# Fido vs Rogers iPhone plans



## kockgunner

I'm very interested in buying my first iPhone but I'm a bit overwhelmed by the plans offered. I was wondering:

1) Which is the better value, the dedicated iPhone plans or the voice and data plans?

2) The voice and data package at Rogers offers 6GB of data for $55 a month, but Fido's $65 plan only gives you 1GB. How can there be such a big disparity? I thought Fido was going to offer a 6GB data option too?

The general question is, which company+plan gives you the best value?


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## Pika

Rogers


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## kevleviathan

The Fido package is more expensive because they have no system access fee, it's billed by the second, and includes SMS + extras (no caller ID afaik). They work out to be about the same.


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## dona83

With Rogers, the minimum plan is $25/mo voice (150 minutes unlimited eve + weekend starting 9pm + your choice unlimited text messages or increase to 250 daytime minutes) + $30/mo 6GB data + SAF 911 etc. = $62.70 + tax

With Fido, the minimum plan is $15/mo voice (50 minutes billed by the second + 50 text messages) + $30/mo 6GB data + 911 = $45.75 + tax.

If you want to go with Fido's $25/mo plan you get 100 minutes billed by the second, unlimited eve + weekend starting at 7pm, and unlimited text messages, and it's $55.75 + tax. 

No System Access Fee really puts Fido ahead of Rogers price wise but I find with Rogers you get more flexibility to really customize a plan to suit your needs, plus they have family plans, business sharing plans, etc.


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## archangel

Fido has $99 (total price) 8GB, 3G phone. I have the $25 data plan and the $25 voice plan as discussed above. Just what I wanted.

NB. Fido also has the 16GB refreshed for $99 (total price) and no data plan required so you could get away with a minimal $15 voice plan, if you know that you had tons of access to wifi like on campus.


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## kockgunner

Thanks for all the replies. I see Roger's plans have bonus minutes. For example it says 100 + 50 Bonus weekday minutes. Why don't they say 150 minutes? Or is the bonus only for the first month?

Also, it seems like the voice and data plans are better than the iPhone plans in every way. Why bother with the iPhone plans?


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## monokitty

archangel said:


> Fido has $99 (total price) 8GB, 3G phone.


So does Rogers.

I'm with Fido personally. I pay $60+ tax (no SAF) that includes 250 minutes, 7 PM unlimited evenings, unlimited texting, and Visual Voicemail (and 500 MB/month data). Add another $10 for $70+ tax to include Caller ID + Who Called features.


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## dona83

kockgunner said:


> Thanks for all the replies. I see Roger's plans have bonus minutes. For example it says 100 + 50 Bonus weekday minutes. Why don't they say 150 minutes? Or is the bonus only for the first month?


The bonus is for the length of your contract. When you choose the "double your minutes" option it's only double the base minutes not the bonus minutes... so 100+50 to 200+50.



kockgunner said:


> Also, it seems like the voice and data plans are better than the iPhone plans in every way. Why bother with the iPhone plans?


Because once the 6GB $30 plan expires, the iPhone plans will be more attractive than the voice+data plans in most cases.


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## archangel

dona83 said:


> The bonus is for the length of your contract. When you choose the "double your minutes" option it's only double the base minutes not the bonus minutes... so 100+50 to 200+50.
> 
> 
> 
> Because once the 6GB $30 plan expires, the iPhone plans will be more attractive than the voice+data plans in most cases.


I think they meant the basic $60/75 plans which are not part of the 6GB/$30 plan. I think they're saying you could make a better package and I think they're right. Of course, people have different needs. I don't need that much of a day voice plan, I only use about 55 minutes a month and I use a lot of text.


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## Sniper4u

Fido is a rip off. After their last stunt of not offering the same upgrade program as Rogers to the new 3GS I will never recommend them again. If Bell and Telus end up being able to carry the iPhone I will take the penalty and never give Rogers another penny. Counting the minutes to give it back to them the way they've been giving it to us.


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## dona83

It's funny how people think that one cell phone company is better or worse than the other when in reality they ALL nickel and dime as equally. I hate Telus after being a customer of their's twice for less than 8 months each and I wouldn't touch Bell, meanwhile I've mostly been with Rogers (and now Fido) since 2001 and have been very happy with them.


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## johnnydee

So am I to understand that Fido does not offer the 6G/$30 plan only the 1G/$25 data option?
If so why would people go with Fido over Rogers?


John


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## Sniper4u

dona83 said:


> It's funny how people think that one cell phone company is better or worse than the other when in reality they ALL nickel and dime as equally. I hate Telus after being a customer of their's twice for less than 8 months each and I wouldn't touch Bell, meanwhile I've mostly been with Rogers (and now Fido) since 2001 and have been very happy with them.


I'm not talking about the nickel and diming. Fido has basically slapped all of us high use 3G iPhone users in the face and said that they do not need us as customers. How else can you compare Rogers giving a $500 discount offer for the upgrade and Fido offering $100. Fido dollars have nothing to do with the phone you purchase. You earn those dollars. Fido has basically said we don't need to keep you as a customer for an extra year. So my only responce to them can be I don't need you as a provider.


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## archangel

johnnydee said:


> So am I to understand that Fido does not offer the 6G/$30 plan only the 1G/$25 data option?
> If so why would people go with Fido over Rogers?
> 
> 
> John


Fido has the 6G plan. For some reason, it's not as well promoted. It's on their Support > FAQ >iPhone about half way down and offered until July 31.


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## monokitty

johnnydee said:


> So am I to understand that Fido does not offer the 6G/$30 plan only the 1G/$25 data option?
> If so why would people go with Fido over Rogers?
> 
> 
> John


Most iPhone users don't need nearly that much bandwidth a month.


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## dona83

I got the 6 GB plan with Fido but without tethering I really don't expect to exceed 1 gig.


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## mpuk

I've been with both, Rogers for the first while right after the first iPhone was released in Canada, and then switched to Fido this past February.

They are both more or less the same as far as offerings, and cost per month.

Biggest difference imo is the customer service, and websites for managing your account. Rogers site is terrible and is not very mac friendly at all. Fido has been hands down 100% better on that end (stupid dog marketing theme aside) and in any customer service experiences with any problems/issues i've had. Rogers was hit or miss, and mostly the latter - at times an absolute nightmare to deal with. Always felt I had to babysit my cell phone account in order to make sure I was billed correctly. Fido has been a much more calming experience, where I feel like there have not been any big surprises with anything on my account.

One vote for Fido here.


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## Admant

If you talk a lot, fido is best with per second billing. But, the bottom line is all cell phone carriers dish out the same bull ****.

Rogers is positioning fido as a discount carrier, that is why they don't push the 6gb plan.


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## JumboJones

Does either have data sharing yet?


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## HowEver

JumboJones said:


> Does either have data sharing yet?


For a while, but for business (i.e., just about anyone):
Rogers Wireless Email and Data Plans
Rogers SmartTeam Sharing Plan for Voice & Data


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## dona83

Sniper4u said:


> Fido is a rip off. After their last stunt of not offering the same upgrade program as Rogers to the new 3GS I will never recommend them again. If Bell and Telus end up being able to carry the iPhone I will take the penalty and never give Rogers another penny. Counting the minutes to give it back to them the way they've been giving it to us.


I'd like to add that neither Rogers nor Fido were obligated to offer this program HOWEVER since Rogers does have a lot of customer who pay big bucks for their services and I mean in the hundreds of dollars a month range ($65/mo is frankly just average), they want to keep the clients that make them the most profit happy so they continue to make big profit off of them. I piggybacked off my dad's 10 year old account before and spent $150+/mo on my phone and Rogers was absolutely hell bent on keeping me happy with things such as prehardware upgrades. When I created my own account and cheaped out on my plans (Under $50/mo) of course I was no longer their VIP client... but frankly I didn't care. I'm amazed what wireless services you can get now for under $65/mo.... 6GB of data for one thing! 

That said, I would wait for Globalive Wireless to come which shouldn't be too long now. Rogers might be shaking in their boots right now but remember Fido used to be the creme de la creme in the wireless industry in Canada and everybody loved them... but they were on verge of going bankrupt if Rogers did not rescue them.


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## GerryS

Sniper4u said:


> Fido is a rip off. After their last stunt of not offering the same upgrade program as Rogers to the new 3GS I will never recommend them again. If Bell and Telus end up being able to carry the iPhone I will take the penalty and never give Rogers another penny. Counting the minutes to give it back to them the way they've been giving it to us.


Speaking of Bell..Is there a way to get out of my plan with them (I still have a year to go). I would love to get the new iPhone.


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## dona83

GerryS said:


> Speaking of Bell..Is there a way to get out of my plan with them (I still have a year to go). I would love to get the new iPhone.


Sure, it's called paying $20 x however many months is remaining on your contract.


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## JumboJones

HowEver said:


> For a while, but for business (i.e., just about anyone):
> Rogers Wireless Email and Data Plans
> Rogers SmartTeam Sharing Plan for Voice & Data


Thanks, I guess I should have asked if Fido has data sharing, as that is who I'm with. But this will be helpful in 2 years!


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## kockgunner

dona83 said:


> I got the 6 GB plan with Fido but without tethering I really don't expect to exceed 1 gig.


I thought tethering comes with all Fido, Rogers data plans?


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## archangel

kockgunner said:


> I thought tethering comes with all Fido, Rogers data plans?


I think they mean they will only exceed 1GB if they tether. Yes, tethering is available to anybody with a data plan but there are some changes coming if your data plan is less than 1GB.


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## classicbean

I'm with Fido only because it was the only phone available at the Telephone Booth store on iPhone launch day last year.

When I got home and figured out what I was paying, it seemed a little better than Rogers.

But now with the 3GS, I had to add on MMS since the iPhone value pack doesn't include it on Fido whereas on Rogers it is included.

My bill ends up being about $110 a month with Fido. That includes a bunch of extras like unlimited incoming, extended Rogers network and a bunch of other crap that I probably don't need.

The advantages are per-second billing and evenings that start earlier than Rogers.


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## Pika

I believe it's cheaper to buy the iPhone 3GS at full price and save a year of contract with Rogers.


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## dona83

kockgunner said:


> I thought tethering comes with all Fido, Rogers data plans?


Maybe I worded it wrong...

I have the 6GB plan at Fido but if I didn't take advantage of the tethering option which I do have, I don't expect that I'd exceed 1GB. I've managed to use 250MB in less than 25 minutes of tethering lol (That's an average of 1.3Mbps). This is on a train going between 80 and 115km/h when you would expect that 3G speeds would be severely hampered. I wanted to download a couple of music videos and a few apps before I got off the train to catch the bus.

Tethering was automatically included with my service when I signed up with Fido at the Apple Store, I didn't have to call in. 



classicbean said:


> My bill ends up being about $110 a month with Fido. That includes a bunch of extras like unlimited incoming, extended Rogers network and a bunch of other crap that I probably don't need.


I'd take a look at your usage habits and your plan if I were you. Do you need MMS? Most people I know mobile upload to Facebook to share it with friends. Extended Rogers network, does that even apply anymore? I think all Fido has officially expanded to cover wherever Rogers covers.


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## PierreB

*Upgrade cost to consider*



dona83 said:


> With Rogers, the minimum plan is $25/mo voice (150 minutes unlimited eve + weekend starting 9pm + your choice unlimited text messages or increase to 250 daytime minutes) + $30/mo 6GB data + SAF 911 etc. = $62.70 + tax
> 
> With Fido, the minimum plan is $15/mo voice (50 minutes billed by the second + 50 text messages) + $30/mo 6GB data + 911 = $45.75 + tax.
> 
> If you want to go with Fido's $25/mo plan you get 100 minutes billed by the second, unlimited eve + weekend starting at 7pm, and unlimited text messages, and it's $55.75 + tax.
> 
> No System Access Fee really puts Fido ahead of Rogers price wise but I find with Rogers you get more flexibility to really customize a plan to suit your needs, plus they have family plans, business sharing plans, etc.


Fido is cheaper on a monthly basis. However, if you want to upgrade your handset before the end of the contract term (which is 3 years), it will likely cost you much more to do so with Fido than Rogers.


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## Sniper4u

dona83 said:


> I'd like to add that neither Rogers nor Fido were obligated to offer this program HOWEVER since Rogers does have a lot of customer who pay big bucks for their services and I mean in the hundreds of dollars a month range ($65/mo is frankly just average), they want to keep the clients that make them the most profit happy so they continue to make big profit off of them. I piggybacked off my dad's 10 year old account before and spent $150+/mo on my phone and Rogers was absolutely hell bent on keeping me happy with things such as prehardware upgrades. When I created my own account and cheaped out on my plans (Under $50/mo) of course I was no longer their VIP client... but frankly I didn't care. I'm amazed what wireless services you can get now for under $65/mo.... 6GB of data for one thing!
> 
> That said, I would wait for Globalive Wireless to come which shouldn't be too long now. Rogers might be shaking in their boots right now but remember Fido used to be the creme de la creme in the wireless industry in Canada and everybody loved them... but they were on verge of going bankrupt if Rogers did not rescue them.


I take it the $65 a month spending is what you pay. I am a long time Fido customer with a grandfather City plan as well as the the 6gb data plan ( I use as much of it as I can streaming live tv at 60mb an hour). Neither Rogers or Fido were obligated to offer the upgrade program but once they did decide to, it should have been a mirrored offer. Do you really expect people, who would have qualified for the full discount with Rogers, to simply except Fidos decision and not do anything? I'll take my chances with another carrier and give Fido (Rogers) no customer.


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## RTM4321

Hey guys, I had a question that I've had a hard time getting a straight answer on. Do Fido and Roger's use the exact same towers so that the reception is identical or is there actually a difference. Also do you have to pay extra on Fido to use Roger's towers. I have looked all over the internet and keep getting different answers and was wondering if anyone knew the truth?


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## pm-r

RTM4321 said:


> Hey guys, I had a question that I've had a hard time getting a straight answer on. Do Fido and Roger's use the exact same towers so that the reception is identical or is there actually a difference. Also do you have to pay extra on Fido to use Roger's towers. I have looked all over the internet and keep getting different answers and was wondering if anyone knew the truth?


As far as I know, and I'm sure not a 'high-end' cell phone user, the Rogers broadcast towers are used by or piggy backed onto by : Rogers (duh!!!), Seven-eleven Speakout (a bargain IMHO!!!), Petro Canada, I believe Fido and some others that utilize their broadcast technology.

Patrick


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## Andrew Pratt

You no longer pay extra to join Roger's network with Fido.


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## kockgunner

Andrew Pratt said:


> You no longer pay extra to join Roger's network with Fido.


Did you ever have to? When I was on prepaid with Fido just last month, my phones always said it was on a Rogers network. Only after I got an iPhone did it say Fido.

By the way, to give you guys some closure (I should've done it last month) I got a white 16GB iPhone 3GS from Fido. I don't talk so much that I need the minutes I get from Rogers. I don't have in-depth conversations on my cell. I also like that Fido doesn't have a system access fee so I can use the money towards caller ID (which I think should be standard in the 21st century). I know I could spend a few more dollars for more minutes on Rogers, but all those dollars add up especially if you are a student who pays for their own phone bill and tuition like me. I've also been with Fido since my first cell phone and I like Fido Rewards and the familiarity with the company.

Thanks for all the advice by the way guys. It's nice to have a community full of fellow Canadians.


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## Andrew Pratt

Yes up until recently you had to pay and additional $6 a month to have access to the rogers network.


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## robert1ca

kockgunner said:


> Did you ever have to? When I was on prepaid with Fido just last month, my phones always said it was on a Rogers network. Only after I got an iPhone did it say Fido.
> 
> By the way, to give you guys some closure (I should've done it last month) I got a white 16GB iPhone 3GS from Fido. I don't talk so much that I need the minutes I get from Rogers. I don't have in-depth conversations on my cell. I also like that Fido doesn't have a system access fee so I can use the money towards caller ID (which I think should be standard in the 21st century). I know I could spend a few more dollars for more minutes on Rogers, but all those dollars add up especially if you are a student who pays for their own phone bill and tuition like me. I've also been with Fido since my first cell phone and I like Fido Rewards and the familiarity with the company.
> 
> Thanks for all the advice by the way guys. It's nice to have a community full of fellow Canadians.


So if you have an iPhone and you'r paying your own phone bill and tuition (much like my situation) do you also have a data plan?
I can afford a Fido plan with an iPhone ($25 or $35 a month, whatever it ends up being) plus the $200 for the iPhone, but I can't afford the data plan. It'll end up costing me almost $70 a month, and that's way too much.


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