A Study in 2003-Style Data Plan Pricing: Canada's Fido Network

[Jason Dunn]

<img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//spt/auto/1204328183.usr1.png" />I've tackled this issue before, talking previously about <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/articles.php?action=expand,57169">Rogers data plans</a>, but this time I figured I'd take a closer look at Fido, the other major GSM carrier in Canada. Rogers bought Fido a couple of years ago, and as such we have no competition in the GSM phone market. I don't use the word "monopoly" lightly, but this is a classic example of a market where there's literally no competition if you want to use a GSM-based phone. Fido just announced <a href="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/news/show/32439/fido-releases-motorola-q9h-and-samsung-jack-in-canada-idiotic-data-plan-pricing-means-no-one-cares.html">two new Windows Mobile Standard smartphones on Friday</a>, the Motorola Q9h and the Samsung JACK. Two nice, capable phones - largely crippled by Fido's data plan prices. Let's drill down on this...<br /><br />First, you have to <a href="http://www.fido.ca/portal/packages/monthlypackages.jsp">pick a plan</a> for your phone minutes, voice mail, etc. The plans range from $20 per month (for 200 minutes total airtime) up to their $100 per month "high usage"; account which gives you 1000 daytime minutes and unlimited evenings and weekends. For the sake of argument, I let's pick the plan that I'm on (yes, unfortunately I'm a Fido customer): $30/month for 100 daytime minutes, unlimited evenings and weekends. Tack on the 50 cent "911 emergency service" fee, the $6.95 "system access", the $5 "expanded network access" (which allows me to connect to Rogers cell towers - yeah, they're the same company, and I have to pay for this privilege). So now you're at $42.45 per month, for 100 daytime minutes. Oh, you want voice mail and some data? For $18/month, the "value pack" I have, I get voice mail and 12, count 'em 12 whole megabytes of data transfer per month. Believe it or not, I was happy when they introduced this plan, because previously I was paying $25/month for three, count 'em three megabytes of data transfer. Ok, so you're now paying $60.45 per month and you have 12 MB of data transfer. That's good for average twice-daily ActiveSync sessions, and minimal email usage. Don't you dare fire up <a href="http://livesearchmobile.com/?mid=1011">Windows Live Search</a>, or browse more than WAP sites, or you'll be paying for it - literally.<br /><br />Did I mention that if you had a non-Windows Mobile handset for $7 per month you'd get unlimited browser surfing? Yeah, it sucks to be using Windows Mobile sometimes, because the mobile carrier punishes you for it.<br /><!><br />Oh, what's this? Fido has a <a href="http://www.fido.ca/portal/en/domore/3g_windows_mobile.shtml">Windows Mobile package</a>? Surely that must be some sort of great bundle that will let people use their Windows Mobile devices the way they were meant to be used - as rich-client data devices - all for a reasonable fee. So what is it? Unlimited email....but only to/from a Yahoo.ca, Yahoo.com, Gmail, Sympatico, Videotron, Rogers Yahoo, Telus, Shaw, Cogeco, Hotmail, Live, or MSN account. Got a custom domain, especially if you're a business customer? Tough - no unlimited email for you. So how much do you pay for this "awesome" service? $15 per month, and they give you a whopping 2 MB of additional data. $25 per month gets you 4 MB, and $40 per month gets you 8 MB. Oh, and it's $10 per MB after that. What's that? You did the math and figured out the $18/month"value" pack with 12 MB is a much better overall deal? Shh - don't tell other Fido customers that - especially since they no longer offer that exact option (don't you love it how they do that?).<br /><br />Once again you have a scenario where Microsoft releases a solid, functional phone OS, OEMs release great phones like the Motorola Q9h and the Samsung JACK, and the mobile carrier destroys the entire value proposition by making the phone so expensive to use the way in which it was designed that customers either buy the phone and can't use it to it's full potential, or they get an LG Chocolate instead and ignore the Windows Mobile option. Motorola, Samsung, HTC - all the players involved can make all the great phones they want, but ultimately mobile carriers like Fido can choke the products out of existence with pricing - and that's exactly what they're doing here.<br /><br /><i>Jason Dunn owns and operates <a href="http://www.thoughtsmedia.com">Thoughts Media Inc.</a>, a company dedicated to creating the best in online communities. He enjoys mobile devices, digital media content creation/editing, and pretty much all technology. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his lovely wife, and his sometimes obedient dog. He wishes someone would compete with Fido and Rogers to give Canadians more value for their money.</i>

[Menneisyys]

I may be able to help you with the restricted browsing problem ;-)

1. Do you know anyone that have ever tried to "hack" the WM browsers to behave as native browsers? Are they WAP-only browsers, or, full HTML ones on these feature phones that are allowed for unlimited browsing?

2. If you don't, did you try running Opera Mini in socket (NOT http!) mode? It's a way to circumvent the pxoxy-based filtering - if the unlimited browsing isn't strictly WAP-based and closed for other, direct connections, that is.

[karen]

You pegged it, Jason. I sometimes wonder if the Canadian carriers do this Punish the Windows Users approach because they are ignored by Microsoft or something like that. Maybe MS doesn't send enough product bunnies to meet with Canadian execs? It's time for some MS pimping, big time.

My current WM handset is on its last legs. While I'd like to have a GSM phone, I've been burnt too many times by Rogers to go back to them. So I'm will Telus. Telus offers right now only one WM professional (touch screen) phone and it is terrible. They have removed Remote Desktop, something I must have. Heck, having Remote Desktop is the main reason why I am loyal to WM. I don't like having to drag around a laptop just to reboot a server.

The crap phone also has a USB headset connection! The engineer that came up with that design should be shot. Maybe with a USB headphone! The headset ear things won't even fit in my ear. I know, I know, Bluetooth. But I can't use bluetooth everywhere.

Telus finally added a $25 month "unlimited" US data roaming feature. So I am saving big while travelling in the US these days. I'm sure that feature will disappear soon, though.

Most of my mobile phone usage is data - in a typical month, I use less than 10 minutes of voice. But you have to have a voice plan to get a data plan.

Because my phone is on its last legs, I am considering the following options until (if?) Telus provides a decent phone:

1) getting a pay as you go cheap cellphone for emergencies only and hoping that I'm near a wifi provider when I need real connectivity.

2) Ditching WM for a Blackberry and hoping that I'm near wifi when I need a server connection.

3) getting a PC cell card and a UMPC to schlep around everywhere. Heck, the data plans for the cell cards are much cheaper and truly unlimited -- plus Telus throws in their Hotspot plan on the unlimited plan, too. I do have a 10" laptop that fits in my purse, so I could do this without a new UMPC.

4) waiting for Rogers to get the iPhone in Canada and ditching WM and Telus permanently.

5) Switching to Rogers again, risking being caught with a phone that does not work and no help from them.

Notice that none of my current options include getting a WM phone from Telus? I have $1000 burning a hole in my pocket, I want a WM phone, but I can't buy a decent one that works.

If the reason why Telus et al charge more for data plans for WM is due to the fact that they tend to up data usage, then why the heck would a cell connection via a laptop be cheaper? I can sure as heck run up much more usage with a laptop than I can with a WM phone.

I guess I could also try to buy a used WM Telus phone.

Any other ideas? I'd like to have a WM Pro phone that has WiFi, a real headphone connection, RDP functionality.

[ddwire]

Boy am I glad I live in a good coverage area for Sprint here in the good ol USA.

Now that Sprint is providing lock codes to unlock Sprint phones, could you buy one of them and use it on Telus? Buy direct from Sprint with no plan or from Ebay.
Dan

[PPCRules]

Jason, I'm glad to hear you are upset with the situation you have. But it's not going to change. And it won't change because there are so few of us that get this upset.

Most people willingly -happily, even- pay these rates, and it seems they must feel they are getting a gift. I can't believe the plans that are advertised - I would guess these are the plans the companies are selling - but I don't hear very many people complain. They are just giddy if they have some cool feature on their phone they got at some low subsidized price, and never do realize who is paying the subsidy.

Me? As much as I'd like, I don't forsee me having a cellular device/data plan until something major changes in the market, and I don't expect that to happen soon. Apple didn't change anything for the better, and I don't expect Google and co. to either.

[Antoine]

Thank you Jason for giving some publicity to this outrageous situation.

The fact that our telcos appear to be so well protected from foreign competitors and the lack of domestic competition leave the canadian consumers in the dark ages of mobile telephony/computing. If the obvious collusion in the canadian wireless industry is not worthy of an intervention from the government, then I don't what else may be. I was hopeful at some point that Maxime Bernier (former Minister of Industry) would do something about it. At least he appeared to be sympathetic to the cause. Now that he is appointed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs we no longer hear about it. Did he flee the mess? Was he given other duties on purpose? I have no idea but this annoys me to no end. Someone has to do something. Now.

Antoine

P.S.: I recently found the following Fido brochure with my girlfriend's old cellphone. The brochure dates from when fido was still an independent company. The rate for unlimited GPRS was only $50. It really was unlimited, no strings attached. Granted, it was only GPRS, but still I would prefer this authentic "2003-style data plan pricing" to what is offered today. See for yourself, I've scanned the relevant pages: http://img152.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fidobeforebeingboughtbydo4.jpg

[ctmagnus]

re: no competition in the GSM area, I read (http://patphelan.net/global-carriers-leaving-cdma-behind-and-moving-to-gsm/) that Telus may be switching to GSM in the next few years.

[JwY]

Jason, you should give some examples of the overages people have had. :lol:

[ctmagnus]

I had previously been on 2500 incoming text messages per month (and that 2500 number was extremely difficult to find on Rogers' site) and starting getting in the vicinity of 3000 incoming messages per month due to services such as Twitter and Facebook. My bill tripled for a couple months.

Also, the first month I had a data plan, I burned through eight MBs on a two MB plan. Instant $80 in data alone.

And those examples are miniscule compared to others' bills.

[extravagant]

Telus for the first time offered unlimited internet on the htc touch, the htc s720 and the blackberry pearl, unlimited everything, IM, data, GPS, opera mini, everything unlimited just cant use it as a modem.

so i picked up the blackberry pearl out of all of them as i thought it was the best phone (i still think windows mobile is best)

but i have to say, Fido is horrible and we need competition or something.

at least finally Telus has offered unlimited internet on the phone for only $15 per month added! I couldn't pass up. I think the offer is still available now if you go to the local telus shop.

[Ecks]

I came across this over at howardforums.com
I'm not sure how legitimate it is, but it appears to show up on certain parts of the Rogers Windows Mobile site and members are saying they have added it to their plan. (first link)
The second link apparently states that Rogers will be revamping their Data Plans.
http://howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1328194
http://howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1330048

Ecks

[extravagant]

that doesn't compare to Telus' truely unlimited data, even the GPS is unlimited, except as I said in the earlier post it you cannot use ur phone as a modem. hopefully rogers will follow and go even lower than telus' 15$ a month

[midtoad]

I wrote a post for cellphones.ca (http://www.cellphones.ca/news/post002936/) on the data rates offered by the big three in Canada. Not only are the rates punitive, but the companies actively conspire to try to rip you off. Not one of them provides any means for you to meter your consumption. I've asked all three and they all refuse point-blank to my request to provide me with an email if my data plan limit is going to be exceeded. they say that's impossible. Funny, their billing departments are able to tell !

the situation is so bad that it's like visiting a country where you rent a car only to discover that none of them have speedometers, and the penalty for speeding is to be pulled from the vehicle and be bludgeoned to death by club-wielding police. I mean, what else would you call an $80,000 bill from Bell for downloading some movies?

There is a small glimmer of light in the tunnel, however, with Rogers' recent PC-card data plans, which range in price from $65 to $100/month. At least they're not thousands of dollars per month! The rumour on hofo is that Rogers will extend those plans to WinMo devices and non-Rogers (aka unlocked iPhones sometime in mid-March).

But for now, I'm sticking with my Virgin Samsung m510 and its $10 unlimited HTML browsing plan and won't consider using a smartphone until I see a change. I'm quite happy using my iPod Touch at WiFi locations if I really need an internet fix.

One thing's for sure. Big changes are coming in the next year. Telus may go to GSM (or LTE, or 4G) in order to grab some of the international roaming fees of $500 Million/year that Rogers is pocketing right now. When the 2010 Olympics hit Canada, those revenues should jump up significantly, easily compensating Telus for its investment if it can grab half of the cash. Then too, we'll have 700 MHz devices within a year or so. Point is, anyone that signs a 3-year contract right now is going to be regretting it in the not-too distant future.

cheers
Stewart in Calgary