Greg Johnston, tech columnist
Assuming coverage doesn’t eliminate one or more providers, whether an iPhone or any other phone, the plans are what will likely make your decision, and there are many, with so many variations, I can’t begin to go over them all here. I have created a spreadsheet that compares the voice and data plans of Bell, Rogers, and Telus. Before commenting on the plans, however, I have to say I absolutely agree with the many who complain both of the cost and the many hidden, often onerous charges Canadian cellular providers pile on.
It has taken me many hours even to compile this basic comparison. If you want to compare other plans, the spreadsheet can certainly be used as a template, because while I looked up single-user personal plans for iPhone, family, business, and other-multi-phone options could work out to much different pricing and features. I found a website that lists many plans – 50+ for each of the Big Three Canadian telecoms, and some of the latest plans were not yet added to their database.
As a rule, I did find that to shop phones and plans, it was best on each telecom’s website to choose a phone and add it to my “shopping cart”, as if I was going to buy it online. Assuming you check off a three-year contract, you will be asked to select a plan, which will present you with options applicable to that phone – otherwise, the shear number and complexity of plans, and to what phones they are applicable can be overwhelming.
The costs and core features of these basic iPhone/smart phone plans are similar, but the optional differences may be significant depending on your anticipated use. None of the plans include Caller ID, for example, a feature many of us now consider essential. Welcome back to 1993, and expect to pony up a significant $15 to $20 monthly for Caller ID, depending on how it’s packaged.
Telus has more options that may significantly impact your billing.
Do you call the same people a lot? Bell and Rogers’ unlimited Fab5 and My5 options, respectively, may be useful, especially since they start their evening minutes late, so unless you and your friends are night owls, most of your calling will come out of your limited no extra-charge daytime minutes, while Telus makes a national five favourites option a pick one-of-three no-cost options.
Big on texting? Telus has a no-charge option for unlimited incoming and outgoing texts – although that is also bundled with Caller ID for $15, so if you want caller ID anyway, you can choose another bonus feature instead.
All of the plans are quite expensive to use while roaming in the US – especially data charges; don’t expect to use your phone for web browsing or email while en route in the States without racking up hefty charges in short order, doubly so if you travel outside North America. You can add extra-cost US and international roaming and data plans that may save you a lot if you travel regularly.
Otherwise, save the email and browsing for when you can get a WiFi connection at your hotel or other wireless internet access point. Long distance rates from the US also more than double.
I hope readers find this comparison useful. Trying to come up with this iPhone plans comparison required a great deal of time searching multiple web pages, sometime third-party websites, and reading legal disclaimers – because none of the Big Three cellular providers in Canada makes finding out your actual likely billing easy – many charges, fees, and rates are literally hidden in the fine print, although I did find Telus’s plans and website to be clearer than Bell’s or Rogers’.
Reading the steady-stream of complaints about cellular providers in online forums and recent news stories certainly can be a downer, but my hope is to help you get the best plan you can.
A large part of what makes this story interesting is that the Big 3 Canadian telecoms now are head-to-head with network technology, and Roger’s doesn’t have an exclusive on the latest 3G phones like the iPhone or Blackberry Bold that demand more advanced networks. So as unhappy as Canadians seem to be with our cellular companies, comparisons may be easier, and competition may ramp up.
Call around, and see what incentives your current provider will offer to keep you, and what competitors may offer to switch you. Play hardball; the telecoms do.
A disclaimer: since the telecoms don’t assure the accuracy of their information, and plans are subject to change regularly, I can’t promise my spreadsheet is without error, but every attempt has been made
Greg Johnston
greg@infotrek.ca
www.infotrek.ca
http://www.cellphones.ca/cell-plans/
www.bell.ca
www.rogers.com
www.telus.com
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2009/12/16/consumer-cellphone-bill-marketplace.html
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the link to your xls spreadsheet ( http://wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Phone-plan-comparison.xls) appears to be broken. Would love to have a look at it
It’s important to note that while Canada has the highest cell rates in the world, we also have the smallest population for such a huge geographic area to cover. Our country is huge! That may partly explain why Canadians pay a much higher price. Less people but more coverage needed.
dylan: thanks, I noticed the broken link myself this morning, and have sent an email to Markham (publisher) to let him know. Since he’s on the road, he may not be able to fix it, so if it’s not available by later today, I’ll throw it up on my own website and post a link here.
Jude: I wondered myself if the cost of providing coverage to a relatively sparse population in a vast land might be part of why Canadians pay so much more for cell service than just about anywhere else. While there may be some truth to that, it’s also true that the small population means relatively low bandwidth requirements, which should help cut down on infrastructure costs. Africa is a vast and relatively empty continent, yet friends who travel there, and travelogues I’ve read seem to indicate coverage is surprisingly good there, despite the vastness, and surely much lower subscription rates amongst a relatively poor population.
I suspect at least equally to blame for our high cell costs is simply lack of real competition – much as with new and used car sales here, where despite nearly 2 years of the dollar trading reasonably close to par, we still pay 20-45% more for many cars here than in the States.
Greg, et al,
I am currently in the market for a contract renewal, having recently completed a three-year commitment with Telus. I’d like a couple of iPhones on the tab, along with “dumb” phones for… ok, three teens, who want to text a lot. What I’d like to see from the providers is some way to monitor my teens’ usage, who are obviously quite reluctant to provide same. I’ve complained to Telus in the past about the complicated and convoluted plans and extra charges, and I’ve used the phrase “nickled and dimed to death” in my conversations to them. I thought with the advent of the new Telus plans, they’d approach something at least “less distasteful,” but after further investigation I see they’re another flavour of the same “nickle and dime” scenario. Frankly, I’m still disgusted with cell phone service providers in Canada who seem to gouge is for every penny. I find them quite distasteful, still. I’m in no hurry to sign a contract again, but when I do, I’ll certainly use all of your resources and references to find the best deal I can. Thanks for your articles and your research.
http://www.infotrek.ca/iPhone_plan_comparo.htm
The above link will take you to a page hosted on my own website where readers can download, and open or save the phone plan comparison spreadsheet referred to in my article. My apologies on for not getting this up sooner. Feel free to modify the sheet to suit your needs and circumstances – as I said in the article, I researched personal, single user plans just as a starting point.