My contract with CityWest expires in June. I’m trying to decide which way to jump. I was talking to a technician yesterday and he said that one of his family members noticed quite a loss of coverage, dropped calls with a Rogers phone (he mentioned poor coverage at CHSS). Once in awhile I’ll drop a call on the CityWest (Bell) network, but, mostly the connectivity is good. The only thing that bugs me is the echo I hear on the Bell network.
Is anyone on the Rogers network experiencing poor connectivity? Just curious.
Thanks for any and all replies. 
Doesn’t seem any different than Citywest to me.
If you’re talking to a Citywest guy and he tells you Rogers sucks, then take that with a grain of salt, and vice-versa.
Don’t sign any contracts again, though. Including Rogers.
If Citywest service is so great, why would they have to FORCE you to stay with them with a contract?
Nope. It wasn’t a CityWest technician, just a Rogers customer. Good to hear that the coverage is similar. Yeah, CityWest wants me to re-up for another year or two.
I think I saw in the East Wind window on a pamphlet that they’re offering pay-as-you-go. Is that true? I’d like something convenient. I’m not too keen on re-upping with another contract.
I dug up Bell and Rogers BC coverage maps. Unless the Rogers map is way out of date Bell kicks their butt for coverage. I switched from Rogers to Bell about 3 years ago and have never looked back. Better service and fewer excuses. 
bell.ca/support/PrsCSrvWls_Cvg_Travel.page
cellcomwireless.com/coverage … egionID=34
Good luck!
RR
Thanks for the reply and well wishes. 
Those coverage maps don’t include the Rogers expansion down the highway 16 corridor (including Rupert, Terrace, etc). Not sure why you wouldn’t just go to roger.ca and look at their coverage map, which is updated.
Rogers is a crappy company too, but there are others who use their network that aren’t shitty. And you get the choice of GSM, not being stuck on one phone.
If you MUST use Bell, then use President’s Choice or Virgin or something like that, so you’re not stuck on a contract. But then you’re still stuck on CDMA.
Thanks for the tips, MiG! I guess I’ll need to shop around and do some more research. I think I’ll go into East Wind in June and see if they have PAYG.
Hitest search these forums a bit and you’ll see a few conversations about pay as you go phones. You’ll see from those posts that 7-11 and Petro Canada are both vendors for Speakeasy which has the best deal for pay as you go on the Rogers network.
The plans from Rogers and the other big companies are not much better than a monthly contract. The sticking point being what happens to your minutes. On most of them if you don’t buy more minutes monthly, your minutes expire. On Speakeasy, they don’t expire for a year.
Miguel was the one who turned us onto Speakeasy.
Unfortunately, 7-11 and Petro Canada in Rupert don’t carry them. You can find the phones in PG or Vancouver though.
Thanks for the clarification about Speakeasy, CrazyMike:-) Yeah, I did read those posts about Speakeasy. I was kind of hoping that we had a local connection to Speakeasy. I can wait until July when I’m heading South. I’ll try 7-11 in PG or Vancouver.
I got a PAYG Virgin Mobile phone down here for $49.99/month + $10 for unlimited texting. I get 400 anytime minutes, unlimited nights/weekends, and unlimited texting. No contract, no fees, and their customer service is pretty good.
I don’t see why anyone would want to get sucked into a contract. There’s a big thing going on down here about it though, trying to relax the cancellation fees:
Rogers coverage in Prince Rupert sucked two weeks ago and unless they have changed something I’d recommend staying away. I had 1 successfully received call the entire time I was there and the rest just went to Voicemail.
I discovered that if i was indoors with my phone in my pocket it would not work until i took the phone out of my pocket. I’ve never had a citytel phone so I cant say if they’re much better but I sure hope so.
Oh and its not my phone it works fine everywhere else even on the backside of the ski hill where nobody else’s phone works.
I discovered that if i was indoors with my phone in my pocket it would not work until i took the phone out of my pocket.
Jesus, are you wearing that suit of armor again?
Cheers!
RR
No but given how well liked I am in prince Rupert I probably should have been. Thankfully I’ve changed enough that for the most part I managed to slip under the radar 
Weird, mine works in my pocket no problem. .
It works in places that my Citywest phone works, and vice-versa. Citywest phone won’t work in the CHSS basement. Citywest one doesn’t work at Oliver Lake. My iPhone works at both places. But there are places that it sometimes has no signal, while the Citywest one works just fine.
Even stranger, the Forever Fiancé’s Fido phone seemed to not work at all on the highway Rogers tower, while both of our Speakout phones work just fine.
And there was a week last month when no calls were coming into my Citywest phone even though it had full bars.
But that’s the first I’ve heard of a phone not working in your pocket, but working fine out of your pocket. Need to investigate!
Anyway, avoid Rogers if you can, it’s the most evil of all the phone companies. But there are other carriers that use its network that aren’t so evil. The 7-11 Speakout thing is awesome, and there are others. Same with the Bell network, there are other companies that will give you a simpler PAYG deal, rather than contracts.
Perhaps its just the pure manliness that radiates from my groin causing interference on the cell phone.
Part of me wishes some female posted about this so I could make a large cavernous void joke but alas I cannot… or can I? 
I think it’s more likely there’d be a joke about the size of your antennae.
touche
Nope, you missed your chance.
I bet your phone would have worked in your pocket in my store. Magic happens there!! hahaha
Are you saying you assist people with “tuning” their antenna? 
Just ask for the “special shoe deal with happy ending.”