[P-51]

Well, when I leave the old job on Thursday, I have to give my cell phone back, and the new job doesn't provide one. I think I should get one for myself so the wife who's staying in Windsor for the time being can reach me whenever she needs.

I might consider just getting a cell phone, and not hooking up a land line at my apartment in TO.

But to do that, I need FREE evenings so I can talk to her.

Now, I've heard that these "free" evening and weekend plans aren't really free? They're only free if they're local? And my brother said that if she calls ME, long distance, it's still an extra charge on the cell phone, even though she's paying a long distance charge on the land line to make the call?!? Is that true? :blink:

What about service. I'll be working in Woodbridge, and living somewhere around GTA or Barrie. Who has good coverage there?

We currently have a "digital bundle" with Bell, for our land line, long distance, internet and satellite TV. We save money that way. I think we save even more if we get a Bell cell phone too. How is there coverage?

Lastly, I'd like to avoid locking into a 2 year plan, which I think is usually required to get the free handset? If I have a 5 year old Nokia hand set, can I just go month by month with a company for that?

Sorry for the newbie questions, I've only had one cell phone, and work paid all the bills.

[scoobasteve]

I dont think youre going to find a Cell phone provider that will give you free evening/weekend long distance.

check http://www.howardforums.com for a handset.

What model phone is that nokia. also what provider was it on previously.

What might be your best bet, is if you get an appartment down here. Get a land line. and go with Rogers home phone as your provider. Then for 20.00 a month. you can get the Total North America plan. which will give you unlimited long distance. in north america.

Its not a bad deal if you get a land line.

[Flofocus]

Quote:Now, I've heard that these "free" evening and weekend plans aren't really free?

Yes, theyre completely free, as long as their not LD.

Quote:And my brother said that if she calls ME, long distance, it's still an extra charge on the cell phone, even though she's paying a long distance charge on the land line to make the call?!? Is that true?

With Bell, yes this is true, it could be different with other SP's. I know Fido has/had an offer for free calls between fido customers, regardless of LD or not.

You can also get an LD plan on cell phones now to . ;)

Quote:What about service. I'll be working in Woodbridge, and living somewhere around GTA or Barrie. Who has good coverage there?

We currently have a "digital bundle" with Bell, for our land line, long distance, internet and satellite TV. We save money that way. I think we save even more if we get a Bell cell phone too. How is there coverage?

Id stay with Bell then & bundle. They have THEE best coverage hands down for anywhere. Im sure the roger heroes are gonna chime in on this point, but they cant touch Bell's coverage. I can personally vouch for that as I've been with clearnet, mike, rogers, fido and Bell.....Mike and Bell were hands down the best for coverage.

Quote:If I have a 5 year old Nokia hand set, can I just go month by month with a company for that?

Yes, but theyll try and upgarde you. Just dont do it.

[scoobasteve]

Flofocus,Feb 28 2006, 12:19 PM Wrote:They have THEE best coverage hands down for anywhere.  Im sure the roger heroes are gonna chime in on this point, but they cant touch Bell's coverage. I can personally vouch for that as I've been with clearnet, mike, rogers, fido and Bell.....Mike and Bell were hands down the best for coverage.


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Thats Why i still have my bell cell phone.... Cellphone LD rates are outrageous though

[P-51]

Ok, so you guys are serious.... If she calls ME from our land line, we'll get long distance charges on the land line AND the cell phone? There's long distance charges on INCOMING calls?

The mind just boggles... how is that allowed?!?!

I just... wow.

No wonder I've resisted getting a cellphone for so long. It's such a ripoff! Unfortuantely, now I'm hooked. :(

I dunno what type of phone it is. It's one of the last pre-flip-phones. It used to have changeable faceplates. Her mother bought it for her when we moved down here, and we wen't Pay As You Go, which should be called "Pay Exhorbitantly As You Go, and Every Month Anyway Since We Void Your Card If You Don't Use The Minutes So You'll Have To Buy A New One Anyway."

It was litterally supposed to be an emergency phone only. And I mean real emergencies. But it ended up costing us almost $20/month anyway, and we NEVER used it.

Quote:Then for 20.00 a month. you can get the Total North America plan. which will give you unlimited long distance. in north america.

We already have that with Bell. I dunno the name, but it's $20/month for pretty much unlimited LD in Canada, any time of day. Plus, we save another $10 or so off all the other stuff.

[scoobasteve]

Yup... Its not a bad deal... most providers/packages are all the same now anyway.

Each have their own perks... but in the end, you gotta decide which heartless corporation you want to give your money too :P

[FociPhil]

Im pretty sure that if she calls you, then you dont get dinged LD charges, just whatver normal minuts if its not during your unlimted evening or weekends.

My brother calls me from Toronto all the time and i dont pay any long distance.

[Flofocus]

Rob, For sure...with Bell if she calls you, your getting dinned on both sides.

[schade]

i've heard and read that Telus well give you from LD with the evening and weekends option if you have a Long distance plan that is over $50

ie. if you purchase the Talk Canada 50 plan (or maybe the 100) then you add the evening and weekends option it well include LD calls in it and not just local calls made.
I'll try and find the post i read on howardforums about this

If you want a mike phone and plan i'll give you mind to take over ... its a 416 number but the monthly costs are stupid, specially for LD calls, that's why i'm thinking of switching to this telus plan

[paolo]

ok P51... If you are in YOUR local calling area, ie: metropolitan (greater) toronto, you can RECEIVE calls using up your bucket of airtime, or if you have free evenings and weekends, they are no charge to receive calls, REGARDLESS of where the call origionated. Who ever told you that is eating horse crap. now, if you have a Toronto prefix and receive a call in windsor, then you will incur whats called in the cellular industry as INCOMING ROAMING MINUTES (IRM) they mite tack on a charge like 20-30 cents when your outside of your calling area. also there is other tarrifs to watch out for with certain carriers like bell, 7-11, and fido.. they have "zones" such as basic and expanded. if you make call outside of a particular zone, weather its make or receive, then you can incur charges, or you can pay a monthly flat fee to include this.

IMHO (in my humble experience) the best coverage is no doubt Rogers Wireless for ontario, and gta (metro as well as urban areas) If you are looking for more information on Rogers, talk to Raine, or better yet. maybe Tdot-zx3 can help you too now...

[tdot-zx3]

ha ha ha ... dont look at me ... im merely an overpaid spokesperson... I dont know s*** about the phones!

[Flofocus]

paolo,Feb 28 2006, 08:21 PM Wrote:IMHO (in my humble experience) the best coverage is no doubt Rogers Wireless for ontario, and gta (metro as well as urban areas)  
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Hehehe, I knew one of you was going to pipe up.

But P51, he's wrong. Bell has the best coverage in Ontario, hands down. My GF has rogers and she uses my phone all the time cuz she gets fast busy signals dialing out or cant even connect.

One reason I left to go to Rogers was because they had cooler phones (still do), but I shortly left after that cause my phone didnt work anywhere I was (JUST outside of Ottawa area). Ive been with Bell since, and have zero complaints as far as reception goes. ;)

[paolo]

Flofocus,Mar 1 2006, 05:11 PM Wrote:But P51, he's wrong.  Bell has the best coverage in Ontario, hands down.  My GF has rogers and she uses my phone all the time cuz she gets fast busy signals dialing out or cant even connect.
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I'm not going to argue with you about rogers vs bellus. cus Rogers Does have the larger coverage map atleast in ontario, maybe the things you experience are NOT directly related to coverage? ie: network congestion, network integration, lack of a powerclass 4 handset with gsm850.. those all make a difference too. Yes I Admit, Rogers Does have some network Congestion issues currently, but that wasnt what P51 initially inquiring about, no? and Rogers IS slowly tweaking the network to eliminate these issues, this is what happens when you buy another gsm carrier, remember the Telus-Clearnet Acquisition, that was a pain in the ASS compared to what your experiencing on rogers. so thats why you have a mute point. Im not Denying your opinion at all in any way, but I'm just answering the "Question"

[tdot-zx3]

Paolo is there a reason my phone worked better on the internet in Vancouver then it does in Southern Ontario?

For instance... connection time to check my email in Vancouver took under 20 seconds to be in my inbox... here takes double

[paolo]

in ontario, theyre upgrading the internet backend to Lightstep.. that could cause the delay your experiencing.

[P-51]

I ended up going with the Solo phone service. For $70 for a basic handset with a $10 pay as you go credit, it just couldn't be beat.

Nobody else was selling a basic handset for that price, the per/minute price is a little higher during business hours, but lower on evenings and weekends. Plus, I can swtich to a monthy plan, WITHOUT signing a contract for 11 Billion years.

I remember Rogers had some deal, buy the phone for $160, get a $60 mail in rebate, and $100 credit but:

A) I hate mail in rebates. My track record is like 2 payouts out of 9 attempts. And no, it's not my fault, that's the whole point of them.

B) $100 credit, I don't need to use that much airtime, and it'd probably expire before I ever used it anyway.

[paolo]

the rogers $100 airtime credit is not a rebate, its applied right to your account, and expires in exactly one year. I know because I activated one through Raine recently, and still have it.