.ca - It has very indepth information about cellular products in Canada. For $399 you could get Moto RAZR, which comes with a $100 bluetooth headset. The plan I mentioning is unadvertised. You must specifically ask for the "Unlimited Incoming Promotional Plan" at a rogers store, or customer service. >Check out the webpage www.cellphones.ca - It has very indepth >information about cellular products in Canada. For $399 you could get >Moto RAZR, which comes with a $100 bluetooth headset. Any idea where I can get that? $399USD or CDN? Are unlocked RAZR phones available anywhere "legitimately"? -- I roam in the US, and wouldn't mind being able to pick up a prepaid GSM SIM while I'm there rather then paying extortionist roaming rates. >The plan I mentioning is unadvertised. You must specifically ask for >the "Unlimited Incoming Promotional Plan" at a rogers store, or >customer service. Ah, very good. Makes sense :) SignatureSo you're a feminist. Isn't that cute. THe $399 price tag is on a 3-year term price only. CDN dollars. To buy it outright it would be $469.99 CDN. This phones features are it's coolness factor and that it comes with decent accessories (Bluetooth headset, case, I believe a car charger) >THe $399 price tag is on a 3-year term price only. CDN dollars. To buy >it outright it would be $469.99 CDN. This phones features are it's >coolness factor and that it comes with decent accessories (Bluetooth >headset, case, I believe a car charger) Rogers' website is showing $299 on a 3 year after the mail-in ripoff. I'll see what a dealer can do for me, they may have other options (or know about unadvertised specials) I'm currently sitting on a $275 Nokia 6670 from Fido, if I'm willing to spend $275 I may as well go up to $299 for the Razr, especially since the Razr includes some accessories. SignatureUNIX Sex {look;find;talk;grep;touch;finger;find;flex;unzip;mount;workbone; fsck;yes;gasp;fsck;yes;eject;umount;makeclean;zip;split;done;exit} > THe $399 price tag is on a 3-year term price only. CDN dollars. To buy > it outright it would be $469.99 CDN. If the $470 phone comes unlocked, then paying the extra $70 would be well worth it, especially since you wouldn't be stuck with a 3 year plan. >> THe $399 price tag is on a 3-year term price only. CDN dollars. To buy >> it outright it would be $469.99 CDN. > >If the $470 phone comes unlocked, then paying the extra $70 would be >well worth it, especially since you wouldn't be stuck with a 3 year plan. Locked... I phoned Rogers, they're shipping me a Razr for $299.99, no activation fee, plus the first monthly fee is free, and free shipping. That's a much better deal then the $399 price tag at a dealer, plus activation, plus paying for the first month. It's still a 3 year contract, but I can cancel the contract for $200, so I'm only looking at ($299.99+$200)-($35+$25)=$439.99 for the phone even if I end up canceling, so it's not a bad deal all around. I'll probably play games with the rate plan once my 6 months unlimited "everything" runs out, but in the mean time, this should do the trick. Thanks for the input everyone! Oh, and in case anybody from Fido reads this: You should make sure your representatives SignatureTact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves. > Oh, and in case anybody from Fido reads this: You should make sure your > representatives ... know how to finish their sentences? :) >> Oh, and in case anybody from Fido reads this: You should make sure your >> representatives > >... know how to finish their sentences? :) That too... :) SignatureWhy do they call it your "bottom", when it's really in the middle of your body? > That's the phone I was planning on buying when I got up this morning, > but it only does 900/1800/1900MHz, it doesn't do 850MHz which is what > Rogers is apparently using in some/many areas. I think this 850 stuff is way overblown. I haven't experienced any Rogers coverage area yet that is 850 only. Occasionally a dual-band handset will work better than a 1900 only one, but the difference is slight. Look for the other features you require first. Brendan >> That's the phone I was planning on buying when I got up this morning, >> but it only does 900/1800/1900MHz, it doesn't do 850MHz which is what [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >handset will work better than a 1900 only one, but the difference is >slight. Look for the other features you require first. Perhaps, but at least some of the time when I'm in the US visiting my employer I'll be on a 850-only network (or so I've been told by one of the cell junkies that I work with -- I trust his ability to read his phone's diagnostic screens) That, plus the whole reason I'm switching is that I'm sick and tired of network issues, and I don't want to call Rogers in 2 months after moving to a new apartment only to be told that if I had a 850 phone, I would have coverage. All that being said, the two Rogers phones that interest me are both Quad-band anyway (and that's not why I was looking at them) I've settled on the Razr, unless anything about it annoys me once it arrives. SignatureTact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves. >> That's the phone I was planning on buying when I got up this morning, >> but it only does 900/1800/1900MHz, it doesn't do 850MHz which is what [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Brendan You haven't gone up north have you? I went up to Halliburton a couple of weeks ago and I had no signal at the cottage with my Euro tri-band Z600 but my buddy on Rogers with a Nokia with 850Mhz had good coverage. When I came back I was able to get the Fido CSR ,after he did a lengthy consultation with the techs, to admit that Rogers used 850 only in rural areas. He did say something about them looking into a solution for the problem Fido users without 850 faced but YMMV. Brian I concur with you about the Haliburton area being 850 friendly... (The other area that I need 850 for is my house; in a valley near Merrickville; the only 2 signals that reach there are 850 mhz and analog bell... go figure...) >>> That's the phone I was planning on buying when I got up this morning, >>> but it only does 900/1800/1900MHz, it doesn't do 850MHz which is what [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > Brian My mistake, the RAZR is $299 is store as well. There is also a sweet new RAZR BLK coming out. I'm not sure on details. For $200 on a 3 year you could get a Moto 635i, which is a much more feature rich phone. It doesn't come with the accesories that the RAZR does, but is a MP3 player (comes with 512MB memory stick!), and has bluetooth, a better camera than the RAZR, RF is almost as good as the NOKIA 3595 was, excellent email client, and you can connect to your computer via usb, and view the data just like an external hard drive. >My mistake, the RAZR is $299 is store as well. There is also a sweet >new RAZR BLK coming out. I'm not sure on details. For $200 on a 3 year [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >excellent email client, and you can connect to your computer via usb, >and view the data just like an external hard drive. Still $399 in the stores I checked (I called around Calgary a little). I debated watching for the black Razr, but honestly, I'm not confident it would stay looking good, black tends to show scuffs more then silver. I looked at the 635i, but by the time I buy the accessories it's the same price as the Razr. I already have more then enough MP3 players, and I carry at least two digital cameras with me most of the time, so I can't see the investment being worth it at this point. Signature'Outlook not so good.' That magic 8-ball knows everything! > There is also a sweet > new RAZR BLK coming out. I'm not sure on detail Been out in Asia / Pacific for a few months now. SignatureOther than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play? > One other consideration is phone selection. As far as I can tell, none > of Fido's phones appeal to me. [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > I can live with, I think that getting a discount from the carrier is the > way to go. The Motorola V551 is an excellent choice. It's a stellar performer, quad band, excellent sound quality and it has blue tooth. >> One other consideration is phone selection. As far as I can tell, none >> of Fido's phones appeal to me. [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] >The Motorola V551 is an excellent choice. It's a stellar performer, quad >band, excellent sound quality and it has blue tooth. From what I can tell it seems to be a Razr in a larger shell -- Is that a fair assessment? I'm having trouble making up my mind whether or not it's worth the extra cash or not, but I think style is worth something... SignatureSo you're a feminist. Isn't that cute. > I'm having trouble making up my mind whether or not it's worth the extra > cash or not, but I think style is worth something... One word of warning: Make sure you spend a few hours at the store trying the phone's features, menu, user interface, read the manual befoe you actually buy the thing. My Siemens M55 looked great on paper with tons of features, but once I got it, it was hell to get used to and had to adapt to lower functionality because the user interface was so poor. (for instance, no easy way to adjust volume while you're on a voice call). Another example: to quite from the wap browser, you have to press the "back" button long enough to tell the phone that you don't want to go to the previous page, but not long enough to tell the phone to shut off (a process which takes a long time, and an equally long time to turn the phone back on). So a sexy looking phone looks great. But try its user interface first. In the end, that is what is more important, unless you just want to be seen with the phone without actually needing to use it. >> I'm having trouble making up my mind whether or not it's worth the extra >> cash or not, but I think style is worth something... > >One word of warning: Make sure you spend a few hours at the store trying >the phone's features, menu, user interface, read the manual befoe you >actually buy the thing. Yes, definitely -- Does Rogers offer any sort of satisfaction guarantee or return policy? -- I haven't seen anything on their website yet, but I seem to recall that Rogers does (or that some dealers can/do, anyway) I'm happy enough if it means I can't use many minutes, and/or that I pay for those minutes + KBs, but I'd also like to test the interface with my computer if at all possible. >My Siemens M55 looked great on paper with tons of features, but once I >got it, it was hell to get used to and had to adapt to lower [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >In the end, that is what is more important, unless you just want to be >seen with the phone without actually needing to use it. That's my thoughts about the Nokia 6670, although I could get used to the GUI if the keypad wasn't so tiny. Signature"Gee, Bill what do you want to do tonight?" "The same thing we do every night Steve. Try to take over the world!" > > I'm having trouble making up my mind whether or not it's worth the extra > > cash or not, but I think style is worth something... BTW why do you want to leave Mike? With the Rogers/Fido integration gong show going on you'd be advised to think long and hard before leaving Telus. Rogers is incompetent IMO and things are getting worse instead of better, and likely will for some time. Plus they are jacking prices even as their service deteriorates, guess they want to pay for Microcell this year :-( >> > I'm having trouble making up my mind whether or not it's worth the extra >> > cash or not, but I think style is worth something... > >BTW why do you want to leave Mike? With the Rogers/Fido integration gong >show going on you'd be advised to think long and hard before leaving Telus. I've been with Mike since October 99, so this is not a decision I made lightly. I was planning on waiting until wireless number portability, but I'm not sure I can hold out. In the mean time, I can get TELUS to give me a retention plan in the mean time. The reason is fairly simple: I'm tired of the words "Network unavailable" and "Service unavailable" and "Service restricted" and "User not available" and other similar terms when I try to call out. I'm tired of incoming calls going straight to voicemail, or worse, ringing forever or ringing and getting silence. Or worst, just getting silence and no ringing. I'm tired of seeing full signal strength until I try to make a call, then it goes out of service. I'm tired of getting notified I have voicemail days after the voicemail was left in my mailbox. I would like a phone that lasts more then 36 hours of standby time, which is pretty much it for Mike phones. All that being said, I will miss my rate plan, and in some respects the Mike network is the best place for me. My current rate plan is $40 for 400 minutes, by the second billing, all calling features free, 7pm E&W for $15, etc. Unlimited email through the wireless web, etc. I doubt I'll find anything comparable now, but what good is the rateplan when I can't make or receive calls reliably? FWIW, I have half a dozen phones, and have swapped phones so I know it's not a hardware issue unless both of my active phones started experiencing the same problem at the same time, PLUS my spare handsets started doing the same -- So it's almost definitely network related. The thing that pushed me over the edge though is the fact that despite half a dozen (yes, 6) phone calls to confirm how I would be billed for roaming, I was not given correct information once. Not once. My patience has simply run out with TELUS. I realize Rogers isn't going to be a ton better, but I want to stay with a SIM-based service, so that means iDEN or GSM. >Rogers is incompetent IMO and things are getting worse instead of better, >and likely will for some time. Plus they are jacking prices even as their >service deteriorates, guess they want to pay for Microcell this year :-( Yeah, that concerns me too somewhat, but that's part of why I'm thinking I might be better off on the Rogers side of things -- I can see them taking away the Fido benefits without anything to replace them. SignatureReality is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. > My Siemens M55 looked great on paper with tons of features, One major advantage Siemens & Ericcson (sp?) have over Nokia, Motorola, etc. etc. is that they tend to post firmware updates on the web, so no painful treks to the so called "service" centre. SignatureNo radio. Already stolen. |
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