quote:

Originally posted by rabbitjoker This is good news.

how is that good ? $50 (one-time) vs. $6.95 monthly ?

quote:

There is still time to sign-up for the CityFido (+ $7 access fee) and then maintain the current service (NOT post March 1 service) for the next 12 months - right?

yeah there's time .. if you sign up before March 1st, 2005 i believe..

this is what it says on the Fido site:

quote:

City Fido as of March 1, 2005 On January 26, 2005, Fido announced a number of changes to its City Fido service that will come into effect on March 1, 2005. The new City Fido offered as of March 1 will combine a significant number of anytime minutes (750 or 1,500) within a more urban-centric zone that covers the core city areas of Vancouver, Toronto and Montréal. It is designed for city life and provides all the minutes most urbanites need to enjoy an active, urban lifestyle within the City zone—with the simplicity of one phone, one number, one bill. Existing City Fido customers and those who subscribe prior to March 1, 2005 will continue to receive the unlimited usage and City zones they initially subscribed to for at least one year. Those who opt for a Fido Agreement will continue to maintain their original service as long as they continue to renew their Agreement every two years. More information on the new City Fido options will be available on this site starting on March 1, 2005.

source:
http://www.fido.ca/portal/en/packag.../cityfido.shtml

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Palm Trees > Pine Trees , Sand > Snow

Good or not, the CityFido plan as it current is / was was not sustainable. Microcell was blowing their financial brains out by offering it, hence the reason they were a candidate for a takeover. They were losing more than $10 million a quarter.

It was inevitable that they were either going to be bought out or be on the verge of bankruptcy (for the 2nd time in 2-3 years), and so, the plan would have to change.

quote:

Originally posted by baystreetboi Good or not, the CityFido plan as it current is / was was not sustainable. Microcell was blowing their financial brains out by offering it, hence the reason they were a candidate for a takeover. They were losing more than $10 million a quarter. It was inevitable that they were either going to be bought out or be on the verge of bankruptcy (for the 2nd time in 2-3 years), and so, the plan would have to change.

when they initially launched CityFido in Vancouver they were actually showing some promising subscribership even if their RPU was low .. personally i would hav liked to see if they might hav been able to turn it around for once , or atleast allow some foreign carrier to come in and take them over rather than an existing carrier

but now with this .. who knows if things will ever change in Canada

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Palm Trees > Pine Trees , Sand > Snow

Bottom line, the Canadian Mobile market sucks for consumers, and won't get any better until the market is opened up to non-canadian companies.

quote:

Originally posted by tw1tch Bottom line, the Canadian Mobile market sucks for consumers, and won't get any better until the market is opened up to non-canadian companies.

What makes it so bad? I just did a search for rates on Verizon, Cingular and T-Mobile for Buffalo... none of them appear to offer any significantly cheaper plans compared to what you can get here in Canada when you take exchange into account.

Is it the lack of choice? The US is about 10x our size, yet they only have about 5-6 real "national" cell phone companies, so having even just 3 here isn't all that bad.

quote:

Originally posted by baystreetboi What makes it so bad? I just did a search for rates on Verizon, Cingular and T-Mobile for Buffalo... none of them appear to offer any significantly cheaper plans compared to what you can get here in Canada when you take exchange into account. Is it the lack of choice? The US is about 10x our size, yet they only have about 5-6 real "national" cell phone companies, so having even just 3 here isn't all that bad.

You have the good old CRTC to thank for that, which "protects" Canadian monopolies like Bell and Rogers from those "greedy" U.S. competitors.

It's not just wireless - the whole Canadian telecom market sucks. High-speed internet is another example.

___________________
My party schedule:
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2009-06-18 - DJ Annoying @ People Need To Know Where I'll Be
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2048-06-66 - Spastic & Whocares ¶ Although I'm Actually Flattered
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quote:

Originally posted by DigiNut You have the good old CRTC to thank for that, which "protects" Canadian monopolies like Bell and Rogers from those "greedy" U.S. competitors. It's not just wireless - the whole Canadian telecom market sucks. High-speed internet is another example.

i really hate that law they hav in place to protect the telecom market from foreign ownership .. what's the point if existing Canadian carriers are only trying to maintain the status quo

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Palm Trees > Pine Trees , Sand > Snow

quote:

Originally posted by dEsidEL i really hate that law they hav in place to protect the telecom market from foreign ownership .. what's the point if existing Canadian carriers are only trying to maintain the status quo

The point is several million dollars in bribes from Bell and Rogers.

___________________
My party schedule:
2009-02-21 - DJ Attention @ I'm So Popular
2009-06-18 - DJ Annoying @ People Need To Know Where I'll Be
2012-11-32 - DJ Insufferable ɸ Or At Least the Stalkers I Complain About
2048-06-66 - Spastic & Whocares ¶ Although I'm Actually Flattered
9999-45-81 - Tweaker Gimp ☼ I Probably Won't Even Go To This But I Have To Make Sure I Fill Up All The Available Space Here

quote:

Originally posted by DigiNut The point is several million dollars in bribes from Bell and Rogers.

such a Shadowolf thing to say !

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Palm Trees > Pine Trees , Sand > Snow

fuckin rodgers ****s....damn them!!

quote:

Originally posted by trancechaos fuckin rodgers ****s.

****master(s).

___________________
- rabbit.joker [funny¿rabbit] | www.rabbitjoker.com |www.ddtt.org

Dark Dirty Tech Tribal. | Hands in air (trance) and feet on the floor (house).

quote:

Originally posted by dEsidEL such a Shadowolf thing to say !

Actually there are well-documented connections between the head honchos at the CRTC and the telecom giants like Bell and Rogers. Of course that doesn't *necessarily* mean there are bribes, but come on...

___________________
My party schedule:
2009-02-21 - DJ Attention @ I'm So Popular
2009-06-18 - DJ Annoying @ People Need To Know Where I'll Be
2012-11-32 - DJ Insufferable ɸ Or At Least the Stalkers I Complain About
2048-06-66 - Spastic & Whocares ¶ Although I'm Actually Flattered
9999-45-81 - Tweaker Gimp ☼ I Probably Won't Even Go To This But I Have To Make Sure I Fill Up All The Available Space Here