Citywest has dropped it. Virgin Mobile, SearsConnect, 7-11, PetroCanada, and a bunch of others don’t charge it at all.
It’s a government tax that the government dropped in 2000.
Oh wow, I had no idea CityWest got rid of the fee. Daim. How come Telus is charging it to me then? Isn’t CityWest supposed to be the Stalin of the phone companies?
There’s a big lawsuit against Rogers and Telus:
michaelgeist.ca/content/view/2246/196/
Maybe Citywest saw the writing on the wall and decided to drop it rather than have to pay it all back.
There’s more changes afoot in the world of digital information transit, coming out of Central Canada and the Bell empire…
thestar.com/Business/article/277964
It’s all so confusing, how I long for the days of the rotary dial telephone… 
Thanks Podunkian - Excellent article and looks like it should be mandatory reading for the ostriches on City Council who still think it’s smart to have 100 million of taxpayers money invested in an sentimental anacronism that acts as a barrier to economic development in the community.
As a taxpayer I remain appalled that we are taking such risks when the City is unable to keep it’s bricks and mortar infrastructure current, we continue to pour raw sewage into our harbour and our residential taxes and fees are amoung the highest in BC.
To the gentlemen who asked about the system access fee, City West is still collecting the fee and have referenced it in the most recent letter to it’s cell customers dated November 15 from Chad Cunningham. In future plans this is said to be incorporated into the general plan pricing.
In that letter, they outline various data caps (oops data plans) of 4, 8, 30 and 250 megs. Of interest is that they confirm that they are now joining the Bell mobility network which tweaks the nose of Telus in it’s backyard. It will be interesting to see the reaction from Telus who can easily enter Prince Rupert on a moments notice. More risk for the city’s investment.
BTW to those who want options to Citywest service, since CityWest is now part of the Bell Network and we can make local calls on the citywest network while traveling in any area that is covered by the Bell network, since roaming and usage agreements are generally reciprocal that Bell phones will be provided the same courtesy in Prince Rupert. Ergo… if you don’t like City West’s pricing or service, get a phone or Smart Phone from Bell Mobility and you are off to the races!!
So another kudo to Podunkian for pointing out the following link which shows Bell will be offering unlimited data plans. thestar.com/Business/article/277964
Now if we could only get a boost in our data network from 1X to 3G and internet speeds for our land lines that approach the same averages that everyone else in BC enjoys…
By the way… merchantlaw.com/cellular.html is the link to be added to the class action suit against Canadian Telecoms. Although CityWest is not listed… if enough Citywest customers sign up as a customer of another Cell provider, than Citywest may find it to their advantage to drop the fee entirely.
For some reason, the third link displays Korean writing beside each item. Any idea why?
I think it’s because i-mode is a Japanese standard? Is that how most Japanese phones view the web (versus the brain-dead WAP?)
Ok now this is the second time you have mentioned this and its wrong.
1X is a 3G standard.
3G is an ITU standard that includes 1XRTT.
1xRTT
A 3G Mobile Wireless technology based on CDMA that doubles the voice capacity of current CDMA mobile systems, and adds packet data capability, with a peak downlink speed of 153 kbps.
3G
(Third Generation) - Generic name for mobile wireless systems used for offering advanced voice and data services, the first two generations refer to the existing analog and digital cellular networks respectively. W-CDMA, 1xRTT and 1xEV-DO are the most popular 3G standards.
According to Telus’s and Bells network coverage maps they are still mostly 1XRTT, with pockets of EVDO in the larger population centers. In Telus’s case they cover most of Alta with EVDO but I guess its easier to deploy EVDO when you dont have any mountains that might get in the way of the signal.
Thanks VMS,
You are absolutely right, 1x is part of the 3G standard and the one that Telus rolled out first across BC. Currently they are in the process of upgrading their network to EVDO rev A and as expected the larger urban centres are being upgraded first.
htttp://telusmobility.com/bc/1X/index.shtml
Imprecise usage of technical terms aside, the question remains whether City West is choosing to roll out a 1x network with speeds of 60kbps versus EVDO speeds of 700 - 800 kbps. I guess we’ll just have to sit back and hold our breath.
BTW… Their Annual General Meeting is Coming up… any one interested in going to hear from Gord the five million dollar man?
[quote=“Seayaire”]
What cell phone company doesn’t charge the system access fee. Do you people have any idea what your going on about?[/quote]
A lot of companies don’t charge the fee. Virgin Mobile, Speakout Wireless, etc.
Citywest is getting rid of it as well. They say it’s going to be “included” but the reality is that it shouldn’t exist at all. So including a fee that is a bullshit tax means getting rid of it.
The fact that people have accepted the system access fee as “standard” and “everybody does it” (both of which are wrong) explains why they charge it. As long as a majority of their customers believe it’s ok for them to charge you a bullshit fee, then they get away with it.