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[Kak.efes]

Free Caller ID. What a novel idea. We'll have finally entered the 21st century.

 

[will123456]

Finally some competition. too bad this won't be available in Quebec.

 

[zedge]

Saw a Wind shop on 17th today. Hopefully it can make some change.

Theres one opening in Marlborough Mall too. It seems BlockBuster will have kiosks also, similar to Rogers Plus stores.

Its only launching in Calgary and Toronto first.

 

[RS4-]

Tempted to apply for the Toronto location.

Hmm...

 

[baby panda]

Even with no system access fee/911 fee and free caller ID, call forwarding and call waiting?

ya.. SO got an ok deal awhile back

25$
200 daytime
free incoming
weekends/weeknights @ 5
2k texts
fido to fido
ID/forwarding/waiting/Voice mail/SAF/911 included

could've got a better deal since this is the first thing they offered her.. cant wait til to see what they offer when wind launches

 

[CrushDance]

About f'ing time! I'm so glad about this news, fuck the CRTC. More companies equal more competition and better deals for consumers.

 

[grumble]

YESSSSSSSSSSSS

Fuck you, Bell/Rogers/Telus!

 

[Big-E]

Hopefully they can challenge with better phone selection as well. Pisses me off how most of the new phones they pitch are from 2008. Day and date with everywhere else please, don't see why it has to be the way it is now.

 

[fastford58]

YESSSSSSSSSSSS

Fuck you, Bell/Rogers/Telus!

Here! Here!

I'm so sick of their shit.

 

[AAK]

Always Shout: $45 per month
Unlimited Canada-wide calling
Unlimited incoming /outgoing text messages
Voicemail

TEN bucks more a month, for something that isn't even available from the other services. If I wasn't genetically bonded with my iPhone, I'd totally switch.

Does this include calls comming from US or Asia?

I'm stuck with FIDO because they're the only ones that offer unlimmited international incomming.

 

[DopeyFish]

wat? incoming international calls are considered local unless you're on PAYG (for whatever retarded reason)

 

[EvilMario]

So, what's the over under on when 'WIND' is bought out by Rogers/Bell? I give it two years.

 

[AAK]

wat? incoming international calls are considered local unless you're on PAYG (for whatever retarded reason)

I don't think so. I started w/ rogers, and I got a lot of calls from Middle East in that time, my bills were around $300.

I asked Rogers to give me a plan that had unlimited international calls and the customer rep said he didn't have any.

Then I switched to FIDO and got their unlimited internation incomming plan. $35. But then they still charge me $7 activation, and then $10 for Caller ID Value pack and then tax making me go approx $60/month in the end.

It'd be nice if I could save on that.

 

[torontoml]

This sucks, signed a 3 year contract with telus in the summer, when I lost my rogers phone. If only I hadn't lost my phone, my rogers contract just expired this month.

 

[DopeyFish]

So, what's the over under on when 'WIND' is bought out by Rogers/Bell? I give it two years.

wind is funded by orascom/globalive - bell,telus and rogers combined couldn't come close to buying them

i'm extremely thankful for that considering how much the industry took a shit when rogers bought out microcell/fido

edit: doh, t-mobile is the one who originally funded microcell sheeeeeiiitttt

 

[Zzoram]

Is WIND Mobile's network going to be GSM or CDMA? How will their 3G coverage be? When are they planning to move to 4G?

 

[maharg]

It would be ridiculous to build out a CDMA network at this point. Every indication is it'll be a pure HSDPA (3G) network with no 1/2G (GSM or CDMA) component at all.

 

[Ripclawe]

It was a different tone from that of her boss, Rogers CEO Nadir Mohamed, who 24 hours earlier had lashed out at the threat of more competition.

"There's no question in my mind that Canada cannot support more than three national facilities-based players," he said in an interview with Bloomberg News on Thursday. "It's inconceivable to me."

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Established+wireless+firms+criticize+Ottawa/2332759/story.html

soo.. Canada is that small?

 

[NetMapel]

Well they're hiring in the Vancouver, so here is hoping they'll be starting in Vancouver quickly after Calgary/Toronto.

Here's hoping Wind Mobile bring us more phones that are not available in Canada now (for some odd reason...)

 

[NetMapel]

Just FYI that the Wind Mobile page has been updated to include phones, plans and coverage information. Turns out all the leaked plans are pretty much true.

 

[PflargBlarg]

Hmm, data plans must not be fully updated yet. It's only showing the laptop infinite internet via usb stick plan. Ah just looked further, apparently they show phone data plans under addons.

 

[NetMapel]

Hmm, data plans must not be fully updated yet. It's only showing the laptop infinite internet via usb stick plan. Ah just looked further, apparently they show phone data plans under addons.

Yup phone data plan is $35 for unlimited usage, which I actually prefer even though it's a little bit expensive. However, that still comes down to $50 if you include the most basic calling plan. That's still better than what I pay for with Rogers right now.

 

[TheRagnCajun]

The Challenger

Kickass! okay now do internet!

 

[PflargBlarg]

Yup phone data plan is $35 for unlimited usage, which I actually prefer even though it's a little bit expensive. However, that still comes down to $50 if you include the most basic calling plan. That's still better than what I pay for with Rogers right now.

Yeah I was just checking out all the plans. The $15 phone plan works perfectly for me as I never go over 100 minutes in a month, and even if I do go over a little, the overage charges won't bump me up to anywhere near $35. Add on the $5 unlimited texting and $35 unlimited data and I can get everything I need for $55/month. Sounds pretty good to me.

Except that they won't have coverage in Vancouver until sometime in 2010

 

[NetMapel]

Updated OP for the lazy.

and I do hope they carry more and more phones soon and expand to Vancouver early in 2010

 

[maharg]

The Coverage:

Something that hasn't been clear in a lot of the media about this yet is that the "away zone" on this map is roaming on (probably) Rogers' network. You're charged $.25/min of talk and $.10/25kB of data while in the yellow area.

This is gonna be the biggest problem in their growth imo. There's gonna be a long period where they'll be spending mad capital to expand their network, and a buyout offer from Rogers or Telus could be very tempting.

Also, the iPhone doesn't support AWS spectrum. So no iPhone on WIND. Not until a revision of it comes out that supports it.

 

[GuessWho]

is this gsm? oh and the 35$ is unlimited outgoing calls? (within province/zone)

 

[Giard]

This really doesn't come to Quebec?
Looks great.

 

[maharg]

is this gsm? oh and the 35$ is unlimited outgoing calls? (within province/zone)

It's AWS. Part of HSDPA. GSM is 1/2G, this is 3G. And it's not like other providers where they have both a 1/2G network and a 3G network you can switch between. They're building their network from scratch and all parts of it will be 3G.

Kind of like how Telus is dealing with their switchover to HSDPA/WCDMA.

That said, when you roam I think you'll probably wind up on Rogers' GSM network. Their phones are GSM-based phones, and the 'away zone' map looks like Rogers' coverage area.

 

[Shadowmancer]

Something that hasn't been clear in a lot of the media about this yet is that the "away zone" on this map is roaming on (probably) Rogers' network. You're charged $.25/min of talk and $.10/25kB of data while in the yellow area.

So, does this mean the GTA is going get extra fees? Or when it says Toronto, it means GTA? Because I could deal with that (never leave the GTA that much).

 

[maharg]

So, does this mean the GTA is going get extra fees? Or when it says Toronto, it means GTA? Because I could deal with that (never leave the GTA that much).

http://care.windmobile.ca/Support/StoreLocator/store-locator.aspx has a map. It's a pretty large area, so I assume it's GTA. It's a lonely little red splotch when put on the scope of the whole map, though.

 

[XMonkey]

Wind uses the same 3G bands as T-Mobile... Nexus One would work well

 

[bishoptl]

I'm on year 2 of my 3 year plan with Bell. I just got into it with a rep last Thursday - I wanted to switch my piece-of-shit-always-randomly-freezing HTC Touch for a Blackberry, and my wife's Samsung as well. No dice - you have to purchase the new phone at the unsubsidized price. $399? Kiss my ass, Bell. As soon as this contract is up, I'm outta there.

 

[silverbullet1080]

I'm on year 2 of my 3 year plan with Bell. I just got into it with a rep last Thursday - I wanted to switch my piece-of-shit-always-randomly-freezing HTC Touch for a Blackberry, and my wife's Samsung as well. No dice - you have to purchase the new phone at the unsubsidized price. $399? Kiss my ass, Bell. As soon as this contract is up, I'm outta there.

Protip: keep bitching until they do it. I've only used it on getting better plans, so it might work here.

 

[GSG Flash]

Hopefully Wind will have presence in Ottawa by the time my contract with Rogers is up, because my current plan is a huge rip-off compared to what Wind is offering. Hopefully they'll allow you to get a plan without a phone (or atleast a plan with a $0 phone) by that time too because I can't see myself changing phones anytime soon.

 

[PflargBlarg]

Hopefully Wind will have presence in Ottawa by the time my contract with Rogers is up, because my current plan is a huge rip-off compared to what Wind is offering. Hopefully they'll allow you to get a plan without a phone (or atleast a plan with a $0 phone) by that time too because I can't see myself changing phones anytime soon.

If you read the website, you can currently only use their phones with their service (which is a selection of 5 phones). I don't know how you would get a $0 phone since they don't have any contracts.

 

[SRG01]

I'm on year 2 of my 3 year plan with Bell. I just got into it with a rep last Thursday - I wanted to switch my piece-of-shit-always-randomly-freezing HTC Touch for a Blackberry, and my wife's Samsung as well. No dice - you have to purchase the new phone at the unsubsidized price. $399? Kiss my ass, Bell. As soon as this contract is up, I'm outta there.

You can try for an early HUP, but you have to lock in for another 3 years I think

 

[GSG Flash]

If you read the website, you can currently only use their phones with their service (which is a selection of 5 phones). I don't know how you would get a $0 phone since they don't have any contracts.

No you can use any phone that supports AWS (ie. basically any 3G phone) on their network, despite what they say on their website.

They don't have contracts yet, which is why I said "hopefully by the time contract is up with Rogers" which is still a looooong while away.

 

[NetMapel]

http://www.windmobile.ca/community/WIND-news/topic/press-releases/

Hiring have started for Edmonton and Ottawa to prepare for a February 2010 service launch.

 

[maharg]

No you can use any phone that supports AWS (ie. basically any 3G phone) on their network, despite what they say on their website.

Whoa, hold on there. Any 3G phone is not necessarily AWS compatible. As a notable example, the iphone is not. Any European phone will not (they have a whole different set of bands). Any phone more than a couple years old will not.

AWS is still relatively new, and adoption of it by phone manufacturers is not by any means universal. There are, in fact, only two providers of AWS service at all. T-Mobile and now WIND.

There's a list of compatible phones here.

 

[EvilMario]

The Wind Mobile store at the Blockbuster near Humber Loop in Toronto has been really busy for about a month now. Anyone actually sign up for the service, or is everyone here just 'waiting and seeing'? I can't really find a detailed review of the 'Wind Home' area, and what it means in the GTA in general.. or how the service has been.

edit: I see they have service for a good majority of Mississauga, and along Lakeshore. We live in Toronto, but we travel to the west end of the GTA a lot.. good to know. http://care.windmobile.ca/Support/StoreLocator/store-locator.aspx

 

[gutter_trash]

I'm surprised not more Canadians are here singing the fanfare.

why is Montreal smaller than Calgary on that map? I don't get it

 

[Mareg]

Hells yeah !

Anything/anyone that messes with those incomptetant fools at Bell/Rogers are heroes !
Mother of fuck mary I hate these companies with a pasion.
Yeah Bell, its effing personnal ! I hope you go down slow and painfully. Preferrably with a lot of fire involved. I'm MAD.

/Rage

 

[ravien56]

What does that mean..Wind home zone?

 

[SUPREME1]

Lots of holes in that map.


Verizon > Wind

 

[maharg]

What does that mean..Wind home zone?

Where you're connected to a WIND tower instead of a Rogers tower. If you're connected to the Rogers network, you pay roaming.

 

[ravien56]

Where you're connected to a WIND tower instead of a Rogers tower. If you're connected to the Rogers network, you pay roaming.

So pretty much all the yellow is roaming.

 

[maharg]

Keep in mind they're building their network from scratch and facing hostility from the entrenched providers. The roaming agreements they must have with Rogers are required under anticompetition laws, but are made grudgingly. They were never going to come in with massive coverage everywhere off the bat, and no new entrant will ever be able to do that.

 

[lunarworks]

Anyone actually sign up for the service, or is everyone here just 'waiting and seeing'?

I'm waiting until they actually have a good phone. The current crop doesn't interest me one bit.

Their rates are pretty good, and I'm within the "Home Zone" 99% of the time.

 

[DogWelder]

My friend works at Wind so I'll be signing up soon under their Friends & Family employee plan. $15 for Always Shout + $35 for unlimited data. Essentially $50 a month for unlimited everything.