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Lexicon posted:To be fair, OilSlick may have meant that carriers would claim that they compete on other factors. They clearly don't, in actuality. As you say, there's nothing really left to compete on. Yes, factors include: - network strength (the big one) - unique services (Bell Mobile TV, etc) - bundle discounts - exclusive phones (becoming less common these days, but our bosses will mention it sometimes) - great customer service (I know, this is bullshit, but any carrier executive is going to say they offer great customer service. It's like how parents will always praise their children regardless of what a moron they are) - faith in their sales reps to sell you on value, not price (again, bullshit, but that's what they believe) Network strength really is a big deal to carriers. Maybe not where you guys live, but in Nova Scotia, Rogers is easy as hell to sell against. Their network is spotty anywhere outside (or inside half the time) of Halifax. People leaving them seriously supply at least half of my monthly sales quota. Eastlink is our equivalent to WIND in Atlantic Canada, and my bosses rarely ever bring them up when discussing competitive information. Why? Their network is just that bad. I can say with experience that network strength is legitimately a major issue for a lot of customers. But as I said, this is just how these people think. Is it a flimsy defense against accusations of collusion? Yes. But that is what they will probably go with.
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Mar 18, 2014 02:31
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TheZodiac posted:Look at this poo poo from VirginMobileCanada They say "up to $700 in subsidies" but has anyone actually received a $700 subsidy? I know they still charge $229 for the base price iPhone which is $490 off at best, all for a ripoff $80/month plan for 2 years. Also those new Silver plans are a joke. The bottom tier one is 50MB data with an additional $5/50MB overage charge. That plan used to be $25/month with their Pay-per-use data tiers (1GB = $20). The overages in general have gotten way more restrictive as well. It used to be $10/GB, now it's $5/250MB on even the 1 and 2GB plans.
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Mar 18, 2014 03:27
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OilSlick posted:Yes, factors include: I take your point about network strength in Nova Scotia. That's not the typical large Canadian city experience though, I'd argue. At this point, they all seem to have largely equivalent networks and good LTE speeds - certainly in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, etc. I guess you work in sales? Do customers actually give a crap about that bundled mobile TV bullshit or whatever? I wouldn't have thought so.
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Mar 18, 2014 03:49
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Lexicon posted:I guess you work in sales? Do customers actually give a crap about that bundled mobile TV bullshit or whatever? I wouldn't have thought so. Not overly. Mobile TV was somewhat popular during the Olympics, and having phones bundled with other services is nice too I suppose. That's about it though. The Big 3 are probably roughly equivalent in major Canadian cities, but those guys still have WIND and Mobilicity to worry about. Despite this, I never hear anything about them when reading about competitive info (Our memo system often encompasses all of Canada), leading me to believe that the Big 3 probably don't take those guys too seriously right now because their network just isn't big enough to be a threat.
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Mar 18, 2014 03:55
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DarkJC posted:They say "up to $700 in subsidies" but has anyone actually received a $700 subsidy? I know they still charge $229 for the base price iPhone which is $490 off at best, all for a ripoff $80/month plan for 2 years. I know this only really works in large cities, but the money saved by doing the $30 Wind plan vs. $80+ plans means you could literally buy an unlocked 5S from Apple after what, 14 months? gently caress the big carriers (unless you're rural; then I am so, so sorry for you guys.    )Because of Wind's generous data plan, CBC's Sochi app was all I needed for the Olympics. Plenty of HD video on my phone, and hours and hours of it. gently caress Roger's and Bell's phoney baloney mobile TV bullshit. Rogers delenda est. Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 06:38 on Mar 18, 2014 |
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Mar 18, 2014 04:55
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I'm on a new-ish contract with Telus with an iPhone 5. I get unlimited everything except data, which is capped at 1 gig, for around $75.00 a month. I usually approach my data limit around 5 days before the end of my billing cycle. I was hoping to bump this up to 2 gigs, but looking online at the Telus site 2 gigs will cost an additional $40/mo and 6 gigs will cost an additional $65/mo  Is there any possible way to not pay the equivalent of another cellphone plan to boost my data?
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Mar 18, 2014 16:44
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CLAM DOWN posted:I'm never getting rid of my 6GB/$30 addon, jesus. Same. I'm done paying attention to this poo poo. All it does is piss me off.
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Mar 18, 2014 17:26
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While the telecom hate is strong, a friendly reminder that this exists (and works beautifully, so far anyway): http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1811078-How-to-get-the-55-Koodo-sk-mb-plan
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Mar 18, 2014 17:34
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How's the site itself? Is it the DSLReports of phones for Canada?
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Mar 18, 2014 17:42
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Mister Macys posted:How's the site itself? Is it the DSLReports of phones for Canada? I don't go there much, but they seem to be a fairly decent authority on the topics of retention plans, phone unlocking and so on.
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Mar 18, 2014 17:59
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Mister Macys posted:How's the site itself? Is it the DSLReports of phones for Canada? Yeah pretty much, it's the most concentrated place I've found for any wireless info. It's where sites like iphoneincanada and mobilesyrup jack their news from most of the time. The level of discussion is pretty terrible in some threads though
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Mar 18, 2014 19:45
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Lexicon posted:While the telecom hate is strong, a friendly reminder that this exists (and works beautifully, so far anyway): http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1811078-How-to-get-the-55-Koodo-sk-mb-plan I have tried to get this plan 5 times around the GTA with no luck. Best Buy, Walmart and RCSS,they all ask for ID from that province.
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Mar 18, 2014 20:06
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TheZodiac posted:I have tried to get this plan 5 times around the GTA with no luck. Best Buy, Walmart and RCSS,they all ask for ID from that province. Hmm, that's unfortunate. People on that thread still seem to be getting it, which suggests it's not a blanket policy. Maybe you've just had bad luck or an insufficiently plausible story (moving for work/school seems like a good candidate)?
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Mar 18, 2014 20:17
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I'm wanting to get a couple of Moto G from koodo on their $150 offer. I currently have two accounts with about $110 on the tab credit each. Will I be able to go into the store, buy two, use the tab and pay the extra / add it to my tab, without changing plan? (These are actually for my parents when they come visit in a month, and I'll unlock them through eBay at $5 each) Also, I'm just assuming these phones will work in the UK? I know it's not an LTE phone but that's really not Important for my parents. 3G is fine. They also don't store music etc on it. Hoe salty they're much better suited to a dumb phone but they wanted something nice and I can get these for almost free.
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Mar 19, 2014 19:08
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Nuntius posted:Hoe salty This is pretty much the best autocorrect of "honestly" ever. I don't know much about Koodo so I can't really be of much help. I just wanted to point that out. They'll probably make you change your plan, but the Moto G is pretty cheap, so it's possible you won't need to/they'd change you to one that's the same price anyway. Most of the new scary plan change poo poo really only applies to expensive phones. As for using them in the UK it would depend on their frequency. The UK uses towers that were traditionally GSM while Koodo did not. Again, probably okay, but I'm not sure what the exact frequency settings for UK carriers are.
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Mar 20, 2014 01:50
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OilSlick posted:This is pretty much the best autocorrect of "honestly" ever. I read that about three times, shrugged, and thought "maybe he's from Newfoundland or something."
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Mar 20, 2014 04:09
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OilSlick posted:Moto G It's quad band. It'll work at both 2G and 3G in Europe.
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Mar 20, 2014 04:47
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Godinster posted:People in Saskatchewan will still bitch about rate plans despite them having ridiculously good deals comparatively. Well duh. My unlimited voice and text anywhere in Canada with 2gb of data for 65 bucks is still poo poo.
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Mar 21, 2014 03:56
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Danny LaFever posted:Well duh. These are the current plans in SK right now for Bell. I don't think Telus or Rogers have matched the 10 gig plan yet but it's pretty sad how the minimum plan in the rest of the country [except MB] is $80 a month and you're given 500 MB of data yet here's $75 for 10 gigs. 
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Mar 22, 2014 03:54
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Lexicon posted:While the telecom hate is strong, a friendly reminder that this exists (and works beautifully, so far anyway): http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1811078-How-to-get-the-55-Koodo-sk-mb-plan Just signed up for this at a Best Buy in Vancouver. I was walking past the shop, figured I'd give it a shot. Asked if I could get a SK area code on a new account. The guy asked if I was familiar with the Koodo plans and brought out a print out showing the regular plans. I said I was hoping to get one of the SK only plans. He wasn't sure at first I would be able to get a SK plan on his computer, but he called somebody who said the plan would in fact pop up in the drop down if we chose a SK area code. Ported my Vancouver number over once I got home, everything is working great. Have to pay Telus $400 now, but I'll make it up in 12 months at $80 vs $49.50. 3gb more data, too! Kreez fucked around with this message at 06:33 on Mar 23, 2014 |
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Mar 23, 2014 06:28
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Nice one!
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Mar 23, 2014 15:25
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When my Rogers contract is up for renewal in December, can I get a subsidized phone and keep my current plan? Or are they going to force me into the more expensive 2-yr contracts?
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Mar 24, 2014 18:51
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If you want a subsidized phone you will probably have to get one of the newer plans, unless your base plan is already >= $60/month. That's the last I heard anyway.
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Mar 24, 2014 18:59
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I bought my 5S unlocked so I could claim tax writeoffs, and now I'm out of contract with Rogers. Currently I'm at $70 for 2 gigs and unlimited voice. I don't really need that much, although 2 gigs is nice I guess. So I'm looking at Koodo's 1GB plan, with the 10% discount for bringing my own phone I could save a solid $14 a month, even more if I go for the lower data option. Is Koodo actually good?
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Mar 24, 2014 20:31
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THC posted:I bought my 5S unlocked so I could claim tax writeoffs, and now I'm out of contract with Rogers. Currently I'm at $70 for 2 gigs and unlimited voice. I don't really need that much, although 2 gigs is nice I guess. So I'm looking at Koodo's 1GB plan, with the 10% discount for bringing my own phone I could save a solid $14 a month, even more if I go for the lower data option. Is Koodo actually good? In my experience, yeah. They use the same LTE network as Telus, and it has excellent performance characteristics. Their mobile and web apps are terrible and error-prone, but that's par for the course. edit: try and get on board the QC/SK/MB Koodo train though if you can. They have far better plans.
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Mar 24, 2014 20:36
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I'm in BC so probably not. They had better deals a couple days ago but I seem to have missed the boat on those.
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Mar 24, 2014 20:47
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THC posted:I'm in BC so probably not. They had better deals a couple days ago but I seem to have missed the boat on those. You can get it by signing up for a new Koodo service with an SK phone number and then porting in your BC number with the online self serve. Kreez posted:Just signed up for this at a Best Buy in Vancouver. I was walking past the shop, figured I'd give it a shot. Asked if I could get a SK area code on a new account. The guy asked if I was familiar with the Koodo plans and brought out a print out showing the regular plans. I said I was hoping to get one of the SK only plans. He wasn't sure at first I would be able to get a SK plan on his computer, but he called somebody who said the plan would in fact pop up in the drop down if we chose a SK area code. Ported my Vancouver number over once I got home, everything is working great.
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Mar 24, 2014 20:51
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Interesting. Do I have to jump through any hoops to port the number over from Rogers?
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Mar 24, 2014 21:01
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THC posted:Interesting. Do I have to jump through any hoops to port the number over from Rogers? It might necessitate a few attempts to find a Koodo retailer that will issue you an SK number, but keep trying. The original thread on HF has some fairly good anecdotes about it. I ported from Rogers onto this and it went swimmingly.
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Mar 24, 2014 21:07
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I ported my number from Koodo prepaid, it took about 5 minutes total. All done online. If you're in Vancouver, I went in to the Best Buy on Cambie on a Saturday night. Completely painless, though the one guy who was working there didn't seem to clue in to what was actually going on, so maybe once he thinks about it a bit he'll realize I wasn't "getting a phone to mail to my grandma who lives in a remote area near Prince Albert with no access to a Koodo shop", and turn anyone else away. All the success stories in the HF thread seem to be with people who know what's up but are choosing to turn a blind eye.
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Mar 24, 2014 21:38
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Can't get a local # for Koodo where I live. Yay for oligarchies!
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Mar 24, 2014 22:04
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Kreez posted:I ported my number from Koodo prepaid, it took about 5 minutes total. All done online. Part of me thinks that Koodo (i.e. Telus) management is tacitly permitting this. They must realize it goes on by this point. But think about it this way: it's basically a form of price discrimination - they are extending service to a highly-savvy, self-service customer base who don't require a subsidy, probably won't ever leave the plan, probably won't ever call in, and probably won't ever leave, and who wouldn't have signed up absent this loophole. The ARPU might be a bit on the low side, but it's about as low effort as telecom revenue goes. And they can offer this without advertising it to the unwashed masses, who'll want that rate, plus an iPhone and a pony to go along with it. That's my theory, anyway. They can't be so incompetent that they are either unaware or powerless to stop it.
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Mar 24, 2014 22:20
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Lexicon posted:it's basically a form of price discrimination That's probably why that whole thing pisses me off the most, it basically is.
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Mar 24, 2014 22:44
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CLAM DOWN posted:That's probably why that whole thing pisses me off the most, it basically is. Sadly, you'll spent a lot of time angry in the modern world if price discrimination annoys you. Best just to exploit it to your advantage wherever possible.
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Mar 24, 2014 23:09
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gently caress Rogers gently caress Rogers with the largest, pointiest, dirtiest, ugliest stick possible.
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Mar 27, 2014 01:24
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grack posted:gently caress Rogers Do tell ( I presume this rant has a back story rather than just generally 'gently caress the current state of the market')
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Mar 27, 2014 02:23
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Nuntius posted:Do tell ( I presume this rant has a back story rather than just generally 'gently caress the current state of the market') This is specifically "gently caress Rogers" My mom's cell contract expired on March 15, so I took her to Koodo and had her port her number in for a much more suitable plan (ie. better service and $20 cheaper). Number was ported in same day, I specifically called Rogers to ensure the cancellation as well. Week later, a bill showed up at my parent's place with $125 of early cancellation fees. My mother was just going to pay it but my dad saw the bill and called me first. Rogers: "Oh, hey, yeah, that's our fault. It's been credited". gently caress you Rogers. You wouldn't have said a goddamned thing if I hadn't called.
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Mar 27, 2014 05:37
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It wouldn't surprise me if they do this intentionally because most people just pay it. It also wouldn't surprise me if it was just really buggy billing software.
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Mar 27, 2014 08:46
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Evis posted:It wouldn't surprise me if they do this intentionally because most people just pay it. It also wouldn't surprise me if it was just really buggy billing software. A little from column A, a little from column B. I worked in a call centre for one of the Big Three for about 3 years. Funny thing they all use terrible billing software from the same company, AMDOCS. Of course it's customized to hell for each of them, but the same system at the core. As for the "most people just pay it" it goes further than that. Billing errors made by the telco operate on the idea of "If we screw up and you notice, call in and we'll reverse it." It's never proactive. If you do something such as (I'll pick one of many examples out of my hat) set up a new cell tower in Calgary but code it as being in Edmonton. It bills long distance to anyone making calls from that tower even though it's totally the carrier's screw up. For about a week the call centre would argue with anyone who disputed it. "No you were in Edmonton, making a long distance call. That's what it says here!" It wasn't until people cried out to the media and they listened that the problem was acknowledged. http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/bell-mobility-customers-check-your-bills-1.350344 However acknowledged isn't the same as owning up to the situation. As quoted by Bell in the article, it was up to you to notice Bell hosed up. They aren't going to inform you that you were overbilled due to their mistake. quote:Bell Mobility says the problem has been fixed so they won't be contacting customers about the problem. "At this point, it's a limited issue that has been corrected. We do encourage our customers to review their bills during that time period and contact us if they do see any incorrect charges," says Smithers. The biggest problem with this scummy behaviour is that Bell (or any other carrier) has zero benefit to correcting their billing issues. Any response less than 100% of customers calling in to request credit for billing errors is free profit for the telco. Even if one customer doesn't catch that erroneous charge to their account that's 100% undeserved income. There needs to be a regulator with teeth to clamp down on the Big Three's billing "errors" but I'm not going to hold my breath to see anything happen in my lifetime.
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Mar 27, 2014 09:27
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Grack: curious - how much notice did you give pre-port? I had to go through a whole song and dance about that recently when I ported. Eventually got the CCTS involved and Rogers finally acquiesced.
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Mar 27, 2014 13:59
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