Cheaper plans and better plans.

[tehowennathe]

I was recently in the US and heard a radio advertisement for Metro PCS.. They offer Unlimited talk and text with unlimited data for $30 a month. They offer 1GB at LTE speeds then after that for rest of month it's reduced speeds. Maybe it's time to look at how the US and see how they price their plans. I know lots of people who will get metro pcs and use the service in Canada because it's still cheaper then anything similar. Maybe starting something similar is a way to keep Canadians from leaving Canadian companies for American companies. Most US plans work in Canada with one price and no extra charges for roaming.

[Balanceman]

Hello,

I am totally in agreemen with the cheaper plans, but the competitive environment here is quite different from the States.  In Canada, we only have 3 major providers (4 if you include Freedom Mobile) [this is because Rogers, Bell and Telus essentially own other providers].  The importance of mobile and integration of data into the consumer's life has also increased th elasticity of demand of mobile therefore making it more expensive (because they know we will pay for it).  Mobile plans are generally more expensive in Ontario since there is only 3.5 competitors (Freedom Mobile will eventually get there).  If you look at other provinces where there are provincial competitors (i.e. Manitoba, Quebec), the price is more attractive.  You can find evidence of this in the Koodo's Quebec mobile offerings.  The lack of competition, importance of mobile and the need to continually increase the ARPU (average revenue per user) ensures that prices are only getting higher.

These issues have been discussed in the CRTC report.  You can find it on their website if you are interested.

But yes, I would appreciate more competitive pricing too!

[srlawren]

 @will13am yes it's usually cheaper getting a local sim but not as convenient. If you're a frequent traveller or go for lenghty durations, it's almost certainly worth the hassle to keep your costs more manageable.  For casual daytrippers and short/medium-length vacationers, it may be debatable.  You have to pick a service, obtain a SIM card ahead of time or when you land, ensure your phone is unlocked (a bonus to being a PM customer, chances are yours already is unless you're using a Koodo/Telus-sourced phone), and deal with a different phone number.  This, in comparison to spending 3 minutes buying US roaming add-on(s) to suit your needs and just using your phone as normal while in the US is not as convenient.*

That said, if you normally use a VoIP service for all your incoming calls and for texting then I guess it doesn't really matter what SIM card is in the slot as long as it's got a signal and enough data in the plan to suit your needs.  This is probably the panacea, by abstracting the network provider down to just a data channel upon which you can run your services as if you're at home.  Your mileage may vary, but any time I've experimented with this route by forwarding my calls to a Fongo # for a period of time and using Hangouts for outbound calls (due to the outbound caller ID spoofing your own phone #), I've had more audio quality issues than just relying on mobile talk services. Granted, it's been a while and I should probably try it again at some point to see if things are any better.  If this situation worked and one were to port thier number out to Fongo it might actually make this "roaming" [local SIM] approach perfect. 

* I used to use a hybrid of the local SIM approach by using Roam Mobility before PM offered up the add-ons.  I'd forward to Fongo, outbound through Hangouts Dialer, and just give the few people I SMS with the Roam Mobility # to contact me on while away.  It worked well, especially once I went to a dual SIM phone which made it even easier.  On more recent trips, I've found it easier to just pick up the US Roaming add-on(s) and use my phone.  

[will13am]

@srlawren, there is always a price to pay to save $.  I am going to cut short your discussion at Fongo.  That app is really nice in that you can get a Canadian number.  Apart from that, two soup cans and a length of string makes a better communication device than the Fongo app.  I am going to be out of the home province for a couple of weeks and so any talking will not involve the dialer app. 

[srlawren]

@will13am agreed, I've yet to be super impressed by it, though some swear by it.  It definitely has a bunch of settings you can experiment with to try to get the best results, but it seems like a hassle TBH.  Have you abstracted your calling to a VoIP service of some kind?  If so, what do you like better than Fongo?

[will13am]

I don't chat much on the phone, so my bar is set pretty low, but not as low as Fongo. I usually use hangouts and WhatsApp.

[clavije]

Hey, T-mobile has a plan that covers canada , us and mexico for $45 a month unlimited talk and text and 2Gb of data

[paulie]

Yes but that is in USD$ and the conversion to CAD$ is too high.  Also the T-Mobile plan has a statement in the T's & C's that a certain percentage of calls and data use has to be in the USA.

[srlawren]

@paulie I was assuming so too (limited percentage outside of the U.S.), but actually it may not be the case on these plans.  I just combed through all the tiny text at the bottom of this page and I don't see anything limiting the amount of usage while in Canada or Mexico, or regarding percentage of use in the U.S.:  https://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-plans-individual  

[paulie]

Hmmm...   well it's been a while since I've looked at the wording.  They may have changed it !?   Even still though the exchange rate doesn't make it cheaper.  And I think the data speed slows way down after the limit.   It may be unlimited, but slow as molasses.

[srlawren]

@paulie yeah $45 USD is currently right around the $60 mark in Canadian funds.  With 3GB full-speed LTE included, that's still not horrific pricing.  If you travel to the US and/or Mexico fairly frequently it might still be a benefit, as you could keep one number throughout North America and use it like you're at home.  The downside of that upside is that phone number would be an American phone number.  So if anyone wanted to call you, they would either need to have calling-to-US included in their plan with their provider, or be charged long distance.