Gozit

Sigh... If only they didn't place any restrictions on their service (they shut it off after a period of time using it abroad without connecting to T-Mo towers) I would hop across the border and sign up.

Partially discharged

Wow..I thought our cell plans were expensive but I think you top us. We are in Ottawa on Robbers

We have 4 'smart' phones on the plan. 3 are IPhones (a '6', a '4s' and '5c') and a Samsung Galaxy 3

All have unlimited canada wide calling, voice mail, unlimited texting, caller ID. One of them, the '6' gets visual voice mail (Iphone value pack) and lower cost calling to USA and overseas. I know that the UK and France are $0.10 a minute which in a pinch is OK without having to use calling cards. As well, the '6' gets 100 international texts/month.

Costs..galaxy 3 = $35.20 + HST
6 (primary line and a full work deduction ) = $79.80 + HST
5 = $48.40 + HST
4S = $35.20 + HST

The '5' will be the same price as the 4S in a month when it becomes a bring your own device plan. The 6 will go down by about $15/month in about a year when it is a bring your own device plan

Cable..most channels in HD, no movie network as we have Netflix. Lots of sports, time shifting etc and a PVR = $56.98 + HST

Home Phone..only to get discounts and to have fun with telemarketers. $19.99 + HST. It has North American LD, caller ID, VM

Internet = rogers ignite 100u with Shomi (never really used it), unlimited downloading = $69.99 + HST

Daughter going to france bought a new Iphone from the Apple store that will work in france and that line is being cancelled in a few weeks. She'll get a line in France. Virgin has one for 20 euros a month that does more than her line here and can text to Canada and I think has limited calling. Skype will do the rest.

magnumpi

@PD
If she has a iPhone then set up FaceTime before she leaves it's the best Apple feature for long distance family calls, all she needs is a wifi hot spot

Partially discharged

Yep..she has an Iphone and so do I and so does her brother. My wife is the Samsung holdout. Either Skype or Facetime is what we will use. Where she will be living in France she has wifi.

Is there an android equivalent to Facetime? I'm meaning something phone specific.?

not2old

I'm revisiting my post below from December 2015 with the internet service before the current deal I have expires.

Seems Bell screwed me over by shorting the time period of the promo (notified in an email), due to end beginning November

So, on the phone, flip flopping around to the 'cancellation' rep & supervisor.

30 minutes, back & forth.... this, that & the other, with the 'yes, but you know, its not available any more & the $49.99 deal that you see on the internet is for students only'

WTF, here I am a Bell customer. The best offer is the fibre internet to the home service at $53.95/mth +tax ongoing price not time limited. Its the same service as I currently have, fibre to the home (fibre box on the wall in the basement) 25/10 (actual 20/20) 500GB (I think its only 300GB) modem included

Since I do zero downloading, no longer do any streaming TV .

Is this a good deal?

Do I cancel & go with the library internet for BE , googling & emails?

Other suggestions please

BristolUK

FaceTime exists? You mean it's not some fictional name used so as not to infringe any rights regarding use of a real name?

SchnookoLoly

If you don't do any downloading or streaming, then that internet package is complete overkill.

You don't need anything that fast just for text, basically. I just had a look at TekSavvy's DSL plans - https://teksavvy.com/en/residential/internet/dsl (Cheaper than cable or fibre), I used my postal code just ot get an idea, so your results might vary slightly, but the attached screenshot is their plans. If yuo are only doing BE, Google, and email, then just get the DSL7 package for $30/month. It includes 150GB of data, which is absolutely enough for your needs. https://teksavvy.com/en/residential/...gh-speed-dsl-7

not2old

thanks for that, although its not super fast, there is also the extra costs with teksavvy of activation fee, dry loop, modem etc.

That is good info though. It gives me something to work with

Gozit

Yes. Its actually cross platform (Android and iOS) and google just came out with it. Its called Duo. Very similar function to FaceTime and simple.

+1 to this. I posted something similar in the other thread but $40 for 15mbps service and 300gb bandwidth with Start.ca. Which one would come out ahead depends on how much the modem / router costs from Start vs Tek.

SchnookoLoly

Was just about to post that. I've been using it with my parents, it's great. Way better than video chat on Hangouts.

Gozit

Awesome... Is it like FaceTime in quality would you say? Because if so I can remove all dependency on iOS for communication and use Duo and Viber to communicate with family abroad.

SchnookoLoly

For me, yes. It's great. Super quick, super easy, and really good quality. My parents have craptastic internet at home and the quality was still phenomenal. Good speed on data as well and not a data hog (wel, as much as video can be).

Gozit

Brilliant...

Kicking myself now for not downloading it on nanna's phone before I left.

SchnookoLoly

Yes, forgot about the $5 dry loop. Yes you have to buy the modem up front but you'd have to rent it from someone else anyway... depending how long you'll be with them, they are cheaper in the long run.

The other option you could do is get a cell phone plan with a decent data limit and then just tether when you want internet at home. My brother is doing that right now. He has a 2GB plan on his phone, and he just tethers when required for browsing and email. When he needs to do anything 'heavier' he just goes to the local coffee shop and uses their wifi. He's with Koodo.

not2old

now it gets interesting.... appreciate this

On the phone, do I need to buy a special phone (another up front cost OMG)?

I see on phone service providers, Koodo, Chatr & Public mobile that an added plan with 2GB - 4GB is going to cost approx $50/mth + tax of course

Being the thrifty person that I am, I'm all for best bang for the buck & appreciate all the help from BE'ers on this technology maze

At present I have a basic basic flip phone just over one year old, that we use for talk only. I'm on a province wide unlimited talk plan with public mobile $19.95/mth + tax (no extra charges for anything) total cost $21.47

I see that I can get data added, but do I need some kind of better phone device with windows or smart phone - if so, what do I need & what is the lowest cost of such a device that would allow me to 'thether'?