Cost of plans

[jack]

Why is Telus more expensive than Fido with data plans?

[xl · Accepted solution]

I looked at other plans... coverage is the main reason I stayed with Telus.  Telus offers more service in small communities and office buildings where I work.

Do you have co-workers and neighbors with Fido?  Check with them first to hear if they discovered any deadspots when considering Fido or other carriers.

[Jonathan · Accepted solution]

Fido is a discount carrier, so they make sacrifices to get cheaper plans.

1. Their coverage is less reliable - Fido works great in the urban areas like the GTA, but suffers if you go out to northern Ontario and out west. I have first hand experience with this. I used to work at the Uxbridge Mobile Shop and the # of complaints I got about Rogers/Fido reception in town were higher than our Telus sales, and I led my entire district in new Telus acts 2 months in a row. That didn't count renewals, either.

2. Phone selection is a little more limited - you can't get stuff like the Note II or HTC One.

3. They don't have things like visual voicemail for iPhones, 1 on 1 learning sessions, significant community involvement, etc.

4. Telus is a big telecom provider if you go out to western Canada - Fido only has cellular in Canada, so they can focus their resources. Telus has higher upkeep costs, I would imagine.

5. This may be a small feature, but it's worth mentioning - Telus has eliminated activation AND renewal fees. Fido still has a $25 hardware upgrade fee. Telus charging $10 for a new SIM card, which is the thing that actually makes your phone work, is better than paying $25 for nothing.

Telus was also rated highest in customer satisfaction among Robellus. If the plan is good but the service sucks, then what good is it?

[xl · Accepted solution]

I looked at other plans... coverage is the main reason I stayed with Telus.  Telus offers more service in small communities and office buildings where I work.

Do you have co-workers and neighbors with Fido?  Check with them first to hear if they discovered any deadspots when considering Fido or other carriers.

[Jonathan · Accepted solution]

Fido is a discount carrier, so they make sacrifices to get cheaper plans.

1. Their coverage is less reliable - Fido works great in the urban areas like the GTA, but suffers if you go out to northern Ontario and out west. I have first hand experience with this. I used to work at the Uxbridge Mobile Shop and the # of complaints I got about Rogers/Fido reception in town were higher than our Telus sales, and I led my entire district in new Telus acts 2 months in a row. That didn't count renewals, either.

2. Phone selection is a little more limited - you can't get stuff like the Note II or HTC One.

3. They don't have things like visual voicemail for iPhones, 1 on 1 learning sessions, significant community involvement, etc.

4. Telus is a big telecom provider if you go out to western Canada - Fido only has cellular in Canada, so they can focus their resources. Telus has higher upkeep costs, I would imagine.

5. This may be a small feature, but it's worth mentioning - Telus has eliminated activation AND renewal fees. Fido still has a $25 hardware upgrade fee. Telus charging $10 for a new SIM card, which is the thing that actually makes your phone work, is better than paying $25 for nothing.

Telus was also rated highest in customer satisfaction among Robellus. If the plan is good but the service sucks, then what good is it?

[credmau5 · Accepted solution]

Huh? Okay...let's set this straight.

Fido is the first GSM network in Canada and has merged its network with Rogers with identical coverage on both brands. It isn't "discount" because it has perceived worse coverage. There is 2G GSM, 3G and LTE coverage on Fido.

Second, about your community statement, Fido has ongoing community projects for the environment and guide dog programs and has had a user community with forums like this for a lot longer than Telus.

Fido had visual voicemail first. And had the iPhone first. So I don't know where you're getting that info from. Fido also has name display. As for coverage, there are weak spots on Telus where Fido works great as well so it's really up to the individual user and where they need it to decide.

Finally, although in 2008 Rogers Communications attempted to rebrand Fido as mkre of a discount brand to compete with upcoming Wind Mobile, that has largely vanished. Fido is back to full speed and plans are not much different than Rogers or Telus...just slightly less, and Telus uses Koodo to compete. Chatr is the discount brand now.

[tsizzle]

I would double check you're comparing the same thing (e.g. monthly rate plan for a fully subsidized iPhone) and not comparing a $350 iPhone w/ a cheaper plan. If you look at their website, TELUS and Fido actually have almost identical plans (Fido 500MB option for iPhones/GS4/etc is $5 cheaper, otherwise the same).