I switched cellphone carriers this past week from Rogers to Wind Mobile, finally putting an end to my relationship with the service provider.
I wasn’t a fan of Rogers. The problem was that there wasn’t any competition to switch to. The Canadian cell phone market was controlled by the big three: Rogers, Bell, and Telus. Together, they charged rates far beyond any of their international counterparts.
With investigations into their activities by the government, the big three decided to roll out discount service providers. Telus started up Koodo, Bell went into a joint venture and created Virgin Mobile, and Rogers acquired Fido.
The competition was purely illusory. The market was still controlled by the big three, and the prices were still high. Finally, there was a wind of change: through the actions of the CRTC and government intervention, outside competition was allowed in.
Three new, entirely independent, companies are now setting up shop in Canada. I switched to Wind Mobile, the first to be available in my area.
With Rogers, I paid $65/month for 200 minutes of talk time, caller ID, and voice mail. I had to pay $0.15 for all inbound/outbound text messages, which sometimes pushed my bill up higher. To top it off, I was stuck on a three year contract.
With Wind, I pay $45/month for unlimited talk time – including long distance to all of Canada. I get unlimited texting, in and out. I also get voice mail/caller ID/call forwarding/etc. Best of all: no contracts.
No more $100+ bills because I went over my 200 minute limit. No more worrying when I’m put on hold. No more surcharges for texting. No more hidden “system access” fees. No more need to pay $20/month for my VoIP line either.
Rogers, you won’t be missed.
Comments
4 responses to “Goodbye Rogers!”
I’m very much interested in seeing a follow-up post in a few months rating their service. Just browsing their website has me salavating at the thought of leaving Telus…
Good idea.
I’m less than a week in, and this is less than two weeks after Wind opened up shop in Ottawa. I might have jumped the gun a wee bit too early, but I was frankly looking for any excuse to move away from Rogers.
One thing to note though: I know that you had a data plan with Telus, and Wind is a little bit expensive on that front. It’s $35/month for unlimited data. They don’t have any lesser plans.
…and you apparently have to buy your phone, rather than sign a contract and get it for free/cheap (yikes!). I still have another 9 months left on my contract, so I figure I’ll start crunching the numbers in 6 to see if it makes sense for me to move.
You do have to buy your phone. They have discounts on them, but they’re very minor (ie. sell a $230 phone for $150.) They don’t do contracts over there.
If you port over your number this month, they’ll give you a $150 credit towards your first three bills, and your first month is free. In my case, that offset the immediate cost of switching.
The service isn’t for everyone. I perhaps paraded it a little too much: in my case, it seems to have worked out. But I know that in my other buddy’s case, switching didn’t make sense.