Citywest data plans

General Forums Prince Rupert Forum
21

I definitely want to get a phone that is a browser capable phone, because that looks awessome. :sunglasses:

22

It appears that bell has an $8.95 system access fee.

tinyurl.com/37p24s

Now, let me get this straight.  You pay $27.95 to $102.95 for cell service each month.  Now you pay $25 to $100 more for data and then another $7 for unlimited?  That sounds awful pricey to me.  I couldn’t imagine paying over $200 for a cell phone each month. 

23

I think it’s just $7 extra on top of one of the plans for unlimited web surfing. 

The expensive data plans are for blackberries – I guess Citywest figures that since businesses pay for those, they won’t mind the $100 or so a month.

Your average Joe will just get the $25 or $30 per month, then add the $7/month for unlimited data.

If I were a blackberry user, I would be asking why cheap cellphones can have unlimited data for $7/month while blackberries have to pay $100/month and it’s not unlimited.

24

BTW, thats what it costs in Rogers world too for Blackberry plans:

tinyurl.com/yvvr92

It appears for 100 bucks Rogers gives you 200MB and its $5/MB extra. Or for 90 bucks you get some voice minutes too but only 25MB/month of data and its $7 per MB extra over the 25MB.

25

No, when I saw that Citywest was matching the $7/month, I edited my post to reflect that.  I should have edited out the Citywest thing too.  I removed a paragraph or two blasting Citywest when I saw the $7/month was also on Citywest.  Hence the “looks like I suck even more than I thought.”

Why are blackberries being charged so much more than other phones?  Why is it $7/month to push unlimited 1s and 0s on one phone, but $100/month to push a limited amount of 1s and 0s on another?

If I use 250MB on a cheap cellphone, it costs me $7, but on a blackberry it would cost me $100?  Different target markets willing to pay different amounts, I guess.

26

Here’s my prediction for the Rogers world:  they’ll wait until after Christmas and introduce a flat-fee unlimited data plan on the iPhone.  They’ll wait until after Christmas, because they’ll want to lock in as many suckers as possible into expensive contracts before the iPhone introduction. 

27

I really mean that too.

I mean first they got rid of the $6.95 tax they shouldn’t have been charging (including it in the price is the same as getting rid of it, since it was basically part of the price anyway).  I wonder why it took 7 years to do it – maybe the Citywest people read HTMF and thought I’d show up at the General Meeting in a $25.00 Bill Cosby sweater?

The $7/month unlimited data is a nice touch too. 

28

I just checked AT&T iPhone plans and the most basic is 60 bucks a month you get 450 minutes calling and unlimited data, but you have to sign the 2 yr to get it.

Think it’ll be on the iPhone only?

As for diff in price on a BB and regular cell, might have to do with RIM, but I dont know for sure.

29

[quote=“VMS”]
Think it’ll be on the iPhone only?[/quote]

I think what’s holding up the iPhone in Canada is that Rogers is resisting doing an unlimited plan.

35 Pounds in UK (O2).
60 bucks in the USA (AT&T).
49 Euros in Germany (T-mobile). 

They all have unlimited plans. 

Rogers is the biggest bunch of bastards in the telecom world, and they probably resisted the iPhone initially because Apple probably insisted on an unlimited plan, as well as kickbacks on the monthly fee.  They’ve changed their minds seeing the sales that other carriers have had with the iPhone, though, so I’m sure they’ll reluctantly offer an unlimited plan in January.  Boy are Rogers Blackberry users going to be pissed off.

Also, I wonder if you can just take the SIM out of an iPhone and pop into a GSM Blackberry?  I don’t know how Rogers will be able to tell which device you’re using.

Also, Fido had an unlimited data plan a few years go (I think it was like $40 or $50 a month), but it disappeared when Rogers bought Fido.  There are still people out there that have kept their unlimited contracts (‘grandfathered’) and just switched their SIMs to newer phones.

If you’re interested in this kind of stuff, here’s a study linked to by Michael Geist’s blog, which shows that data rates in Canada have dropped a lot this year.  Geist says “That timing coincides with the release of the iPhone and the mounting criticism of Canada’s lack of competitiveness in mobile data pricing.”:

tinyurl.com/23lnzm

[original attachment deleted after 2 years]

30

Blackberrys Kick ass, I have the Curve, with gps and map’s use it all day at work for finding customers houses, i can guarantee you that you will not like to use the touch screen to type out messages on the Iphone, people with big fingers not even a chance to get that going good for them.  I phones are nice, but in all reality its just a fancy over priced toy, wow you can listen to music ad kill the battery so you cant use your phone, boo hiss, you can even text message by touching a screen WOW!..

31

I agree. I just got this phone for 100 bucks (no contract) and it was well worth it:

sonyericsson.com/cws/product … c=gb&lc=en

Came with a 1GB card and a few hundred KB free on the phone itself.

32

I heard that you cant download ringtones to Citytel cell phones.  Is this true ????

33

You dont want to download them anyway its expensive.  Get a data cable off ebay if your phone didnt come with one  and then find yourself the appropriate software.

34

I just can’t wait for pay as you go. :smile:

35

Hi Folks  :unamused:

As I was pondering the delayed upgrade of CityWest’s Cell network to provide Data services the rest of the developed world enjoys, I was curious on why a partnership with a larger provider such as Northwestel would not be able to roll services out in a timely fashion.  Also I became concerned with the fact that nowhere in any of the press releases or communications has the community been told what type of data services would be provided to the City.  Specifically are we getting a 1x or 3G network?
For the difference refer to the following taken from Telus’s web site. Note the EVDO Rev A and EVDO are 3G network services.

			EVDO Rev A 	EVDO 		1X

Average download speed 800 kbps 700 kbps 60 kbps
Time to transmit 1 MB* 10 sec 12 sec 2 min

While the difference between 1x and 3g is not that apparent when you are reading push email, the difference becomes very noticeable when you attempt to browse the internet or use a sierra wireless card for your laptop. In an effort to see what services we are getting, I perused past releases from our fearless community and business leaders on this subject. See Rob the Brown’s press release from August 20th attached and Smiling Herbies, eRupert release from Sept 4, 2007, where services were to be rolled out at the end of September 2007.  Apparently Smiling Herbie was under the following impression;

                “The installation and test period for the new service is expected to be in            September, with a tentative market-launch date set for late September.  The installation and operation of the new cellular network is being coordinated in a partnership with Northwestel Wireless Inc. (NWI) a subsidiary of Northwestel Inc.  The partnership would mean that CityWest would benefit from the technical expertise from a larger provider and gain access to many of their license agreements.”

Perhaps, Herbie should ask his City Administrator Gordon Howie (aka The Five Million Dollar Man)  to stop looking for the five million dollar budget error and in his role as CEO of Citywest, explain publicly what the cause of the delays are.

Northwestel is larger than Citywest and is wholly owned by Bell Canada which is having a rough time as it competes against Telus and Rogers.  However even more interesting is that I had to go to the Northwestel press release from the same time, August 27th, 2007 to find out what type of service is going to be offered. Not only does it appear we are getting an obsolete data network, we find that Northwestel is not only providing expertise for the upgrade it is in fact going to operate the service if the following quote can be taken literally;

          Northwestel Press Release August 27,2007
          “CityWest of Prince Rupert, B.C. has announced that it is preparing to launch wireless data services over the cellular network in Prince Rupert.  The digital 1X enabled cellular system will be constructed, operated and maintained by Northwestel Wireless Inc. (NWI), a subsidiary of Northwestel.”

While Citywest is up against the immutable laws of volumes dictating what services can be offered profitably,  we have to wonder if this partnership really represents the best deal for the City of Prince Rupert. Specifically, the Northwestel Wireless Inc is a fairly new entrant to Digital Services and in fact only rolled out Digital Cell services to it’s own communities last year, through a partnership known as Lattitude Wireless. The following is taken from Northwestel’s 2006 financial statements.

              “Latitude Wireless is a Joint Venture established by Northwestel and the Dakwakada Development Corporation the business arm of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations. The partnership is responsible for the design. build,  ownership,  operation, finance. maintenance and launch of digital cellular service in 17 Yukon communities. The      company was selected by the Yukon Government to provide the cellular component of its new Mobile Communications  Solution. During the first hall of 2006. the company began building the new system. including the instruction of cellular towers and the installation of equipment. By mid-june. service was launched in the first four communities. By years end,  all 17 communities had received the new service. six months ahead of schedule. A network upgrade provided an expanded list of service options for customers. including wireless Internet. A retail sure was opened in Whitehorse and four community dealerships Were established with existing businesses in Dawson City. Haines Junction. Ross River              and Watson Lake.”

For those interested in costs, take a look at Lattitude’s pricing to see if there are any similarities to Citywest’s plans and the plans for one of the highest cost telco’s operating in Canada. latitudewireless.ca/rateplans/data/

So folks, don’t hold your breath on entering the 21st century, CityWest appears to be moving away from locally owned and operated into the Bell Camp with network standards from the last century.

Once again if there are any citizens of Prince Rupert, interested in going to the public Citywest annual meeting to quiz our business leaders and community leaders on what they are doing to bring us into the 21st century and protect our investments in CityWest… let me know by personal message.

For those of you interested in how our investment is doing, refer to the 2006 financial statements taken from the CityWest web site. Ask yourself whether this company has the ability to provide significant returns to the City of Prince Rupert and keep up with emerging technologies that modern industries and consumers need and expect.

If Rupert is to be competitive in attractiving new industries and businesses , we need to be competitive on all fronts and a telcom infrastructure from the last century does not help us in providing local employment.

Perhaps it would be useful for us to have a list of questions that Smiling Herbie and Gordie the 5 million dollar man can respond to rather than hide behind the fiction of a separate corporation run by Rob Brown and independent directors.

[original attachment deleted after 2 years]

36

W O W !!!

37

Very interesting and informative post, kind of makes you wonder why we can’t get the same volume of information from the actual service provider…

At any rate, since the perceived impression is that we are yet to leave the last century as far as digital communication goes, I gather we shouldn’t hold our breath as far as some of these ideas go. 

cbc.ca/news/background/tech/ … hones.html

Thanks there Speakuppr, for taking the time to explore some of this confusion with us… :astonished:

 

38

Seem like CityWest’s data plan is somewhat a “better” deal than Fido.

For Fido you pay $100 for 200MB plus 5$/MB, but for CW you get 250MB for the same price and $3/MB.

I don’t have a Fido data plan as I have no use for the service, but even without the plan I can still use the data service for the rate of 5cents/KB or $51.20/MB!  :astonished:

EDIT:

Thanks speakuppr for the information. Now we know why CityWest’s services are so shitty.

39

Looks like President’s Choice has $5/month unlimited data.  Pay-as-you-go, no contract.  On the same network that Citywest will be using.  So you can use it in Rupert, as well as anywhere else on the Bell network.  Same goes for Virgin Mobile.

Will Citywest have pay-as-you-go?

So let’s see, by the end of the year, we’ll have:
GSM:
Rogers
Fido
Sears Mobility
Speak Out Wireless (7-11)
Petro-Canada Wireless

non-GSM:
Citywest
Bell
Virgin Mobile
President’s Choice
Solo mobile

Not sure which network Primus Canada uses for its wireless service.

Am I missing one?

Lots of competition, lots of pay-as-you-go.  Lots of choice.

40

I just thought I’d make it known that the 7ish dollar system access fee that we pay per month is quite common, it seems.

When I was scouting for phones in Nanaimo, both Rogers and Telus had system 7ish dollar system access fees on top of whatever plan you chose.

I don’t think we’re suddenly going to be without the system access fee as soon as other people come to town—it’s quite standard.