General Retention discussion, just wanna chew the retention fat

**Phil Arbeau** · 12-06-2011, 09:34 AM

I know this is a vague question, but I'm looking for people's opinion:

Contract expires tomorrow, I have a Blackberry 9300 that I am content with for now but would like to upgrade within 6 months.

My plan is ~$50 after tax, and I get 200mins, unlim eve/wknds after 6pm, and 500mb of data. Not great I know.

I'm stuck between trying to negotiate with the newly stingy retentions, or switching to wind. The reason I don't want to go to wind is that I'm hearing rumors of waiting until February to try negotiation with Rogers retentions.

Should I:
A) Negotiate with retentions now
B) Switch to wind
C) Go month-to-month for a couple months, hoping they relax.

Thanks!!

**TheGuyz** · 12-06-2011, 09:43 AM

Originally Posted by Phil Arbeau

I know this is a vague question, but I'm looking for people's opinion:

Contract expires tomorrow, I have a Blackberry 9300 that I am content with for now but would like to upgrade within 6 months.

My plan is ~$50 after tax, and I get 200mins, unlim eve/wknds after 6pm, and 500mb of data. Not great I know.

I'm stuck between trying to negotiate with the newly stingy retentions, or switching to wind. The reason I don't want to go to wind is that I'm hearing rumors of waiting until February to try negotiation with Rogers retentions.

Should I:
A) Negotiate with retentions now
B) Switch to wind
C) Go month-to-month for a couple months, hoping they relax.

Thanks!!

If you have no trust in your rumours do C) as A) could bind you and screw you from B) in February.

**Ginu09** · 12-06-2011, 11:31 AM

Hmm interesting. Some of those plans seem good. Do either Koodo or Virgin allow data tethering to the iPad? I know Rogers is free if you have more than one Gb of data. Thanks.

**ceredon** · 12-06-2011, 11:56 AM

Originally Posted by Ginu09

Hmm interesting. Some of those plans seem good. Do either Koodo or Virgin allow data tethering to the iPad? I know Rogers is free if you have more than one Gb of data. Thanks.

Most other carriers allow tethering on all data plans.

**Ginu09** · 12-06-2011, 10:23 PM

I've given up on retentions and I'm free to walk. I'm looking for a plan that has the following:

200 to 400 minutes
evenings at 5 or 6pm
voice mail, caller ID, call waiting & text messages included
1 to 2 Gb data

I'd like to pay < $60. I've looked at Rogers, Telus, Bell, Fido and Virgin Mobile but there are just too many plans to compare. The two that have caught my eye right now are:

1) Virgin $35 plan: 200 minutes / evenings at 5pm / weekends free / unlimited Canada and US text & picture message / unlimited incoming or unlimited 5 Buddies / flexible data.
Problem: Voicemail and Call display is another $10.
Total: $35 + $10 + $20 (assuming 2Gb) = $65 + tax

2) Koodo $35: 250 minutes / evenings at 5pm / weekends free / unlimited incoming
Problem: Call display / Voicemail / Unlimited messaging is $10, and 2Gb is $25
Total: $35 + $10 + $25 = $70 + tax

My current plan with Rogers is:

500 minutes / evenings at 6pm / weekends free / my5 canada-wide / 2500 texting, voicemail and call display / 6 gb data
Total = $67.50 (but 6 gb of data is too much)

I got an offer today of $65 for 200 minutes and unlimited incoming with 2 Gb data from Rogers which I declined.

Are there any other competitive plans out there? I'm having a hard time deciding what to do. I can't seem to find a forum here where I can post my needs and get responses of the best plans available on any carrier (if I'm mistaken can someone direct me where I should go?). The benefit of Koodo or Virgin Mobile is no contract and I can change my plan whenever I want.

**DogSoldiers** · 12-06-2011, 11:53 PM

Hey Ginu09,

Unfortunately though, the wanting of 2 GB's is where you're going to run into trouble. Those Data Flex Plans for Virgin and Koodo are "up to" 1GB for $20, and from 1GB to 3GB it's $30 (although, Koodo does have a $25 data addon for 2GB).

Virgin: $35 + $10 (VM to text, CID) + $30 (up to 3GB) = $75
Koodo: $35 + $10 (VM, CID, Unl. Text) + $25 (for 2GB's) =$70

So...a little more than what you're looking for...

I would say those plans are best for people who's data usage varies. I'd say that your current plan probably suits your needs more. Unless you wanna play the waiting game with Virgin or Koodo and try to get a better deal in 3-6 months...

**Ginu09** · 12-07-2011, 12:24 AM

Virgin has the 2 GB for $25 as well. It's in their data add-on section. My rates will also vary. I was simply providing it as an example for reference. The majority of the time, I won't need more than 1 GB of data. Thanks.

**DogSoldiers** · 12-07-2011, 12:56 AM

Originally Posted by Ginu09

Virgin has the 2 GB for $25 as well. It's in their data add-on section. My rates will also vary. I was simply providing it as an example for reference. The majority of the time, I won't need more than 1 GB of data. Thanks.

Thank you for the info Ginu, I looked to see if they had 2GB for $25 as well and couldn't find it.

I personally, like the idea of the data flex plan. If you could manage to keep under 300mb a month (lots of wifi out there) you could maintain your plan at $60/month, while having the option to use more data if need be. I love that flexibility. Not to mention this is Canadawide calling we're talking about here and not local! Even more flexibility. Perhaps they should have called it "The Yoga Plan". LOL.

**ceredon** · 12-07-2011, 07:43 AM

Ginu09, not that it will save you any money on a regular basis, but for the koodo plan you are looking at, you could consider the City Koodo plan at $35 too. Assuming them they you add the $10 VP to it (might be incompatible since CK and the VP both have unlimited messaging) you would have unlimited airtime. The plan you are looking at has unlimited canadian long distance, so it you need that, it is the better option, but if using a lot of airtime is more common that using LD, you should look at City Koodo. It's unzoned, unlike City Fido, so it's unlimited airtime (local calling) anywhere in Canada.

**Ginu09** · 12-07-2011, 10:21 AM

Originally Posted by DogSoldiers

Thank you for the info Ginu, I looked to see if they had 2GB for $25 as well and couldn't find it.

I personally, like the idea of the data flex plan. If you could manage to keep under 300mb a month (lots of wifi out there) you could maintain your plan at $60/month, while having the option to use more data if need be. I love that flexibility. Not to mention this is Canadawide calling we're talking about here and not local! Even more flexibility. Perhaps they should have called it "The Yoga Plan". LOL.

They have two $35 plans. One is 200 Canada-wide minutes and free Canada-wide after 5pm on weekdays. The other says Unlimited talk with no zone restrictions. What does that mean?

Are they saying that one plan gives 200 Canada-wide minutes / free Canada-wide after 5pm / unlimited incoming or 5 Buddies, and the other is just ... unlimited whenever for the same price? And it says no zone restrictions so what am I not understanding?

**ceredon** · 12-07-2011, 10:29 AM

Originally Posted by Ginu09

They have two $35 plans. One is 200 Canada-wide minutes and free Canada-wide after 5pm on weekdays. The other says Unlimited talk with no zone restrictions. What does that mean?

Are they saying that one plan gives 200 Canada-wide minutes / free Canada-wide after 5pm / unlimited incoming or 5 Buddies, and the other is just ... unlimited whenever for the same price? And it says no zone restrictions so what am I not understanding?

The $35 Canada Wide plan has 250 daytime minutes and unlimited long distance. This means that any calls you make, anywhere in Canada to any Canadian number will never incur long distance. But, your airtime will be limited to 250 during weekdays, while unlimited during evenings and weekends, and any usage outside of those limitations will incur airtime fees.

The $35 City Koodo plan has unlimited airtime, but no included long distance. That means that you can use you phone anywhere in Canada and call any number and never incur airtime fees, but any calls that are considered long distance will incur long distance.

Unzoned means that the plan is not limited to specific cities. Originally, City Koodo was zoned, as a replica of City Fido, but koodo got rid of the zoning. Zoning does not define your airtime limitations nor your long distance definitions. It determined where you can use your phone without incurring additional out of zone fees. Think of it as artificial roaming. No plans at koodo are zoned. They mention it only because it used to be zoned.

I wrote something up that might help explain these terms:
http://www.howardforums.com/showthre...2#post14645962

Basically between the two $35 koodo plans, you are choosing between unlimited airtime with no included LD or limited airtime with unlimited LD. Go up to their $45 Canada wide plan and you get unlimited airtime and unlimited LD. Fido has a similar plan on promo for $50, but doesn't include unlimited MMS, while koodo's does.

**Ginu09** · 12-07-2011, 10:30 AM

Originally Posted by ceredon

Ginu09, not that it will save you any money on a regular basis, but for the koodo plan you are looking at, you could consider the City Koodo plan at $35 too. Assuming them they you add the $10 VP to it (might be incompatible since CK and the VP both have unlimited messaging) you would have unlimited airtime. The plan you are looking at has unlimited canadian long distance, so it you need that, it is the better option, but if using a lot of airtime is more common that using LD, you should look at City Koodo. It's unzoned, unlike City Fido, so it's unlimited airtime (local calling) anywhere in Canada.

Thanks for the reply. I'll generally be using anywhere numbers. I avoid any zoned plans, they're just too inconvenient.

**ceredon** · 12-07-2011, 10:37 AM

Originally Posted by Ginu09

Thanks for the reply. I'll generally be using anywhere numbers. I avoid any zoned plans, they're just too inconvenient.

No plans at koodo are zoned.

**Ginu09** · 12-07-2011, 10:39 AM

Originally Posted by ceredon

The $35 Canada Wide plan has 250 daytime minutes and unlimited long distance. This means that any calls you make, anywhere in Canada to any Canadian number will never incur long distance. But, your airtime will be limited to 250 during weekdays, while unlimited during evenings and weekends, and any usage outside of those limitations will incur airtime fees.

The $35 City Koodo plan has unlimited airtime, but no included long distance. That means that you can use you phone anywhere in Canada and call any number and never incur airtime fees, but any calls that are considered long distance will incur long distance.

Unzoned means that the plan is not limited to specific cities. Originally, City Koodo was zoned, as a replica of City Fido, but koodo got rid of the zoning. Zoning does not define your airtime limitations nor your long distance definitions. It determined where you can use your phone without incurring additional out of zone fees. Think of it as artificial roaming. No plans at koodo are zoned. They mention it only because it used to be zoned.

I wrote something up that might help explain these terms:
http://www.howardforums.com/showthre...2#post14645962

Basically between the two $35 koodo plans, you are choosing between unlimited airtime with no included LD or limited airtime with unlimited LD. Go up to their $45 Canada wide plan and you get unlimited airtime and unlimited LD. Fido has a similar plan on promo for $50, but doesn't include unlimited MMS, while koodo's does.

Okay just so I understand clearly. The Virgin Mobile plan is essentially a plan (like they have in the US) where I can use my phone regardless of where I am in the country and dial any nation-wide number, except that I'm limited to 250 minutes during the day.

The City Koodo plan is unlimited airtime but restricted to local numbers, regardless of where I am. Any regular long distance numbers are charged long distance. This is like my current Rogers plan. City Fido is the same but zoned, so only in certain cities can you use your phone to call local numbers.

The $35 Canada-wide Koodo plan is essentially the same as the Virgin Mobile plan with a different number of daytime minutes and differences in number of texts etc.

So essentially:

Virgin has these two plans: $35 for 200 Canada-wide minutes and $35 for unlimited local talk.
Koodo has these two plans: $35 for 250 Canada-wide minutes and $35 for unlimited local talk.

Have i got it? When you're with Rogers for 10 years you don't understand these other plans haha thanks!

**ceredon** · 12-07-2011, 10:50 AM

Originally Posted by Ginu09

Okay just so I understand clearly. The Virgin Mobile plan is essentially a plan (like they have in the US) where I can use my phone regardless of where I am in the country and dial any nation-wide number, except that I'm limited to 250 minutes during the day.

The City Koodo plan is unlimited airtime but restricted to local numbers, regardless of where I am. Any regular long distance numbers are charged long distance. This is like my current Rogers plan. City Fido is the same but zoned, so only in certain cities can you use your phone to call local numbers.

The $35 Canada-wide Koodo plan is essentially the same as the Virgin Mobile plan with a different number of daytime minutes and differences in number of texts etc.

So essentially:

Virgin has these two plans: $35 for 200 Canada-wide minutes and $35 for unlimited local talk.
Koodo has these two plans: $35 for 250 Canada-wide minutes and $35 for unlimited local talk.

Have i got it? When you're with Rogers for 10 years you don't understand these other plans haha thanks!

you've got it.

Only clarification I would make is that for the Canada wide plans, any daytime usage above your bucket would still only incur airtime fees instead of both airtime and LD, as you would with most Rogers plans.