It`s quiet... too quiet

[Jason]

I haven't seen any recent posts. Did everybody die? If not, did anyone get any new toys or try a new program or service? Post in the appropriate category if it's something we could learn from. If it's something small, post it here.

It's not a big deal but we recently upgraded our internet connection. I had held off on it for a long time because unless you're doing a lot of downloading or 2 or more people are watching 4K, 40 Mbps was all we needed. A 4K stream uses about 25 Mbps. And we don't have anything that can do 4K. But after perusing our ISP website (Start), I saw we could get a $24/month discount because my phone plan was with Koodo. So I could get a cheaper 60 Mbps connection or a slightly more expensive 120 Mbps connection which I went with. Probably won't load websites faster but be a lot easier downloading those 200-300 GB games!

Here's what I find most interesting:

So Start was (is?) our ISP but Telus offered an upgrade because we were a Koodo customer. And Speedtest thinks I`m an Altima (another internet company) customer! I know Koodo is one of their lower-cost brands, and Start says they`re part of the Koodo family. So is Altima. Who am I actually with? I have no idea but I pay my bills through Koodo now. We live in a complicated world!

Also, I bought a cheap French keyboard. I'm learning French now so being able to do some of the accented letters is useful. OMG, trying to get used to it, though!

[William]

I recently changed cell plan from Rogers to Freedom Mobile, because Rogers got rid of their "pay-as-you-go" service.  Freedom Mobile has $5/month prepaid plan with better features than Rogers.  So, I chose that.

[ssfc72]

Thanks Jason for posting about the promo from start.ca with a Koodo mobile postpaid plan.

So how much, with taxes, is the 120 Mbps internet service promo with start.ca  and a postpaid Koodo mobile service? What is the monthly cost of the Koodo postpaid plan?

I am with Koodo mobile but I have a prepaid service, not a postpaid Plan. My Koodo prepaid service is $15 a month.

With my Carrytel internet service of 40 Mbps, I pay $45.19 including taxes, per month.
Carrytel has not increased the price of my internet service for a number of years.

[Jason]

I imagine that Carrytel is cheaper. It was much more affordable when I had it here. I only switched back to Start because when I had a problem not getting internet, their only solution was to send me another modem. They wouldn't send out a technician. When I tried Cogeco out they found a problem with the outside line. It's not worth the hassle to me.

Anyway, here's the breakdown of what I pay through Koodo (all prices include taxes):

Cellphone plan:
$61.02 (inc. taxes)
Unlimited Canada-wide minutes, 80 GB internet at 4G, premium voicemail (a free perk I picked)

Internet:
$61.02
120 Mbps (megabits/second)

Total: $122.04

We also have their streaming plan which is $16.95 per month (inc. taxes) for Prime (video and shipping), Netflix, Disney+, and Telus+. It's the lowest tier (includes commercials). You can get a higher-tiered plan with no commercials for $37.29/month (inc. taxes).

I was paying $67.80 for internet before so I'm paying less now for 3x the speed. But not as cheap as you! It looks like Carrytel has raised their prices for new customers. It's $56.50 for 40 Mbps now. So don't leave them if you're happy! And they're charging $90.40 for 120 Mbps (in my location)!

So yeah, you`re getting much cheaper internet albeit at a lower speed which doesn't matter much with a 1-person household unless you're doing a lot of big downloads. Your prepaid phone is cheaper but I assume you're limited in minutes which is fine if you hardly ever use it. Do you get unlimited texts with that? I have to have an unlimited plan because I'm a caregiver for my wife and she phones me when she needs my help (even in-house).

[Jason]

I recently changed cell plan from Rogers to Freedom Mobile, because Rogers got rid of their "pay-as-you-go" service.  Freedom Mobile has $5/month prepaid plan with better features than Rogers.  So, I chose that.

How many minutes do you get with that? Must be a Toronto thing. I don't think we can get $5/month here but Bill might want to check that out.

[Jason]

One thing I liked from the beginning with Start years ago is that I'd always get a little more than what I paid for. So I'm pretty happy with Start/Koodo/Telus/Altima.



Buster is going to tell us how he gets a 1 Gbps connection and only pays for a 40 Mbps connection next, blowing us all out of the water.

[Jason]

I forgot to mention that with the internet services from Start/Telus/Altima/Koodo (STAK), you get a Wifi 6 router. Not sure how I feel about that. It has fewer options than my TP-Link router but I read recently that there are questions about security with TP-Link products because of their links to the Chinese government. So that might be a good thing.

[ssfc72]

Yes, with the Koodo prepaid, I believe it is unlimited incoming voice calls and 100 minutes outgoing calls per month.
Texting is unlimited.
The Data is 200 MB per month, which is plenty for me and I never come close to reaching my Data limit.
My previous cellphone provider was PCMobile and I only had 100MB Data per month, with them.

Your prepaid phone is cheaper but I assume you're limited in minutes which is fine if you hardly ever use it. Do you get unlimited texts with that? I have to have an unlimited plan because I'm a caregiver for my wife and she phones me when she needs my help (even in-house).

[William]

How many minutes do you get with that? Must be a Toronto thing. I don't think we can get $5/month here but Bill might want to check that out.

120min talk, 100MB data, unlimited text.  Regular price is $10/month, but they had promo last fall, probably because Rogers decision to get rid of prepaid.