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10:32 pm
August 13, 2009
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The topic is often brought up that canadian carriers are ripping people off when it comes to cell phone charges. I'd agree, especially for the cost of a normal cell phone plan @ $60/month, I could argue that for four cellphones, you could lease a whole CAR for a month.
$10 is what SO charges for 2GB of mobile browsing (2GMB) and while limited, seems like it would cover the needs of most people.
But people on this forum are complaining about SO and their $10 UMB and how it's a rip off for a crippled 'data' plan.
It would be nice if people could bring up comparisions of telco providers around the world that they know of. For example. Is it true in Australia, that all incoming phone calls on paygo phones are free?
And what about monthly postpaid rates in other countries? What are they like?
I'll start with an example.
Rogers prepaid charges at it's best rate $25/500mb of moblie browsing. Essentially the exact same as SO's mobile browsing, but at 4x the cost should you use 2gb of data. $10 gets you 100mb of MB which I am starting to agree is a little thin for browsing (not including youtube).
How does SO get away with such a price variance that is so much cheaper than it's parent company (SO will be eaten up by Rogers one day if the CRTC doesn't protect them....)
If I were to go monthly, I'd probably switch to mobilicity or Wind. $25 for 'unlimited' can't be beat.
Well, anyways, any other price comparisons from canada or around the world? Most canadian companies seem to want to extract a minimum fo $30/month from people. Preferably $60/month
4:25 am
January 24, 2010
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but you have to remember SO just for browsing the web, most of the apps are noting working with SO
Yes telcos Canada are rip Canadian consumer apart, but at this they have other company like Pubic, Moblicity or Winds for cheap $$$$ but then again they have weak signal strength.
Just depend on what you need and just your wireless service that's all. Cost me $25 for SO this year so far.
+
=save $$$$$
2:45 pm
May 3, 2011
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Rogers is not SO's parent company. SO, through ZTar Mobile, leases excess bandwidth from Rogers, as does PetroCan. If Rogers didn't like this arrangement they wouldn't do it. I think it's great value and I hope like hell the bandwidth hogs don't ruin this for us.
3:43 pm
August 13, 2009
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seagame2001 said:
but you have to remember SO just for browsing the web, most of the apps are noting working with SO far.
The question is then what other 'data' plans are out there. I've found rogers, but it's still just for browsing the web.
And I know that Rogers doesn't own SO, but it might as well. If SO doesn't buy from Rogers, where else will they buy from?
4:45 pm
December 30, 2010
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it is the cheapest but the real difference may not be that much, depending on actual data usage. virgin's 250MB for 15 is perfectly suitable for me and it is actual data plan(and faster with better coverage). Next up the scale is telus' 500MB @ 20 and both have 5GB @ 35.
I am still using SO as the net is 7.5/month counting in the bonus and free phone/sim.
9:09 pm
March 5, 2010
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its all good, there is no shortage of bandwidith in Canada, or anywhere, it is all bull, they just wanted to make the felling there was limited supply, like say fuel, but is a lie, we the taxpayers have paid for lots of the gear anyways.
I think if rogers could they would cut off SO but as they have made an agreement they would get their butts suied off by Zitar dudes, you can't take something away from someone.
Rogers i don't think cares to much, and who cares if they do, they make it hand over fist on Canadians, ripping them off yes.
most people won't take teh trouble to go threw all this to get their phones set up.
If anyone complains about $10 for being able to use up to two gigs, give them a slap upside the had and tell them to stop crying babies, your getting by far the best deal in canada.
1:36 pm
March 10, 2010
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Sorry, when did "Unlimited Browsing" become 2GB?
1:46 pm
August 13, 2009
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The real issue isn't bandwidth, it's throughput.
If we were to make an analogy with cars. It's not how much you drive. They don't care about that, it's all about WHEN you drive. And since they can't really bill on when you drive, they make an arbitrary rule based on HOW MUCH.
Saying that, hopefully SO can dodge any bullet since Rogers is upgrading to the LTE standard and 3g and 2g/edge become legacy hardware that they can make money on by renting out legacy hardware to companies like SO.
Does wind/mobilicy have their own hardware, or do they rent from the big three? They use 'legacy' frequencies right?
1:53 pm
December 30, 2010
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I don't think they are lending out anything, they channels and equipments all belongs to rogers. They just use the SIM to indentify the device and do accounting entries between them and Ztar(?). Even the UMB proxy and the like are rogers server.
This is quite different from the home broadband case where a third party can rent the last mile(wire to the home as well as the switch in the station), that is required by law.
8:34 pm
August 13, 2009
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andreww said:
Sorry, when did "Unlimited Browsing" become 2GB?
I started calling it that because I got tired of people saying that if it's unlimited, then dammit all I should be able to use 50GB if I want to.
The reality of the situation according to some other lost thread is that if you're an abuser, and they see you using more than the average, they'll cut you off for 'abusing' the terms of service. UMB being what it is, which does not allow streaming of audio or video or data (youtube, skype, downloading), the arbitrary number for what is not unlimited is 2gb.
2gb is still very reasonable for on device browsing, especially when I use opera mini. I use it on wifi, but I see that 5mb of on device browsing gets compressed to 500 kb. So 2gb is the number they pick, which I think is very generous.
10:45 am
August 13, 2009
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Found on a blogging website:
On the plus side, my data-only connection of 1.5GB a month on T-Mobile prepaid is super cheap! Buying the refills at a discount, I usually pay a little more than $20 after tax a month.
So that's 1.5gb for a full data plan in the US.
Depending on your dire need for apps and data to make your phone do what it's advertised, compared to UMB I still think that it's a bit expensive. My magic number is $10/month.
I still think that smartphones, notably the iPhone 5 are a carrier's dream.
If cell phones were printers, they'd all be free with ink cartridges with microchips that turn the cartridge off even when the cartridge is 1/2 full to 'ensure printing quality'
10:04 pm
August 13, 2009
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Singlemom said
fefrie said:
they see you using more than the average, they'll cut you off for 'abusing' the terms of service.
the arbitrary number for what is not unlimited is 2gb.
2gb is still very reasonable for on device browsing
So 2gb is the number they pick, which I think is very generous.
This is where your such a moronic, opinionated, dumbass.
I got punted for less than 1GB,,,actually, less than 750Mb's…………….
And if you REALLY want to push it, 1.37GB from Sep 1st to 9th, not even close to 2GB,,,,dumbass.
How does my opinion that $10/2gbUMB is generous have anything to do with you being punted? There is a logical fallacy here somewhere.
The funny thing is, if you read my original post, I was saying that 2gb for $10 was pretty generous (a long long time ago) that SO was allowing. At the time of the original post, people were BRAGGING that they were using 10gb+ of data a month.
So back then, I would be all for you using 1ish or so GB of data for $10. But if you're talking about now?
You would have been booted off anyways. No point in complaining. We all knew UMB was ending. You got ended early. Tough bubbles. You might have been targeted, you might simply been next on the list.
No need to make claims that you were kicked for having used 1.37gb. You might have been kicked, having used 1.37gb, but you don't know that you were kicked FOR having used 1.37gb. You were booted October 08. Do you think that UMB would have lasted forever? When they roll out $10/100mb UMB IS OFFICIALLY OVER!
Unfortunately, getting angry at me doesn't change the fact that you got booted. Apparently some exec at SO or Rogers thinks that even 600mb of data for $10 isn't enough of a fat margin to take people for.
So as much as a moron you think that I am, the fact remains. Whatever the 'average' could or couldn't have been, someone up top removed it for you.
So now as the gates were obviously being closed, people are getting on me because they are getting chopped for usage 'not even close to 2gb'
Well, compared to todays rates of $10/100mb, for your $10 you were using way over their liking. My opinion has nothing to do with it.
So supply and demand being what it is, you all get 100mb of data for $10. And with all your ranting, don't you think that my original premise that $10 is actually quite reasonable for 2gb of data.
And hindsight being 20/20, don't you all wish that (collectively) you were all a little bit more prudent in not ruining a good thing.
If you all collectively kept it under an (arbitrary) 1gb, would you still be happy to pay $10 for 2gb of 'unlimited' data, yet self restrict yourself to under 1gb?
Of course now that you will pay $10/100mb, you'd gladly to instead pay $10/1gb. Those days are now long gone. Thanks for abusing.
You can spew vitriol all you want. $10/100mb is hardly a surprise, but a big dissapointment. I was hoping for pay per data. So much for the hopes of 10c/100kb.
PS admins. I'm all cool for keeping postings alive that call me a jackass. If I keep mature about it all, it's hardly a flame war.
