# Any real diff between Rogers and FIDO service?



## Pelao (Oct 2, 2003)

Hi

I have decided to get my wife an iPhone as a gift (no special occasion, except that she puts up with me). The challenge is that only a few months ago she upgraded her phone. I have tried everything with Rogers, and they won't budge on a hardware upgrade.

It looked like the only option was to cancel the account, but the last phone rep told me that if I switch to FIDO the cancellation fee reduces from $400 to $100. still pricey, but I can do it.

The question is this: does FIDO basically run on the Rogers network, and offer the same coverage, speed etc? Are there any drawbacks to being with FIDO?

Thanks in advance.


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## cowasaki (Feb 13, 2008)

I prefer Fido simply because they bill by the second, which is roughly 25% saving in airtime. Everything else is the same, network, coverage, speed etc. Another bonus is that the 911 and SAF are waived with fido as it is a "discount" brand. Hello fido dollars, yet another bonus. Plus you could bundle with rogers cable and internet. Honest, I don't work for them! But I do admit I sound like an ad...sigh.

One thing to watch out for is the full fido plan which will charge you "extra" when you are not in your local network. You can read about the fine print on their website.

I'm trying to think of something bad but don't really come up with anything, other then all cell phone providers have a plethora of problems (search google on any carrier). One drawback I suppose would be the phone deals are far superior with Rogers. Plus you have many more plan options and add-ons.

Good luck!

Disclosure: I am with Fido.


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## PierreB (Mar 5, 2007)

Two other advantages of Fido: you earn Fido dollars which you cna use to defer cost of upgrades; more flexibility with respect to changing plans during your term. 

In the West, you may have better coverage with Rogers.I live in Montreal and coverage is quite good.


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## Andrew Pratt (Feb 16, 2007)

Fido runs on the Rogers network so there's no difference there...pretty much the same types of packages as well...but not always. My wife and I are with Fido and haven't had an issue so if it works for you don't worry about the coverage/cost etc.


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## dashyork (Jun 19, 2009)

I'm on Fido and my partner is on Rogers and we see virtually no difference in coverage, for example on the road between Toronto and Montreal. Sometimes when we come out of a blank spot mine will pick up a signal first.

Someone said Rogers has more plans, but I believe the data is the same and my voice plan is actually cheaper on Fido. I almost never use voice so I get the minimum Fido plan - which is 200 minutes for $20 - and apparently there's nothing that cheap on Rogers.

On the other hand ... we get a much crappier upgrade deal than Rogers this time around. $100 off, plus cashing in your Fido dollars ... which of course I used all up last year to buy the 3G. So $34 Fido dollars for a total of $134 off, or $565 for cheapest upgrade ... compared to $450 on Rogers.

(My phone gets terrible battery life, and Apple won't replace it because 2 dots of the liquid sensor went off, though I don't remember it ever getting wet. So I'm faced with $239 for an OOW repair to get a refurbished 3G ... or $565 for 3S.)

If the Pre comes in soon for a decent price, I may break my contract and switch to Pre. Multiple running apps!! 

People keep referring to $400 to break a contract but we checked today and it's $500 for me ... $400 to break the voice plan, and $100 for the data. No?


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

In terms of coverage, warranty and all that sort of thing ("hard options"), their appears to be no difference.

But the two entities are operated as separate companies, which means there is some diversity in the "soft options."

We've generally found Fido to be superior in these aspects to Rogers, but obviously it depends on your situation. I do hear a LOT less "billing horror stories" from Fido customers.


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

dashyork said:


> If the Pre comes in soon for a decent price, I may break my contract and switch to Pre. Multiple running apps!!


If you think you're getting bad battery life now, wait till you try running multiple apps on the Pre ... I'm not knocking Palm here, just reminding you of the laws of physics.


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## Pelao (Oct 2, 2003)

Thanks all.



> People keep referring to $400 to break a contract but we checked today and it's $500 for me ... $400 to break the voice plan, and $100 for the data. No?


You are probably right - but with my wife's current phone there is no data plan, only voice.

I ordered with FIDO last night. 

As an aside, I have called them a couple of times and they seem better to deal with. Mind you, in my view it's not a huge challenge to be better than Rogers.

For those interested, I got her the $35 voice plan (350 mins etc), the $30/6 GB data deal and the $10 iPhone extra thing for visual voicemail etc.


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## Macaholic (Jan 7, 2003)

Pelao said:


> I have decided to get my wife an iPhone as a gift (no special occasion, except that she puts up with me).


Based on that criteria she should get four iPhones. :lmao:

Hey. Hop on iChat when you can. We got some stuff to talk about, maestro.


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## vwDavid (Mar 11, 2004)

A buddy of mine had terrible FIDO reception in his basement. Fido charged him an extra 5 bux per month to access the rogers network. Since I travel to central BC I want to be sure I have good fido coverage for no extra cost. Can fido users use the rogers network where necessary for no extra cost? Is it transparent and seamless? Does it cost extra? No fido reps could confirm this for me. Are they all dumb?


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## cowasaki (Feb 13, 2008)

It USE (pre august 2008) to cost an extra $5 a month to use the Rogers extended network. However, since Fido changed their website and MO they have included the fee into their pricing. So anyone who has signed up for a contract on Fido since August 2008, they have had the extended Rogers network at no extra charge.


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## dashyork (Jun 19, 2009)

chas_m said:


> If you think you're getting bad battery life now, wait till you try running multiple apps on the Pre ... I'm not knocking Palm here, just reminding you of the laws of physics.


Fair point ... but no, there's actually something wrong with my battery. Apple agreed, but won't replace due to liquid sensor going off.

I don't find I use many apps - try them once, then never again. I really only want to run two at once: mail, and chat. I'm pretty sure the Pre can handle that.


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## archangel (Jan 1, 2003)

plus if you buy Fido's refreshed 16g 3G for $99, you don't have to get a data plan. 

(see thread on refreshed iphones)


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## Andrew Pratt (Feb 16, 2007)

It used to be $5 extra to join the Rogers network but that was dropped when they dropped the SAF fee awhile back.


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