Are the koodo,Virgin, Fido or freedom mobile cell providers any good?

[CUSO]

I am currently with Bell. My phone plan is about $100/month. unlimited call and text with 2GB My iPhone 6 is currently paid for so now I am eligible for an upgrade.

I am happy for now with my current phone and have no need at the time to upgrade.. So:

I contacted Bell, their best plan rate for me is 2+1 GB Data and unlimited Canada calling for $80 (actually it's $90 if you are already a bell customer.. LOL) I haven't called the 611 number yet, and did some more research.

Virgin, Fido, and KOODO all have a similar plan for $55/month. Only thing is it's 500 Canada wide daytime (which I am fine with). all voicemail and call display are similar across the board.

My question is..

Do these smaller carriers have the same support, and coverage as the big 3?

I know they all piggyback on the towers.... I just want reception when I hit the B.C. mountains. For now I was just thinking of using my current iPhone 6 till she craps out.

Thoughts?

 

[skegpro]

I am currently with Bell. My phone plan is about $100/month. unlimited call and text with 2GB My iPhone 6 is currently paid for so now I am eligible for an upgrade.

I am happy for now with my current phone and have no need at the time to upgrade.. So:

I contacted Bell, their best plan rate for me is 2+1 GB Data and unlimited Canada calling for $80 (actually it's $90 if you are already a bell customer.. LOL) I haven't called the 611 number yet, and did some more research.

Virgin, Fido, and KOODO all have a similar plan for $55/month. Only thing is it's 500 Canada wide daytime (which I am fine with). all voicemail and call display are similar across the board.

My question is..

Do these smaller carriers have the same support, and coverage as the big 3?

I know they all piggyback on the towers.... I just want reception when I hit the B.C. mountains. For now I was just thinking of using my current iPhone 6 till she craps out.

Thoughts?

Virgin is Bell.
Koodo is Telus.
Fido is Rogers.

All are bargain brands to their parent companies.

Bell and Telus use the same towers.
Rogers is on their own.
Rogers used to suck in rural areas but I hear they are getting better.

Boy you just missed the boat on the unlimited +10GB for $60 plan.

 

[skegpro]

Support from virgin is the best I have found.

 

[Steve D]

Note that freedom mobile and wind I think are just starting out with their own coverage so you'd pay roaming fees outside major centers.

Telus have the largest number of towers in rural bc (bell piggybacks them).

Call centers are the same as respective parent companies it seems from my calls for the 60-10 promo...

 

[CUSO]

Virgin is Bell.
Koodo is Telus.
Fido is Rogers.

All are bargain brands to their parent companies.

Bell and Telus use the same towers.
Rogers is on their own.
Rogers used to suck in rural areas but I hear they are getting better.

Boy you just missed the boat on the unlimited +10GB for $60 plan.

I heard that there is supposed to be another round of these deals. I myself have a hard time using 2 gig.. I have home wifi and my job at NAIT has wifi also.

 

[skegpro]

I heard that there is supposed to be another round of these deals. I myself have a hard time using 2 gig.. I have home wifi and my job at NAIT has wifi also.

There was mentions of it. Thought it would have happened on boxing day. Will be interesting to see where plan pricing goes from here.

I think the best thing a guy can do is be a free agent.

Buy your device's outright and go wherever you can find the cheapest plans. Don't be afraid to switch carriers and don't forget to call into your current carrier to threaten to switch once and a while.

If you are having a tough time using two gigs definetly check out the koodo and virgin $50-60 plans, that's probably the best way to go in the mean time.

 

[skegpro]

Virgin Mobile

 

[skegpro]

Koodo

$10 off your bill per month when you bring your own phone.

Bonus gigs only last two years, but who cares, you'll be able to switch plans again by then.

So this plan will cost you $45/ month for 12 months.

 

[ippielb]

I’ve been with Telus for years now and in Saskatchewan they have the best service along with Sasktel because they share towers. In Alberta Telus has a rank network. Unreal data speeds and different plans all together then here in Saskatchewan.

I switched from Sasktel to Telus, in 2010. Haven’t looked back, and have known people ok Bell, and they don’t get service in a lot of places that I do. And to me, I’m paying for service bars, if you need to use your phone but you don’t have any service, those extra go of data isn’t going to do you any good.

 

[fj40]

Call bell ask for their retention or loyalty program,
This will take a while before they transfer you, just keep pushing and tell them you going to cancel and switch. If they keep quoting their deals you are not there yet.
Once you get transferred that person can negotiate a deal with you.

I've done this with both Koodo ( cell ) and Telus ( tv Internet )
I pay $ 40 a month for 1 gig and unlimited talk and text

 

[Cyle]

Call bell ask for their retention or loyalty program,
This will take a while before they transfer you, just keep pushing and tell them you going to cancel and switch. If they keep quoting their deals you are not there yet.
Once you get transferred that person can negotiate a deal with you.

I've done this with both Koodo ( cell ) and Telus ( tv Internet )
I pay $ 40 a month for 1 gig and unlimited talk and text

Agreed, you are getting gouged BADLY. I pay $120/month for two phones on contracts unlimited canada calling/text and 15GB shared with Rogers. Been on plan awhile, upgraded both phones and was allowed to stay on same plan same price, even though before 1 phone wasn't on contract and was saving there. Helps a lot when you tell them you're going to go elsewhere if they don't come up with a better deal. I have no idea if how long you've been a customer makes a difference, but been with them for over 15 years.