Fido's Internet Usage Bill

[mr t]

consumer beware...

my friend got a $950 bill at the end of the month, when he check why,
he realized he used fido cell phone to access the internet. it comes
up with a warning message that says 5c per 1kb.

Now, not many people know what 1kb mean. they think, ah, it's cheap,
5c!. but when you access any site that has images let alone videos on
it, you will end up downloading 1mb, which is 1000 which is 1000000
that could amount to $50,000. In other words, your cell phone is a
huge liability credit card.

I would suggest calling fido and asking them to remove any internet
access from your phone. because if you think about it, you might a
responsible person, and may be knows what 1kb means, but you might
leave your cell somewhere and somebody could use it and screw you up
big time.

there should be maximum charge legistration for this kind of stuff!

mr. t

[DevilsPGD]

In message

Post by mr t
I would suggest calling fido and asking them to remove any internet
access from your phone. because if you think about it, you might a
responsible person, and may be knows what 1kb means, but you might
leave your cell somewhere and somebody could use it and screw you up
big time.

The interesting thing here is the timing, TELUS has just recently
started offering unlimited data, and from what I understand, Bell does
too (at least from the phone's browser)

Hopefully Rogers will catch up.

[mr t]

Post by DevilsPGD
The interesting thing here is the timing, TELUS has just recently
started offering unlimited data, and from what I understand, Bell does
too (at least from the phone's browser)
Hopefully Rogers will catch up.

ur not kidding me? my contract with fido is up jan 16. just two more
weeks and I am on telus.

[DevilsPGD]

In message

Post by mr t

Post by DevilsPGD
The interesting thing here is the timing, TELUS has just recently
started offering unlimited data, and from what I understand, Bell does
too (at least from the phone's browser)
Hopefully Rogers will catch up.

ur not kidding me? my contract with fido is up jan 16. just two more
weeks and I am on telus.

http://www.telusmobility.com/ab/business_solutions/connect_megabyte_rate_plan.shtml

It's not cheap, but it's an option...

[mr t]

it is still expensive. this will only hold down the development and
innovation in mobile internet.

[DevilsPGD]

In message

Post by mr t
it is still expensive. this will only hold down the development and
innovation in mobile internet.

$100 for unlimited tethered data in Canada AND the US? That is probably
the single cheapest plan in North America right now.

There are cheaper options as an add-on to a phone plan, I think, but I
refuse to put a voice phone on TELUS, so I haven't really looked at
those.

[JF Mezei]

Post by DevilsPGD
$100 for unlimited tethered data in Canada AND the US? That is probably
the single cheapest plan in North America right now.

Fido used to have it for $45 (or was it $40 ?).

Be very very carefull about data plans.

Some only apply if yo go via a WAP gateway and access only web sites
approved by the network. (aka: only via their own main wap page).

I am now on the Fido $5 for 6 meg plan and can confirm I can access the
internet with it, as well as use my phone as a thether. I was previously
on the $5 for 500k, so this is a 12 fold decrease in price. Excess
consumption is at 0.01 instead of 0.03 before, a 3 fold decrease.


Still nowhere near what is needed for true surfing on the net, but in a
bind, you can do some basic stuff, disable images etc to keep doanloads
reasonable.

When I changed package, I was told there were other packages available
that weren't yet on the Fido web site. (but as of now, the site still
only lists the $5 for 6 meg and $10 for 12 meg options. But with Fido
now officialy providing 3G service, there is bound to be much bigger
data options. (for instance, when you do a Video call, does this use
GPRS/data for the video portion ?)

[DevilsPGD]

Post by JF Mezei

Post by DevilsPGD
$100 for unlimited tethered data in Canada AND the US? That is probably
the single cheapest plan in North America right now.

Fido used to have it for $45 (or was it $40 ?).
Be very very carefull about data plans.
Some only apply if yo go via a WAP gateway and access only web sites
approved by the network. (aka: only via their own main wap page).

TELUS' plan is aimed at laptop PC cards, so there is no such
restriction.

Post by JF Mezei
I am now on the Fido $5 for 6 meg plan and can confirm I can access the
internet with it, as well as use my phone as a thether. I was previously
on the $5 for 500k, so this is a 12 fold decrease in price. Excess
consumption is at 0.01 instead of 0.03 before, a 3 fold decrease.

Data is *finally* becoming closer to reasonable.

Post by JF Mezei
Still nowhere near what is needed for true surfing on the net, but in a
bind, you can do some basic stuff, disable images etc to keep doanloads
reasonable.

Indeed.

Post by JF Mezei
When I changed package, I was told there were other packages available
that weren't yet on the Fido web site. (but as of now, the site still
only lists the $5 for 6 meg and $10 for 12 meg options. But with Fido
now officialy providing 3G service, there is bound to be much bigger
data options. (for instance, when you do a Video call, does this use
GPRS/data for the video portion ?)

Ahh, interesting. Rogers has higher services, but 1GB is still $65...
High, but a little better then 20MB for $60.

[VE7LEE]

I am planning to give up my unlimited data plan on Fido for $50/month in
Canada.

And switching to Roger's portable Internet basic for $20 per month for 10
GB.

I will get 256K download compare to about 60 KB download average.

To bad I can no longer sell it.

Everyone they (Fido) take away some thing from the plan. In 2007 it was
transferring the plan and US roaming included in plan.

Any reasons why I should keep it?

Before I give it up?

Post by DevilsPGD

Post by JF Mezei

Post by DevilsPGD
$100 for unlimited tethered data in Canada AND the US? That is probably
the single cheapest plan in North America right now.

Fido used to have it for $45 (or was it $40 ?).
Be very very carefull about data plans.
Some only apply if yo go via a WAP gateway and access only web sites
approved by the network. (aka: only via their own main wap page).

TELUS' plan is aimed at laptop PC cards, so there is no such
restriction.

Post by JF Mezei
I am now on the Fido $5 for 6 meg plan and can confirm I can access the
internet with it, as well as use my phone as a thether. I was previously
on the $5 for 500k, so this is a 12 fold decrease in price. Excess
consumption is at 0.01 instead of 0.03 before, a 3 fold decrease.

Data is *finally* becoming closer to reasonable.

Post by JF Mezei
Still nowhere near what is needed for true surfing on the net, but in a
bind, you can do some basic stuff, disable images etc to keep doanloads
reasonable.

Indeed.

Post by JF Mezei
When I changed package, I was told there were other packages available
that weren't yet on the Fido web site. (but as of now, the site still
only lists the $5 for 6 meg and $10 for 12 meg options. But with Fido
now officialy providing 3G service, there is bound to be much bigger
data options. (for instance, when you do a Video call, does this use
GPRS/data for the video portion ?)

Ahh, interesting. Rogers has higher services, but 1GB is still $65...
High, but a little better then 20MB for $60.

[DevilsPGD]

Post by VE7LEE
I am planning to give up my unlimited data plan on Fido for $50/month in
Canada.
And switching to Roger's portable Internet basic for $20 per month for 10
GB.
I will get 256K download compare to about 60 KB download average.
To bad I can no longer sell it.
Everyone they (Fido) take away some thing from the plan. In 2007 it was
transferring the plan and US roaming included in plan.
Any reasons why I should keep it?
Before I give it up?

If you can live with needing 120V AC power whenever you're using data,
then Rogers' Portable Internet is probably the way to go.

TELUS has just started offering unlimited data, this has the potential
to start a price war (although with TELUS' offering at $100/month, the
old Fido plan is still cheaper, but TELUS' offering is substantially
faster) -- TELUS does still offer US roaming though (without any per
byte charges)

So honestly, if you're fine with the power requirement of Rogers'
product, I'd probably look at it.