I figure it may be best to try and get these answered as I may not get adequate answers from Rogers when I call them (during business hours for their ordering office).

Also, I would suspect that most people will have these sort of questions and there are some early guinea pigs out there that are using Rogers Home Phone service...


Power Outage - what happens?
battery? how long? replacement backup battery for extended outages?
which phones will work in the house? Wired outlets? Wireless phone definately not!
Just think back to summer of 2003 and the only thing that worked in my condo was the home phone line that was fed by the battery in the Bell Central Office around the corner... how would the Rogers service be in such a situation?
Total Cost per month for the basic phone line in comparison to Bell Phone?
Hidden Fees? System Access Fees? Long Distance Plan Fees?
Bundle price vs regular price?
Services - can I get the phone without services (call display, call waiting, can answer, etc) as I'm not a big users of these services, etc
Long Distance - North America - Can/U.S.
how many minutes per month? I know it says "unlimited" but there must be a limit surely as they don't want you have a $1000 phone bill for $20/month
what's included in the $20/month - that is if I use less minutes will I only be charged these LD fees? For example, if my LD for the month is $8.53 will it be that amount or $20 every month? i.e. is it a guaranteed payout of $20/month or is it usage less than $20 up to that maximum? Similar to Bell FirstRate plan?
Condo installation okay?
Do you need the coax cable and phone outlets fairly close to each other? What about splitted outlets - bedroom to living room to office to cable modem and rogers home phone?
Is there a cable modem like device that plugs into the cable and telephone lines?
battery backup is for this?
backup swappable battery?
Is there a best way to coordinate as far as billing is concerned in order to have a seamless transition/cutover without paying double since Bell makes you pay a month in advance? That is, I believe now with the new bill format (as of January) they have...
my billing date appears to be the 14th of each month.
they have the payment coming out at the end of the month (31st or 3rd so far this year)
Billing period appears to be from Feb 4th to March 3rd so I assume that what I am paying in advance for now is from March 4th to April 3rd?
Does Bell have some stupid stipulation about 30 days advanced notice or will Rogers handle this? That is do I now have to wait until May 3rd as it is too late?Right now I have the following break down from Bell...

Residential Line $19.93
Network Charge $2.95 (going up to $4.50 on April 15th)
911 emergency service access $0.19
Touch tone service $2.80
First Rate Plan (60 min eve/weekend) $4.95
Long Distance Max $20 for eve/weekend usage. Daytime LD appears to be at rateI don't have any fancy services right now on my line and would prefer to go without this if at all possible but if they "force" me to have one I guess it would be call display or the equivalent "call answer" (digital voice messages) to get.

I guess Rogers has one advantage with these services in that they are only $4/month vs Bell charging huge money for services (my mom mentioned something like $15/month for 3 services like call answer, visual call waiting and call waiting). Ouch!

I just want basic phone services....

Can someone layout a comparision of pricing with hidden fees layed out, etc?

Thanks!!!

I can't answer them all but I can assure you that Rogers Home phone will be more expensive than what you are paying now.

Basic + 1 service is $29.95 + system access fee + LD plan so if all you want is basic phone service, I'd stay with bell.

Now if you want lots of call features then it might become cheaper.

Thanks for the info Hugh. Wonder if it would be cheaper with bundling than with Bell separately.

How much does the System Access Fee or LD Plan go at?

It would be so nice to be able to dump Bell and go with just one bill/plan for everything.

How do these competitive providers compete then... through sale of these extra services and LD plans? I can see the cost of the local loop being a factor but Rogers is using their own loop shall we say.

The last time I looked the SAF was $4.95 per month. LD plans are all over the place but they are competitive so I imagine the right plan for you will be about the same price as your paying now.

I appreciate the one/bill idea but I would NOT get off POTS unless I could see substantial savings and I doubt you'lll get that in your situation.

Hmm. I wonder what the incentive is to switch to Rogers then...

This is the price breakdown that the Rogers CSR gave me:

$25.64 for phone line with bundled discounts (otherwise $29.95)
include one "service" (value of $4/month)
$4.25 System Access Fee
$0.22 9-1-1 Service
$0.19 Hearing Impared Servicefor total of $34.64/month for basic line and 1 included service.

She also mentioned they have long distance plan of $0.09/minute (Canada only) but not sure for how many minutes and also a plan for $0.05/minute (Canada only) with a $1 monthly fee.

They also have an unlimited long distance plan for North America for $20/month - and I'm currently sometimes paying up $20 max for the First Rate evenings/weekend plan.

Rogers rep also said that their installation doesn't touch your existing cable line, etc and from what I gather they would do the installation in a wiring closet/power room in a condo most likely.... that is feed their cable feed into the room where all the phone lines are for the building (likely the basement) and then just cutover the twisted pairs from Bell to Rogers. I guess this is where their modem would be located with battery backup of 6 hours but likely wouldn't have access to this in a condo situation - unlike a home.


I guess I have to research their web site to see what the final cost would be fore me based on my usage.


Also started looking at cost of Primus home phone service and also alternative long distance plans and so forth.

Actually, it looks like Bell has a better long distance plan for me based on usage it would seem... need to investigate this... $12.00/month for 1200 minutes per month (20 hours) which I would hardly/never reach

However, that would be a guaranteed $12/mo to payout even if I use no long distance but may be cheaper than $4.95 for 60 minutes and $0.10/minute rate for average usage... but there is nice $20 max cap for current plan as long as it is evening and weekend calls.


The dilemma continues...

So its $34.95 for Rogers after discount vs. $27.42 for Bell for just local.

In your case, It all comes down to your LD usage and whether that one service is worth $7.50 a month.


If this is your primary phone, I would be wary of any nomadic VoIP service.

There are several posts in this forum that discuss installation if you want to know more.

I pay $25.46 for Rogers phone with call display. I managed to get the $4.25 SAF waived and I don't pay 911 or hearing impaired service. For me, it's cheaper than Bell with call display. Also, I have $0.05/min Canada & US LD with no service charge. Perhaps they've changed the terms since I signed up in August.

dc, I think in August there was only a SAF for the ld plan (and not the regular service). That has changed and I don't believe they will waive it anymore.

I am continually harassed by Rogers to switch to their Home Phone. It is actually funny when I know more about it than the CSR but that is another story.

I only have one feature on my phone, voicemail. It ends up being about the same price for Rogers vs. Bell WITH the discount. As such, it is not worth it for me to switch companies.

Bell is terribly expensive for long distance. Thus, I have been using the YAK service (10-10-925) whenever I need to make long distance calls. Just dial the number prior to making a call and you get $0.05/min long distance without any service fee. The charge shows up on your regular phone bill.

Until Rogers can offer me a true incentive to switch I will be sticking with Bell.

hello bolmsted, I'm an authorized Rogers field rep and sell home phone service for a living.

Rogers Phone Pricing (w/ $4.25 system access fee)
basic + 1 feature: $34.20/mo
basic + 2 features: $38.20/mo
basic + 3 features: $42.20/mo
basic 4-6 features: $46.20/mo (a customer must take 6eatures,regardless if they use them)

All calling features are $4
Second line: $14.95 (and $4 for calling features)
The system access fee is applied only once, regardless of how many lines you have.

...of course there is still 911 and hearing impaired which an additional $0.41

Rogers does have a basic + 0 features for $26.20 (w/SAF), but they DO NOT advertise it, it is sold by request only. They must also pay a one time $55 activation fee.

LONG DISTANCE
$0/mo - i) evenings and weekends 1200 - $0.10/min to US
- $0.08 to CAN (eve/wkds @ 6pm)
- $0.10 to CAN (daytime)
...essentially it is capped at $18, so if you were to reach the cap of 1200 minutes, it would work out to 1.5 cents/min. Basically you pay for the first 225 minutes, and the next 975 are free.

-ii) $0.09/min Anytime North America - pretty self explanatory

$1/mo - Smart Plan - long distance rates Bell CANNOT beat
- $0.05/min to CAN/US/CHINA/UK/HK
- $0.06/min to FRA/ITA/AUS....etc...

$19.95/mo - Total North America - there is NO CAP!!!!......it truly is unlimited, however there are rules, such as it can only be used for residential users, not businesses, you cannot apply 3-way, you cannot use your number as a call center......blah blah blah........as long as your normal, its unlimited.

$24.95/mo - Talk Europe/Talk Asia - unlimited EUR/ASIA
this does not mean ALL of Europe/Asia....select countries (no Philippines, no India...)

BELL

Rogers cannot beat Bell on basic.....the more features you have, the better Rogers gets.

Bell's "system access fee" is their TOUCH TONE and NETWORK CHARGE. Currently it adds up to $5.75 ($2.80 + $2.95)

Their residence line (basic line) is $19.83 for most of the GTA. $23.88 in MISSISSAUGA.

Call Waiting - $5
Call ID (Display) - $8
Call Answer (Voicemail) - $7

they also have feature bundle plans:
VCW mini message bundle - $15.95 (CW,CD,VM)...and a bigger one for $22.95

LONG DISTANCE:
First Rate TM - $4.95/mo - $0.10/min CAN/US
First Rate 1200 - $18.95/mo - 1200 min to CAN

note: Bell has been around for 120 years, so no 2 bills are alike. Some people will not have the NETWORK CHARGE, particulary the elderly. Also, they do have better long distance plans, but those are rewarded to winback customers and long time customers.
There is one long distance plan that both Bell and Rogers DO have that they do not promote and sell:
$5/mo - 1000 minutes to CAN and US, it works out to $0.005/min!!!!
-Rogers Telecom (Sprint) users will have this. It can no longer be obtained.
-Bell provides this plan to customers that they f*cked up.

Rogers bundling

Rogers products - Cable tv, Internet, Home Phone, Wireless
2 products - 5%
3 products - 10%
4 products - 15%
As of NOV 1st, 2005
anybody who has 15% bundling before that date, with less products, will be honored AND anything added to it will also receive 15%, no less.

***bundling does not apply to Basic Cable Analog and Pay-as-you-go***


The Rogers Digital Phone Terminal
In the event of a blackout, there is 6 hour battery life, of course, if you have a cordless phone, which runs on electricity, don't expect to make a call.
The Terminal is placed over top the Bell Control box which all the jacks in your house are connected to.
The Terminal also has 2 phone jacks in the rear to plug a phone in directly.
In the case of a building, the terminal can be plugged in both ways as mentioned above, or through a Bell circuit box located on your building floor or building basement.

That's all I can think of now.....if you have anymore questions, i'd be more than happy to answer them.
-brennan

I am considering getting Rogers Home Phone but am wondering if it has a web interface like Vonage, for example, where you can customize features like Call Fordwarding and Voicemail? Does it support voicemail to email?

"No" to all of the above.

Darrynb, don't know where you're located but if you're looking for those features in landline service, you may also wish to check out Bell Digital Voice. I think the $40 per month is a better deal than rogers and you still get the reliability of POTS service

My landlord just got Rogers Home phone (I think over internet). I haven't seen the hardware yet but the installer and sales person said there is no problem if cable goes out. They had to disconnect his connection to the Bell line and plugged 'something' into a one of his phone jacks. The strange thing is he told me they split the cable line sending one to this new phone box and the other to the highspeed modem. Now this doesn't sound right. Any ideas on what is happening. It is always good to stay on the good side of your landlord so if I can help him, all is great.

David
Brampton, ON

The strange thing is he told me they split the cable line sending one to this new phone box and the other to the highspeed modem. Now this doesn't sound right.Nothing strange about that. Rogers Home Phone is not your typical VOIP in that it doesn't run through the internet. Rogers has a dedicated tier on their cable system for the phone service. It's more correctly known as packet cable telephony (see this thread (http://www.digitalhomecanada.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24079) on cable telephony). The telephony network is a completly separate from the internet network (other than using the same lines), hence the need to connect two seperate modems to the cable line, in the same way you need a STB for digital TV (ie TV modem) and an internet modem for internet. In fact, you do not need any internet service for Rogers Home Phone to work.

Darrynb, don't know where you're located but if you're looking for those features in landline service, you may also wish to check out Bell Digital Voice. I think the $40 per month is a better deal than rogers and you still get the reliability of POTS service

I am in Maple, just north of Canada's Wonderland. I do currently have Bell's Digital Voice and am just looking to find something a little less expensive. I would switch to Vonage in a heartbeat(use it at work) as I would only need the cheapest plan Vonage offers but I cannot port my phone number currently to Vonage, so that in itself is a deal breaker.

Darryn

Thanks DC. So if I understand the telephone tier can still work even if your Highspeed goes down.
If cable tv (digital or analog) goes down, will the phone still work?

It depends on what the problem is. If it's a line cut, nothing will work. If line equipment like a bridger or line extender is down, probably nothing will work either. If it's the internet headend that is down, your phone will still work.

for those of you thinking about switching to rogers... DON'T here is a list of the problems I've had with them in the last 3 months:

1) due to a system error on their part they failed to charge me for some of my long distance calls in January and February. These calls then appeared on my March bill with no explanation. I had to call to find out what was going on, when I asked why I hadn't been notified they complained of the cost such an endeavour would have entailed since the error effected the entire 519 area code.

2) when I cancelled my line because I was moving they didn't unhook it on the day they were supposed to, then I had to call back to get them to credit my account for the days it should have been unhooked!

3) i was foolish enough to order home phone service from them again after i moved. they didn't tell me someone would have to be home when they hooked up the phone, we found out after when they called us to reschedule our appointment. they offered me 2 months free so i rescheduled.

4) they showed up on the wrong day for the appointment then told me they couldn't reschedule for annother week because bell has to come out and hook up the line. when i explained that they had shown up on the wrong day they told me there was nothing they could do.

In total I have spent more time on the phone with rogers in the past 3 months than i have with my own family. I can't emphasize enough how incompetent this company is.

I had two Rogers representatives at my door last night, noting that I already had Rogers TV and Internet, so they could offer me free installation + a three-month promotional rate on Rogers Home Phone.

Never a mention about the System Access Fee, which to me is just a game to promote lower than actual prices - a la cellular phone companies. :mad:

I told them I had done the math on RHP vs. Bell, and it didn't make sense to switch. I pay $35.12 + taxes for Bell with two calling features. When I add up the RHP numbers, including access fees and recurring fees for LD plan I am up to $39.20. Then if I factor in the hassle I could be up against if I do have trouble and have to get it resolved through their help desk, it's a no-brainer to stay with POTS.

Anyway, they said they will followup with a phone call in about a month, so I will have my numbers handy.