My Telus data deal

[Jason]

Since I've moved to Freedom Mobile, I've been using the data plan on my phone and only using my tablet with wireless. Formerly, I was paying this:

Tablet plan:
$5/month Flex (only 20 MB)
+$10/month for 200 MB
+$10/month for 500 MB
total $25/month for only 500 MB of data

Phone plan:
$10/month for 50 min and 50 texts (I think)
No data

Total: $35/month

I switched to Freedom when I realized for $10 more per month, I could get a nice new phone (includes $5/month on the Tab), unlimited calling to Canada and the US (within Freedom's) network, unlimited texting and 4 GB full-speed LTE data. So now I'm paying $45 a month for 8x the data and I don't have to worry about how many phone calls or texts I send.

I called Telus to cancel my mobile data (the $5/month flex-data) since I don't need it now. I've been able to pair it with my phone though truth be told, it doesn't work as well as it should. Well, in calling them, they offered me 1 GB for the same price. Since Bluetooth pairing doesn't work that well, I went for it. Double the data from them as before at 1/5th the price. I may not need it very often, but it's handy to have it for just $5 a month.

[fox]

That sounds quite good. I think it's 10x what I would get through Rogers for my tablet (locked to Rogers/Fido). Fido would give me 3 GB/month but at $15, not $5. I would get what you got from Telus if I could, but none of the options seems worth getting when I have data on my phone and access to wifi on my tablet almost anywhere I go.

[fox]

I am, but not on my LG Gpad tablet. It has cellular capability, but I'm not using it because I haven't bought any service from Fido or Rogers. Hypothetically, I could unlock it and buy cell service from anyone. I would be tempted to do that if I got the same offer that Jason did ($5/1GB monthly). But I suspect that they did that to keep him as a customer and wouldn't just offer that to anyone.

[Jason]

Did somebody else post a comment and then delete it or is Mike just talking to himself now?

You could also get the $5 deal for a few months and then threaten to cancel it and maybe they'd give you the same deal. Btw, on December 1st, providers have to unlock your devices on request with no additional charge. That might also be why Telus wanted to keep me: so they wouldn't have to unlock my device for free.

[fox]

This is weird! Bill posted something I responded to, but his post disappeared.

So I could get Rogers or Telus to unlock my TABLET for free; I thought that only applied to phones. Are you saying I could get your Telus deal if I asked for it? What's the "few months"?

[ssfc72]

Mike was responding to a post I left, but then deleted.  I had asked Mike, if he was still with Koodo, on his phone.
I deleted my post, because I sort of realized that Mike probably was still with Koodo.  :-)

Bill

Did somebody else post a comment and then delete it or is Mike just talking to himself now?

You could also get the $5 deal for a few months and then threaten to cancel it and maybe they'd give you the same deal. Btw, on December 1st, providers have to unlock your devices on request with no additional charge. That might also be why Telus wanted to keep me: so they wouldn't have to unlock my device for free.

[Jason]

So I could get Rogers or Telus to unlock my TABLET for free; I thought that only applied to phones. Are you saying I could get your Telus deal if I asked for it? What's the "few months"?

If your tablet isn't unlocked, then you have to ask the provider with which it's locked to, to unlock it. They have to do it for free starting on December 1. It applies to all mobile devices as far as I know. Section F 1 of the updated wireless code seems to agree. The other cool thing is that providers will no longer be able to lock new mobile devices.

http://crtc.gc.ca/eng/phone/mobile/codesimpl.htm

Oh, and I wasn't clear enough about what I meant by the $5. They had a $5 flex-data plan that I was under before. It only gives you like 20 MB or something stupidly low. I was suggesting you do that for a few months and then tell them you want to quit and maybe they'd offer you the same plan they offered me. However, I just looked again and it doesn't look like they offer anything like that now unless you already have a phone or data plan already with them (or are buying a tablet on a plan).

Maybe you told Koodo you were going to take your prepaid phone plan elsewhere, they might give you a data deal for your tablet for $5.

[Jason]

Mike was responding to a post I left, but then deleted.  I had asked Mike, if he was still with Koodo, on his phone.
I deleted my post, because I sort of realized that Mike probably was still with Koodo.  :-)

Oh, that explains it. I thought that was weird.

[fox]

Maybe you told Koodo you were going to take your prepaid phone plan elsewhere, they might give you a data deal for your tablet for $5.

Koodo doesn't offer a tablet plan, unfortunately.

[Jason]

Oh, that sucks.

[gmiller1977]

Thought I'd chime in here on the plan that I have.  I have unlocked iPhones (one for me and one for my wife).  We're on Virgin Mobile.  If you bring unlocked phones to Virgin you are just billed monthly, no contract, which means you can also switch plans whenever you want (I've switched plans 2 or 3 times a year, no fees).  I even switch to plans that are for "new activation's only".  As long as your account is in good standing, they are happy to accommodate.

Our plan is 1000 mins per phone per month, and 4GB of data per phone per month (they don't share).  I'm paying $60 for each device.

It really doesn't matter if a carrier has a "tablet plan".  As long as you have an activated SIM, you can use it in any device (assuming it fits).  I routinely used to move my SIM from my phone to my ThinkPad.

Virgin is pretty good - and they always have deals on plans.  The key is to OWN the phone so you can be out of contract and have the ability to take advantage of better deals as they come along.

[fox]

It turns out that Telus now has a tablet plan where you get 1GB for $10/month, but you have to sign on for two years. That's good, but still twice as expensive as what they gave Jason. I would do it for the price they gave Jason if it was available to me.

[Jason]

The small print also says that rate is "only available to customers with an existing TELUS Mobility Postpaid phone plan with shareable data."

I didn't see any reference to a 2-year agreement. I don't think mobility companies are allowed to tie users to contracts like that any longer. The two-year agreements are just for paying down a device you bought and even then you can still terminate it at any time as long as you pay off the device balance.

[fox]

That being the case, the best tablet data deal going right now is probably the Fido 3GB for $15/month. Not for me, but good for anyone who needs a lot of data on their tablet. I'll stick with wifi only on my tablet until I see a decent $5/month deal.

However, on the phone side, Koodo has a 2x special for all their prepaid "boosters". (Boosters are add-ons to the base rate of $15/month, no contract, for unlimited texting only.) The 2x special gives you 2GB data (instead of 1GB) for $30, and these data don't expire at the end of a month as long as you maintain the base service. There is a comparable deal for phone minutes, 1000 minutes for $25 instead of 500. Although I still have almost a GB of data from my last booster purchase, I bought 2 more GB to get the good deal. Thanks for finding that, Jason!

[Jason]

That being the case, the best tablet data deal going right now is probably the Fido 3GB for $15/month. Not for me, but good for anyone who needs a lot of data on their tablet. I'll stick with wifi only on my tablet until I see a decent $5/month deal.

Fine print - "Available to Fido postpaid customers with wireless plan (voice only, data only, Fido Home Phone and prepaid plans not eligible)."

However, on the phone side, Koodo has a 2x special for all their prepaid "boosters". (Boosters are add-ons to the base rate of $15/month, no contract, for unlimited texting only.) The 2x special gives you 2GB data (instead of 1GB) for $30, and these data don't expire at the end of a month as long as you maintain the base service. There is a comparable deal for phone minutes, 1000 minutes for $25 instead of 500. Although I still have almost a GB of data from my last booster purchase, I bought 2 more GB to get the good deal. Thanks for finding that, Jason!

You're welcome.