So Wind Mobile opened it’s doors in Calgary and Toronto already for a few weeks now (as of December 16, 2009).  They’re partnering up with Research in Motion (the Canadian golden child and makers of Blackberries) to offer heavily discounted Blackberries.

The Big Three (Telus, Rogers, and Bell) don’t seem too scared yet because Wind Mobile still needs to build their towers and expand their coverage network.  What does that mean?

It means that right now if you call from Calgary to Vancouver, you either wouldn’t be able to, or you would get a roaming signal/ roaming fees (25 cents a minute… ouch!).  Basically if you’re with Wind, you’re limited to calling people in Toronto or Calgary.

Edit: Jan. 18, 2010:  Angry Chinese Driver who has written the motherload-of-all-comments-ever and has firsthand experience with Wind Mobile (he’s been following them from Day One and he’s a happy customer) asked me to edit the above statement to: you can call anyone in Canada (and the US, unlimited with a $10 add-on) as long as you’re calling FROM Toronto or Calgary, though with coverage expansion you will eventually be able to do it FROM Vancouver, Ottawa, Halifax, etc… Same goes for data.

Check out Wind Mobile’s voice plans here

Check out Wind Mobile’s add-ons here (data, voicemail, long distance etc.)

Hmm… since i just LOOOVE Pros and Cons lists, I’ll make one of Wind Mobile:

PROS:

• You can buy the cellphones/ smart phones at cost which means….
• You’re not locked into a ball and chain two or three year contract
• You can have unlimited data for $35 a month
• Wind Mobile won’t charge you system access fees
• They won’t charge you for the emergency 911 fee, or any incoming text or long distance calls
• The first month is free!
• Caller ID is included in their plans
• They have an unlimited voicemail (unlimited voicemail??) for extra $5 a month
• They have an unlimited data plan for $35
• 50 outgoing texts are included every month (but…50 is a bit chintzy, no?)

CONS:

• You’re buying cellphones/ smart phones at cost ($500 for a phone??)
• Right now, coverage is only limited to Toronto and Calgary
• They only have like.. 4 phones for sale right now (Blackberry Bold 9700, HTC Maple, Samsung Gravity 2, and the Huawei U7519) but I guess you could use your own unlocked phone
• The company is growing so fast that there are is not enough employees to keep up with troubleshooting, marketing, sales etc.
• Apparantly there are lots of dropped calls (doesn’t surprise me since they don’t have that many towers)
• If you call away from your “HOME” area, you’re charged big time (25 cents per minute!)

I think we can just wait and see.  My recommendation?  Let this company sort out its growing pains, and see in a few months time.  I would not recommend jumping ship just yet (at least before you speak to your “BIG THREE” customer service reps!)

I was THISCLOSE to renewing my contract for another three years with Telus to get the iPhone (I was almost going to succumb to paying $399 for it if I didn’t have to be locked down for another three years).  When the CSR told me that I would be tied down for another three years, I just decided I would wait another five months to get the promotional pricing and see what my options are then.  The Telus CSR I talked to didn’t seem too bothered.  The “Big Three” seems to be unfazed.  I guess Wind Mobile will really have to revolutionize the market, instead of focusing on marketing.

Who knows, maybe Wind Mobile will “flow with the wind” and land here in Vancouver to further drive the price of data and minutes down…. hopefully Wind Mobile won’t be a sinking ship and be “gone with the wind”…get it?

Sorry, had to throw that in there.

For those of you in Calgary and Toronto, have you been switching over to Wind Mobile?

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Check out other posts related to this topic:
Telus, Rogers, and Bell better watch out, Wind Mobile is here

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1. Wind Mobile Lands in Vancouver
2. Telus, Rogers, and Bell better watch out! Wind Mobile is Coming to Town!
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So apparently effective Wednesday December 16, 2009, Wind Mobile is set to LAUNCH!

I actually had no idea that there was a new wireless network giant lurking about until I was reading the “Bloomberg News” as to why my Telus stock dipped so drastically (yes, I potentially have been living under a rock because I hadn’t heard of them).

Telus, Rogers, Bell are all going to try to sue because Tony Clement (Canadian Cabinet minister) said it was okay to introduce other competitors (Wind Mobile owned by Globalive) to the market. The big three aren’t happy because they say that Wind is not a Canadian based company (the Globalive  company’s major shareholder is based in Egypt).

Ho ho ho indeed! They’re not going to be happy because I’m sure Wind will be charging much less than the monopoly “the big three” currently are charging now. Wind Mobile has some pretty hilarious ads going on too! (check it out below on youtube). Did you know that Canada currently pays the 3rd most expensive rates for cell phone plans??

What is Wind Mobile, you ask?

“Wind is going to change the shape of the wireless industry” per Tony Clement.

Well they are a mobile company that aims to provide more “pay for what you get” plans. They don’t charge a system access fee.  Also, they plan to be the first carrier to offer Blackberry Bold 9700 without having to be ball-and-chained to a contract. They plan to have stores within Blockbuster. The first Wind Mobile stores are going to open Toronto (13 of them) and in Calgary (3 of them).

How much are you currently paying for your cell phone plan?

Do you think Wind is going to be a good thing or a bad thing?

I’m curious to know what their rate plans are like. I hear that Quebec residents won’t have access to Wind. I’m not sure how their wireless coverage will be like. Let’s wait and see…

All I have to say is: Telus, I appreciate that you now have the iPhone. But I wasn’t very happy that you wanted me to pay $400 for it just because I had eleven months and 25 days left on my contract. I’m a good customer. I pay my bills. I have been loyal since 2002. Maybe you will soon be coming to me and begging me to sign another three years with you, now that Wind Mobile is here… (evil laughter)

Related posts:

1. Wind Mobile Lands in Vancouver
2. Wind mobile… is it not what it’s cracked up to be?
3. Negotiating with Rogers Wireless- Head to Head Battle!