Deciding between Koodo, Fido and Virgin Mobile. Same prices/plans mostly

[Typical_Chinese]

Hey everyone! I have an old Wind plan that's $28 for unlimited data, text and call, but I really can't stand Wind's slower speeds as well as lack of coverage when I go hiking or camping, or when I go back home in Vancouver and barely have signal in some places in Richmond or Surrey. I appreciate their low prices, and they've been nice and friendly to me for the past few years, but I really need the faster speeds and more reliable coverage.

I was looking at the smaller sub-companies of the Big 3, and it seems like Koodo, Fido and Virgin Mobile have the same prices for the same plans (looking at $45 for 750mb data), except the companies are a bit different like Virgin has movie, starbucks and HnM deals which can come in handy.

They use the Big 3 towers, so coverage should be the same/similar to each other, so I guess the only difference is customer service and incentives/deals they give customers!

Anyone have any suggestions or recommend one company to another?

Thanks!

[NoPulp]

Fido hands down. I have had a great experience with them. Service is decent too. I just did my 2nd two year "contract" (phone tab). They seemed to be the most cost effective. I also get 2 years free Spotify.

I was a previous Virgin customer, was a decent company until bell bought them. I never actually used the deals from Virgin, they're not great.

Kudu is meh from friends experiences.

[gpomp]

Koodo because of the SK/MB plan.

[speedog]

Another cell phone plan thread, could the mods just make an all encompassing thread and stickie it?

[Mitsu3000gt]

+1 for Fido, been using them for close to 10 years now with zero issues. Fast and liberal customer service too. They also let you do hardware upgrades and keep your old contract, no matter how good it is. The coverage (Rogers) is as good as any. They even called me one day to ask if there was anything they could do for me, I said even cheaper service, and they applied a $100 credit to my account haha.

The GF's iPhone needed to be replaced for the 5th and last time so we went out looking in June, and I don't know about July, but the June plans sure sucked from just about every company. Hopefully they are better now.

[Joe-G]

Koodo. $45 for 5GB + unlimited talk/text. ;)

Virgin = shitty customer service. Ask any Virgin subscriber.
Bell = meh, was never really pleased with them.
Fido/Rogers = For the same price, why pay for less coverage? (Have you tried Telus/Bell/Koodo coverage yet? Then you can't reasonably compare...)

Telus/Koodo = Best customer service so far, similar plans, good coverage.. Even better deal with Koodo if you know how to get it.

[Weapon_R]

Koodo or Virgin because Telus and Bell networks are much better in Calgary from my experience than Rogers.

[ZMan2k2]

Originally posted by Joe-G
Koodo. $45 for 5GB + unlimited talk/text. ;)

Virgin = shitty customer service. Ask any Virgin subscriber.
Bell = meh, was never really pleased with them.
Fido/Rogers = For the same price, why pay for less coverage? (Have you tried Telus/Bell/Koodo coverage yet? Then you can't reasonably compare...)

Telus/Koodo = Best customer service so far, similar plans, good coverage.. Even better deal with Koodo if you know how to get it.

What are you talking about, "shitty customer service" on Virgin. I went with them two years ago, cause I couldn't take Wind's horrible coverage. I've got nothing but great service from Virgin, and every time I call, they tell me my plan is cheaper, or set me up with some incentive to stay. I don't ask for this stuff, it just comes up in the conversations. And my wife definitely uses the perks on Virgin as well.

[The_Rural_Juror]

Don't they all have to share access to their towers now?

[01RedDX]

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[NoPulp]

In southern Alberta I always get equal or better coverage than my friends/family on telus. Not sure why everyone puts down fido/Rogers for coverage, I haven't experiences that.

[Typical_Chinese]

Originally posted by Joe-G
Koodo. $45 for 5GB + unlimited talk/text. ;)


Damn how do you get the 5GB plan?



Anyways ugh, seems like I really can't go wrong with any single company here, might as well call them on the phone and see if someone can give me an incentive to go with them. Or pop into a mall and see who has the nicest reps :P

[J.M.]

^^ :werd: If I can still sign up for that 5gb plan for $45, I'm considering cancelling my 6gb super plan with Rogers when my contract is up in November.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by NoPulp
In southern Alberta I always get equal or better coverage than my friends/family on telus. Not sure why everyone puts down fido/Rogers for coverage, I haven't experiences that.

I have a Telus phone and a Fido phone. Reception is regularly better on Fido, judging by number of bars and download speeds. It's definitely something with highly varying individual experience though, and will depend on the areas of the city you frequent. For everyone saying Rogers is better there will be one saying Telus is better. Between the two I would just go for the best plan.

[Xtrema]

Telus/Bell is better is you frequent less populated areas.

Rogers is fine in the cities and highways. But there are quite a few dead spots in the city that has frustrated some of my friends. But the 700Mhz roll out should take them up to on par with Telus/Bell.

Roaming is so cheap now, coverage is less of an issue. Just pick the cheapest plan you can get your hands on.

That Koodoo plan is awesome if you can still get that.

[gwill]

I can't believe everyone is saying fido. He specifically mentioned frustrations with cell service while camping, going through the mountains, while hiking and coverage in bc.

Fido would be the worst option for rural coverage or anything going through the mountains. Fido uses Rogers network while Koodo and virgin use bells/Telus. Fido customer service is awesome but for your needs they shouldn't be considered.

Koodo and virgin are both non contract options so I don't think it matters who you choose as they use the same towers.

[riander5]

Doesnt Wind run off telus and bell? Does Wind have slower internet access even in city?

[The_Rural_Juror]

I would have gone with koodo if they had a tablet plan. Rogers Share Everything is a better deal for my 2 phones + tablet.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by riander5
Doesnt Wind run off telus and bell? Does Wind have slower internet access even in city?

WIND is a distance 4th. Slow network, lack of towers, shitty range of AWS band. They run off Bell/Telus when roam.

It's fine as long as it's under $40 or you travel to US a lot, or you need unlimited US long distance.

Otherwise, Koodoo $45 plan is far superior if you can get it.

[jltabot]

For those interested in getting the $48 SKMB unlimited 5GB plan, it is still possible to get (just did it on JULY 13/15), you just have to be creative in using the loopholes. I am in no way responsible for those who lose their number as a result of trying this method and the port failing.

SIM ONLY activation:

1. Sign up with Koodo and get a SK/MB number with the $48 plan (say you're moving there for work or school or some other BS that gets you the number). Provide them your current address since they will use it for the credit check (you do not need a SK/MB address), the plan is not tied to the address, but instead tied to the 306 area code.

2. Pop your new Koodo sim card into your phone, test calls/texts/data and make sure you can send/receive.

3. Create your self serve account online with your account number and postal code you provided.

4. Self-serve account: under Self-serve tab > phone services > change number > I want to bring a number

5. Here you need the account number of your previous carrier (do not tell them or contact them, line must be active and billing up to date for port to work), name, and address on the bill. Confirm all the information matches the next page to prevent any complications and having to call in to correct the port.

6. Submit the port request, wait about 15-20 mins, power cycle your phone, and you should get a text saying your port is now complete.

now you have a 403/587 number with a SK/MB plan, just hoping I don't get audited haha.

:bigpimp:

[pf0sh0]

Originally posted by gpomp
Koodo because of the SK/MB plan.

this is the best plan

[interlude]

I am currently on the Koodo SK/MB plan and loving it!

It was reported on CBC and some douche in TO is charging $100 on Kijiji to provide a "service" to help people jump on this plan.

If you're not on this plan, I would jump on it ASAP before they close up the loophole.

[codetrap]

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[interlude]

Originally posted by codetrap
I'm planning on setting it up right away too. Does anyone know if after I have it set up, I can just go to a store and buy a new phone and add that to the plan? I was thinking I'd buy the wife an iphone 6+ for her B-day in august.

No, I am pretty sure you would have to do the entire process again. I could be wrong though.

[codetrap]

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[spikerS]

BTW, anyone wanting to switch to TELUS, I believe I can save them $10 a month off their rate plan .

[spikerS]

Originally posted by codetrap
Hmm.. maybe I will just set up a tab plus phone and get the iphone 6+, and just put the sim in her 5s until her birthday..

Even with getting a new phone, it's still cheaper than I'm paying with Rogers ffs.. and I can't use LTE here in coventry because it keeps dropping the first incoming call until her phone flips back to 3G because the Rogers LTE here blows goatdick.

LTE doesn't carry voice at all, and a phone will display a drop to HSPA or 3G for a voice call. LTE is strictly data only as of right now.

[codetrap]

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[spikerS]

That's cool, I didn't know they had enabled that.

[codetrap]

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[killramos]

Originally posted by codetrap
Yeah. I know it's not enabled for the iPhone's yet, but our problems started around the same time.

Carrier update should fix that cause i'm pretty sure the phones have been capable since iPhone 5?

edit: While iphone 5 supports some wideband voice protocols ( which have never been implemented) it doesn't support VoLTE. That came with 6 and 6+ apparently.

[codetrap]

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[A2VR6]

Originally posted by codetrap
So, I opened a kodoo plan today using my AB address and getting an SK phone number on an AB plan. I just switched it to the SKMB $48 plan online. I will add voicemail for $2 and then port my AB number to it tomorrow. Hopefully, it all works out! From talking to the guy, it sounds like you can just update your biijg address to an SK addy then you can access the cheaper plan. One of my coworkers is going to try that with his kids line.

Spikers, I would have used your offer but even with your discount and bundling, I'd still be looking at $110 a month for the same plan.

The SK$48 plan should already include voicemail, so no need to spend the extra $2 a month:thumbsup:

[codetrap]

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[ICEBERG]

Hey guy's

just got off the phone with Rogers Costumer Relations on a new 2 year plan with an extra line. This is what i got:

New Samsung Galaxy S6 No charge
4 gig Data
Unlimited Evening/Weekends
Unlimited Shared Minutes
Unlimited canada wide
Unlimited Nation wide video call
unlimited txt
voicemail
caller ID
All for $60.00

plus an extra line for my wife shared data for 40$

total 100$ plus tax

What do you guys think?

[Sdeibert]

So $100 for 4 GB of shared data? The SK plan would be $98 for 10 GB / 5 each, but no free S6, hmm.

I personally would take the extra 6 GB and buy my own S6, phones can be changed out but getting those extra GB's is tough.

[codetrap]

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[nagooro]

Can this be done if I'm already with koodo?

[The_Rural_Juror]

I think Fido offers a similar plan.

[codetrap]

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[haggis88]

Originally posted by codetrap
1) Open Koodo account with AB address, Sask Phone number. Whatever plan. I did the $65 plan pay as you go. $5.25 for the SIM


This part can't be done online can it?

Can't seem to get past the part asking me to add a phone, I don't need a phone :lol:

[codetrap]

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[oz388]

Are there any good cellphone plans coming out for back to school event soon??

[eglove]

Originally posted by codetrap
I don't know. I did it at the kiosk.

Did you change your address at all?

[OU812]

Fuck these phone carriers are all shit. Why is SK/MB so cheap?

[eglove]

Originally posted by OU812
Fuck these phone carriers are all shit. Why is SK/MB so cheap?

They have competition there, sasktel / mb telco

[93VR6]

Does anyone know if it's the same procedure if I am already a Koodo customer?

[Joe-G]

Originally posted by 93VR6
Does anyone know if it's the same procedure if I am already a Koodo customer?

And keep your number? No.

Port your number out to Telus/Virgin/Fido/Rogers/whatever... wait a billing cycle to be safe, and sign back up with Koodo.

[Deetz]

I've had cell phone now for 21 years exactly, used a few carriers over the years, but have settled with fido at the end of the day. Coverage for me i find to be great for the most part anywhere i travel. I grandfather my plan, which i keep as my only phone, which i find worth it.

My last renew was 8 months ago, a new 2 year deal

$65 month
unlimited anytime calling, both local, or anywhere in Canada
unlimited text, local and US
VM
2 GB data

and best of all, got a free iphone 6 (64gb), not bad for a 2 year deal

[codetrap]

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[?????]

Originally posted by codetrap
My cooworker is testing the theory that you can set your address to a SK addy and wait a billing cycle, then update the plan. I'll keep you guys posted with his results.

Correct me if i'm wrong but I think your coworker needs a SK number to get the plan. Not just a SK address.

Reason being you can have a AB address and a SK number to get the plan.

[ajooo]

Originally posted by J.M.
^^ :werd: If I can still sign up for that 5gb plan for $45, I'm considering cancelling my 6gb super plan with Rogers when my contract is up in November.

I'd consider buying your rogers plan off you depending on the other plan details!

[cidley69]

Anyone tried doing the sk plan lately?

[eglove]

Originally posted by cidley69
Anyone tried doing the sk plan lately?

Did it two weeks ago. Followed codetraps post above

[codetrap]

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[cidley69]

couple week range. I'm considering making jump to Koodo, one big draw is the Sk deal.

Was reading on HowardForums that deal is being shut down by Koodo, by
a)either not letting new ones, or
b)pulling any whos billing address is not in SK.

Wondering if anyone here experienced either of these?

[eglove]

Originally posted by cidley69
couple week range. I'm considering making jump to Koodo, one big draw is the Sk deal.

Was reading on HowardForums that deal is being shut down by Koodo, by
a)either not letting new ones, or
b)pulling any whos billing address is not in SK.

Wondering if anyone here experienced either of these?

I had no issues

[msommers]

Originally posted by spikerS
BTW, anyone wanting to switch to TELUS, I believe I can save them $10 a month off their rate plan .

Man I'd be stoked to get $10 off my cell bill. It's $85/month!

[spikerS]

Originally posted by msommers


Man I'd be stoked to get $10 off my cell bill. It's $85/month!

I just looked into it, and I can refer up to 3 people per calendar year for the $10 a month discount. But you have to be on renewal, port in, or new activation.

if that's you, I can set you up lol

[msommers]

No I'm grandfathered into a month-to-month plan after my contract was done.

UL nation calling
UL text
ID, VM3 etc
6gb data

$90/month total

[D'z Nutz]

Man I don't know how you guys can be okay with paying almost $100 a month on a phone bill. I was furious when I went from $54 to $59 :rofl: It makes no sense for me to even change plans or providers because I'm on a grandfathered 6G data plan. I average about the 400MB mark each month (and that's with 'excessive' usage) but I'm keeping it just based off principle haha

[msommers]

Needed it for working out of town. But now I'll be living in Deadmonton so for personal reasons, and I'm too stubborn to change my number. I've had it since I was 16, I'll probably die with it :rofl: Some people are heavy users. Like Eride who's addicted to Instagram. 6gb barely covers that :eek: :rofl:

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz
Man I don't know how you guys can be okay with paying almost $100 a month on a phone bill. I was furious when I went from $54 to $59 :rofl: It makes no sense for me to even change plans or providers because I'm on a grandfathered 6G data plan. I average about the 400MB mark each month (and that's with 'excessive' usage) but I'm keeping it just based off principle haha

Same here, I have 2GB and I have never once hit my limit. I am pretty liberal with my usage and the only thing I don't do a lot of is HD video streaming or constant audio streaming on LTE. If I want to do that, 9/10 times there is WiFi around anyway. I pay $57/mo with unlimited everything (except data) Canada wide. I'm always shocked that people are cool with paying anywhere near $100/mo for a phone plan outside of extreme cases. If the going rate was $100, then whatever I'd pay it, but it's so easy to pay half that so why not.

[J.M.]

I'm a heavy user. Gone over 6GB a once or twice lol

[Redlyne_jr]

Originally posted by Joe-G
Koodo. $45 for 5GB + unlimited talk/text. ;)
Koodo if you know how to get it.

send me details

[eglove]

Originally posted by Redlyne_jr


send me details

Code trap listed how to do it in a post above

[CompletelyNumb]

Originally posted by msommers
No I'm grandfathered into a month-to-month plan after my contract was done.

UL nation calling
UL text
ID, VM3 etc
6gb data

$90/month total

I'm getting the same for $10 less...just called retentions and asked to have my 10gb plan reduced to save money. They offered the above as a "bring your own device" plan and it was about $80. Might be worth looking into.

Although I'm tempted to try the koodo idea.

[Hero_X]

Is there any special promo plans for rogers/bell/virgin? Their website shows pretty shitty plans.

I'm on telus right now but want to shift to one of the other mentioned ones because they support more network LTE bands.

I have a good plan on telus though, 6gb data + 300 mins + unlimited evening weekends for 65$/month.

lol the other companies offer a similar plan for around 90$/month (but with 5 gb data) :banghead:

[GQBalla]

Originally posted by Hero_X
Is there any special promo plans for rogers/bell/virgin? Their website shows pretty shitty plans.

I'm on telus right now but want to shift to one of the other mentioned ones because they support more network LTE bands.

I have a good plan on telus though, 6gb data + 300 mins + unlimited evening weekends for 65$/month.

lol the other companies offer a similar plan for around 90$/month (but with 5 gb data) :banghead:

i would stick with telus, unless you want to pay more for pretty much the same service.

What LTE bands do the other providers have? Telus/Bell are faster compared to Rogers from my personal experience

[Hero_X]

According to wikipedia, Bell has the most LTE bands

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LTE_networks

Telus only has one (1700).

[codetrap]

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[GreyFox]

Bumping this up to see if anybody has any recent experiences, specifically relating to getting this $48 SK/MB Koodo plan.

I'm currently with Telus, have been off of a contract for a while and I'm paying $67/month taxes in. Getting 200 mins, unlimited texts and 1 gig of data (with the usual crap like voicemail, caller ID, etc...). I don't need 5 gigs of data, nor do I need unlimited calling, but what I do like is saving $17/month by going with Koodo.

The catch is, I also wouldn't mind a new phone. I have an iPhone 4S that's still in great shape, but it's just full and starting to slow down. From what I've heard, it's a bit more of a hassle to get a new phone...basically you can't do it through a Koodo store (as they'll make you change your plan back to an AB plan) and Best Buy can't do it either...which is typically my go to place for phones since they actually have sales. Buying a phone outright is just so friggin expensive.

Anyways, looking for any advice from anybody who has done this recently, or an update from codetrap to ensure everything is still running smoothly. If anybody has had any luck purchasing a new phone on a tab, while using the SK/MB plan, let us know how you did it!

There's a really helpful website that I found with detailed instructions on how to do this, if anybody else is interested in looking into it: http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1868676-How-to-get-the-MB-SK-48-Plan-Anywhere-in-Canada

[z24_wheels]

Check PM

[msommers]

You pay for the entire phone either way. All at once or spaced out through the contract.

If you have a good plan just buy a phone outright.

[Unknown303]

Originally posted by J.M.
I'm a heavy user. Gone over 6GB a once or twice lol

My wife and I have pooled 6GB plans so a total of 12GB and I've almost broken over the 12GB on my own.

[CRXguy]

http://forums.redflagdeals.com/koodo-lg-g4-50-tab-medium-410-outright-1880841/

I've been on the $48 plan for almost 2 weeks now. Haven't decided what phone I want yet. I'll let you know how it goes. Seems like it's best to go to a Koodo kiosk or The Mobile Shop at Superstore.

[Sorath]

bump. anyone try this recently and have success?

[300zxfairlday]

Lots of people charging 60 bucks to do it for you and giving 50 in bill credits. Just got mine done

[Sorath]

did you just go to the kiosk?

[shakalaka]

Are there any store promotions going on if you upgrade you Fido phone? I love my plan and don't want to change that. But instead of buying a phone outright this time wanted to use my contract to upgrade to get a subsidized price. I don't mind the contract extension as I am going to be staying with Fido anyway.

I can do it directly with Fido but if any retailers have any freebies or something they are adding on top or discounting for upgrades (not new lines), I'd like to do that.

Thanks

[sabad66]

Originally posted by shakalaka
Are there any store promotions going on if you upgrade you Fido phone? I love my plan and don't want to change that. But instead of buying a phone outright this time wanted to use my contract to upgrade to get a subsidized price. I don't mind the contract extension as I am going to be staying with Fido anyway.

I can do it directly with Fido but if any retailers have any freebies or something they are adding on top or discounting for upgrades (not new lines), I'd like to do that.

Thanks
normally they won't let you do a hardware upgrade unless you're on one of the new plans, so if you're on one of the old plans you might need to change it to one of the new ones.