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EIPI's Avatar
Posts: 794 | Thanked: 784 times | Joined on Sep 2007 @ /Canada/Ontario/GTA
#1
Fellow Canadians, and other interested ITT members:

I have done some initial research into data plan options in Canada for the RX-51 (3G/HSPA). Our two choices at the moment are either Rogers or Fido. Essentially, they are the same, since Rogers owns Fido, but there are differences when it comes to the fine print.

1Gb data plans are $30/month at both Rogers and Fido
3Gb data plans are $60/month at both Rogers and Fido

Rogers will also charge a $6.95 system access fee in addition to the 911 fee.

Fido doesn't charge either the system access fee or the 911 fee.

I called Fido customer service just now, and this is the scoop on their data only plan as it affects RX-51 customers:

1. You have to buy a Fido SIM card - $35 from them online, or at a Fido store (less on ebay)
2. Activation fee of $35 applies (non-refundable)
3. There is NO CONTRACT if you bring your own device. If you want to have a 3G USB stick for some reason, sign up for a 2 year contract and get it for free. Use the included SIM card for either your tablet or the stick.
4. There is a 15 day trial, where you can potentially get back the SIM card fee if it doesn't work out (likely at their discretion).

In any case, this is the best that I believe is possible in Canada at the moment. If anyone knows of any better deals in Canada for data on the RX-51, or anything else to add, please discuss it here.

The one thing I forgot to ask was if there are any ports that they block (e.g. 5060 for SIP).
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#2
Originally Posted by EIPI View Post
Fellow Canadians, and other interested ITT members:

I have done some initial research into data plan options in Canada for the RX-51 (3G/HSPA). Our two choices at the moment are either Rogers or Fido. Essentially, they are the same, since Rogers owns Fido, but there are differences when it comes to the fine print.

1Gb data plans are $30/month at both Rogers and Fido
3Gb data plans are $60/month at both Rogers and Fido

Rogers will also charge a $6.95 system access fee in addition to the 911 fee.

Fido doesn't charge either the system access fee or the 911 fee.

I called Fido customer service just now, and this is the scoop on their data only plan as it affects RX-51 customers:

1. You have to buy a Fido SIM card - $35 from them online, or at a Fido store (less on ebay)
2. Activation fee of $35 applies (non-refundable)
3. There is NO CONTRACT if you bring your own device. If you want to have a 3G USB stick for some reason, sign up for a 2 year contract and get it for free. Use the included SIM card for either your tablet or the stick.
4. There is a 15 day trial, where you can potentially get back the SIM card fee if it doesn't work out (likely at their discretion).

In any case, this is the best that I believe is possible in Canada at the moment. If anyone knows of any better deals in Canada for data on the RX-51, or anything else to add, please discuss it here.

The one thing I forgot to ask was if there are any ports that they block (e.g. 5060 for SIP).
Please be kind and add this information here: http://wiki.maemo.org/Data_Plans#Canada

Best regards.
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EIPI's Avatar
Posts: 794 | Thanked: 784 times | Joined on Sep 2007 @ /Canada/Ontario/GTA
#3
Originally Posted by VDVsx View Post
Please be kind and add this information here: http://wiki.maemo.org/Data_Plans#Canada

Best regards.
Just added it!
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#4
So just to clarify one thing there; if you sign up for the 2 year contract with the USB stick then you don't need to buy the fido SIM card in step one, because the USB stick comes with it?

Also keep in mind Rogers just announced this week that they were increasing their rates and "Regular service fees" for a large number of their services (everything ranging from cable tv to cell phone access fees/etc) thanks to... the uh, "financial benefits of their long term business strategy paying off" (aka they lost a bunch of money and are trying to make up for it); not sure how that will affect rates/plans by the time the RX-51 gets out, but worth keeping in mind.

One other thing that may be of some good is that there are supposed to be some new carriers moving into Canada in the next few months (exact details escape me now, I heard about it a while ago) which might help to bring in some actual competition since they're supposed to be actually running their own networks rather than just reselling like everyone else...
 
EIPI's Avatar
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#5
So just to clarify one thing there; if you sign up for the 2 year contract with the USB stick then you don't need to buy the fido SIM card in step one, because the USB stick comes with it?
Yes, that is correct.

One other thing that may be of some good is that there are supposed to be some new carriers moving into Canada in the next few months (exact details escape me now, I heard about it a while ago) which might help to bring in some actual competition since they're supposed to be actually running their own networks rather than just reselling like everyone else...
Yeah, I don't have any details on the new carriers, but it will be a relief if there is some true competition. Let's wait and see, and post any new information here. Contract-free in these changing times is prudent.
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Last edited by EIPI; 2009-02-20 at 16:32.
 
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#6
Contract-free is definitely important now!

debernardis mentioned to me that a company that has been operating in his home country, Italy, is coming to Canada as soon as this Fall, bringing with them (hopefully) European pricing.

http://www.windmobile.ca/

It looks like the best price right now for voice + HSDPA data at Fido is $15 (minimal voice) + $25 (500MB data) = $40 per month.

My iPhone-using friend says that 500MB/month should be fine for even a power-user like me.

I sure hope that Wind can get up and running by the time the RX-51 is available in Canada... And that they can give us the prices of a "civilized country".
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#7
Originally Posted by qole View Post
My iPhone-using friend says that 500MB/month should be fine for even a power-user like me.
500MB is quite a bit if you stick to a handheld phone or tablet. It's not very much if you use a cellular modem/stick on a computer with any regularity.
 

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#8
What applications on the computer (as opposed to the handheld) tend to burn the bandwidth?

I'm wondering because I could see a Maemo phone being more like a computer than current smartphones. For instance, leaving Pidgin running all the time... how many bits does that burn? Hmmm...
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#9
Originally Posted by qole View Post
What applications on the computer (as opposed to the handheld) tend to burn the bandwidth?

I'm wondering because I could see a Maemo phone being more like a computer than current smartphones. For instance, leaving Pidgin running all the time... how many bits does that burn? Hmmm...
That would really depend on which IM networks you're using. FWIW, although it's hard to compare, my friend worked out Skype's usage for his desktop, and figured that it would use >2GB just sitting idle, in a month. While this was on 15Mbps connection (for which I believe Skype increases its BW usage), Skype is still going to be something you won't want to leave running all of the time, most likely.
 

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#10
Originally Posted by qole View Post
What applications on the computer (as opposed to the handheld) tend to burn the bandwidth?

I'm wondering because I could see a Maemo phone being more like a computer than current smartphones. For instance, leaving Pidgin running all the time... how many bits does that burn? Hmmm...
I already use my tablet as a full time computer, doing almost everything on it these days. I am connected to about 7 different protocols, have about 40 RSS feeds updating and receive e-mail... on top of my regular web use.

My latest bill was for 1.8GB. I'm sure the reason for some of that was that the RSS feed reader was downloading all images as well for my feeds, so I turned that off, feed by feed to reduce my costs.

I believe my average use was between 50 and 80MB per day.

Last edited by zerojay; 2009-08-18 at 02:02.
 

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