To assist readers in evaluating the new offerings from Wind Mobile, Digital Home compared the voice and text plans offered by Wind Mobile with plans offered by the big three wireless providers. (http://www.digitalhome.ca/2009/12/wind-mobile-how-good-is-their-pricing/)

A perfect comparison is impossible since all providers offer slightly different plans and features but if you are considering Wind then this should provide you with some food for thought.

NOTE:

This thead is an attempt to make an apples to apples comparison between voice and text plans offered by Wind and those of its competitors. Please do not discuss PayGO which is discussed elsewhere or comparisons. Also please avoid data plans as that is NOT the purpose of this thread.

Hugh, I appreciate what you are trying to do but, at the moment, comparing WIND with the other carriers is just not possible. For now, and we don't know how long, WIND's network is too small to compare with the real national networks offered by other "discount" providers. To be fair you need to ass in the cost of roaming which all but a few clients will incur. Already there are complaints that WIND phones are locking on Rogers even while the user is inside the WIND HomeZone.

WIND will never operate in Quebec, offer services in both official languages, etc. Or it seems obey Canadian laws. WIND is in trouble with the "feds" again for failing to report its lobbying work in November while it was persuading Cabinet to over-rule the CRTC. If WIND or its lobbyists were to be convicted each could face a fine of $200,000. Is this really a company that deserves all the hype its getting when 2 more competitive carriers are preparing to launch as well?

Lets leave the Cabinet and the CRTC for a separate thread. This is about users in Toronto and Calgary who are considering Wind Mobile and want to compare voice and text plans. Whether Wind operates in Quebec is really irrelevant to someone in Toronto who wants a phone.

FWIW, I think its important for anyone who comments to note whether they have a financial interest in selling these products.

Definitely no financial interest in any wireless company, unless some mutual fund has a position in one of them or, as in almost every pension plan will be invested in one or more telecom stocks. But nothing direct.

I think Quebec is relevant because a lot of media are reporting WIND is the first "national" competitor to the big three. That statement is just not true and reflects a failure to do any research into the story. While as a GTA resident, I may not use my phone in Quebec often, I do use it north of Hwy #407. It would be cheaper to carry a second Rogers PAYG phone than to roam on WIND but, again, most of the media reports I have read/seen/heard fail to mention those costs. Were they to be honest they would say WIND is not offering a service comparable to R/B/T yet and any comparisons are virtually meaningless. Maybe in a year or so things will be different but this is not the time to promote WIND as an equally comparable alternative. For now it's like saying a Mazda is cheaper than a BMW/Lexus/Mercedes without telling the differences in the products.

Hugh, I appreciate what you are trying to do but, at the moment, comparing WIND with the other carriers is just not possible. For now, and we don't know how long, WIND's network is too small to compare with the real national networks offered by other "discount" providers. To be fair you need to ass in the cost of roaming which all but a few clients will incur. Already there are complaints that WIND phones are locking on Rogers even while the user is inside the WIND HomeZone.

While the roaming is true, you simply need to look at the cost of long distance.

WIND charges 25c/min roaming outside their network.
Everyone else charges ~35c/min for calls outside the home zone

Still seems cheaper to me.

I noticed that Wind's anytime minutes in the All Talk plan are for province-wide. Do the other providers cover the province as well? (ie. no long distance charges)

While the roaming is true, you simply need to look at the cost of long distance.

WIND charges 25c/min roaming outside their network.
Everyone else charges ~35c/min for calls outside the home zone

Still seems cheaper to me.
Not really. Local calls while roaming on B/T/T are not charged. If I am in Montreal I can make all the calls I want within Montreal and its burbs, even though I have a Toronto number. If I am in Orangeville, I can call downtown Toronto - 90 k away - (using Telus Mobility) and there's no charge. But if I were a WIND customer and in Thornhill - 15 k away - I would have to pay 25 cents a minute to call Toronto. You are right that the roaming fee is less than the domestic LD rate the others charge, but until WIND extends its network it's a non-starter for many of us. For a select few it will be adequate.

When all the dust settles, I think it will become clear that WIND rushed this launch so it could be "first" and hoped to grab a lot of the disgruntled customers from the incumber carriers. I expect a lot of negative publicity will bubble-up when the first bills start to arrive (WIND's website even states coverage may not exist inside buildings and underground in its HomeZone - that means callers will be roaming on Rogers where indoor coverage is pretty good). By that time people will have paid for their $500 phone and be pretty ticked-off.

DAVE has said all along it wanted to do it right rather than be first. We'll see if that roll-out is any better.

Hi Hugh,

Just an observation, why do you not take hardware cost into account? Who is cheaper after 1, 2, 3 years of service?

Another thought is whether the device will last more than two years? A Wind customer may be paying for a new phone every 2 years where other provider subsidize the price on a contract.

Hi Hugh,

I agree with you. I stay within gta, meaning I run between cities like Mississauga, Brampton, Toronto, Richmond Hill etc.

Luckily I have grandfathered CityFido with unlimited mins before it was cut off. Now get this, I average around 5000 mins / month. Yes thats five thousand. I also know people who average over 10 K.

Do I care about what my roaming charges are if I visit Niagara Falls or Montreal once a year? Of course not. Simple logic, I can either pay roaming fees once a year, or pay for extra air time after 200 mins every month. You can do the math.

I had tons of people begging me to give them my City Fido. Well now they don't have to. Infact, Wind's 35$ plan is cheaper (also province winde) than my $45 City Fido, plus I have to pay SAF.

Welcome aboard Wind.

Subsidized or not if you're on a contract with the Big 3 you'll still have to pay something out of pocket for a new phone if yours dies 2 years into your 3-year contract.

Since a user has to foot the entire bill for the phone up-front maybe they'll actually take care of it and not whine and complain that they should get a new free one when they accidentally drop their original one in the lake because they got it for free by signing a contract.

Also saw that wind gives first month free.
So that's essentially like getting an $x discount off of your phone cost in Hugh's charts (depending on plan).


Re: roaming - i realize that 'local' is to where you are, which makes a direct comparison more difficult. My point is that more often than not, you're calling numbers to your local area, no?
If I go to Ottawa, I'm not likely to be calling a lot of places local to Ottawa, but more likely to be calling friends, family, business contacts, etc. that are local to the GTA.
If you're a "businessman" frequently travelling outside of the GTA and making lots of calls, you wouldn't be considering changing anyway, as you're content with your Rogers BB plan for $100+ a month and covered by your business.
The only people who would even consider switching at this point are people who never leave the GTA or people with phones for personal or light business use. Everyone else has little incentive to switch as they're either not paying for the plan or don't really care what they're paying for the plan.

I think you are underestimating who wouldn't consider switching. Some of us have better prices with the incumbents.

For $91 mo, taxes and SAF/9-1-1 incld, I get 2 phones, more shared minutes than we have ever used, free nationwide calling between plan members, unlimited Blackberry data, nationwide five, unlimited evenings and weekends, all the calling features. At $45.50 each, that's cheaper than WIND and I get a top-notch nationwide network.

And how long did you have to be with them in order to get that plan?

(To outinthornhill) ^^^ That's the frustrating thing. No consistency with the big 3. I don't have the same service as you and I pay more...

And how long did you have to be with them in order to get that plan?Exactly. Or alternatively, under what government/corporate plan are you to get that deal?

There will always be exception especially considering the myriad unpublished deals among the Big 3 that are in play.

outinthornhill - Thornhill is part of Wind's intital coverage, they even have a few backend towers along the 407.

Also note, I do not have a house phone (land line.) Thats at least a saving for $30 or more. Once I get home, I put my phone near my Bluetooth Cordless phone base, which makes alive the remaining cordless phones in the house.

Wonders you can do with Unlimited mins.

And how long did you have to be with them in order to get that plan?
i have now been with Telus (formerly Clearnet) ten years, but got that plan after 8. The unlimited data offer was time limited and has never been repeated. It was a matter of jumping when it was available AND committing to another 3 years, but has proven to have been worth it. This year, the "December bonus" is early evenings for the unlimited evenings/weekend. I know it pales in comparison. :)

outinthornhill - Thornhill is part of Wind's intital coverage, they even have a few backend towers along the 407.
I know WIND's maps show coverage along the #407 and going a bit north at Yonge St. If the towers point south towards Toronto, I might be OK at home, but if I went to a restaurant or the supermarket on #7 and east of Yonge, according to the maps, I would be roaming while less than 3km from home. It will be interesting to watch for reports on how reliable is the coverage at the borders of the HomeZone and how long it takes before the boundary shifts north to at least #9, which is about the Toronto local calling area limit on Telus.

If the money holds out and WIND continues its expansion as planned AND they fill in the gaps so service in available underground and in high-rises in downtown Toronto, it may become a reasonable alternative for some users. At the moment, it seems the launch was premature in order to start generating, some/any income.

(To outinthornhill) ^^^ That's the frustrating thing. No consistency with the big 3. I don't have the same service as you and I pay more...
I appreciate what you are saying. I never really had to negotiate. When I was upgrading to the Blackberry, the plans had changed since I had signed up. The Telus CSR just looked at my before and after pricing and made the necessary adjustments so the bill wouldn't increase, except for the addition of unlimited data. No haggling, no threatening to leave for big red. Since then, nationwide fave-five was added as a feature of the shared plan, I called in and it was added, no questions asked. But if I hadn't asked, I doubt they would have called me. :) It means "doing your homework" but it can be worth the effort.