Canadian Mobile Rate Plans

Mobile rate plans in Canada suck! For some odd reason it's a world of difference once you cross the 49th parallel in terms of cellular rate plans. Let me illustrate by comparing two service plans--one from Verizon (U.S.) and the other from Bell (Canada). I chose these two service providers because I used to be a Verizon customer and now I'm with Bell. I'd use my plan as an example, but I have a special discount through work and also I don't remember the exact details of the plan I had with Verizon, which also had the special discount through work. It doesn't matter because the advertised plans on their sites will do just as well for comparison sake.

So let's compare what you'd get for approximately $40 per month from each of these service providers. 

Verizon:

• 450 minutes
  
• No Domestic Roaming or Long Distance Charges.
  (Coverage not available in all areas. Airtime charges apply.)
• Night Hours: Monday – Friday 9:01 p.m. – 5:59 a.m.
  Weekend Hours: 12:00 a.m. Saturday – 11:59 p.m. Sunday
• Additional minutes - 45 cents/min.
• Unlimited nights and weekends
  
• 3-way calling
• Basic voice mail
• Call forwarding
• Call waiting
• Caller ID
• Text messaging (15 cents/message received and sent)

Bell:

• 250 minutes (local and long distance within Canada)
• Night Hours: Monday - Thursday 9 p.m. - 7 a.m.;Weekends - Friday 9 p.m. - Monday 7 a.m.
  
• Additional minutes - 30 cents/min
• Detailed Billing
• Call Waiting
• Conference Calling
• Call Forwarding
• Text messaging (15 cents/message sent)
  

You can get almost twice the number of minutes with Verizon at the same price point. Also note that caller ID and and voice mail are not included with Bell. These features are considered at an extra cost. Caller ID and voice mail is $6/month each. Yep, that's each not together. 

But this doesn't include the extra fees you get with both plans such as 911, system access fees, taxes, etc. I'm guessing that it would be about $10 extra, but I'm not too sure. In any case, it's still a big difference in terms of what you get for your money.

So today I called to find out if there was a better plan I could switch to for making calls to and from the U.S. since last time I was surprised to find a big bill for the few calls I made in the States. The friendly Bell representative informed me that for their North America plan it would cost $75/month for 250 minutes or I can choose to add a feature to my current plan for an additional $40/month for 100 minutes to use in the States. But neither option hardly sounded like a deal to me. He also told me that without those options the roaming charges would be $1-2/minute. I was almost ready to give up, but asked him one more question.

"So what would it cost for me to text message in the States?"

"Text messaging would cost you the same as in Canada."

"So that's 15 cents per message?"

"Yep, 15 cents per message sent and free for text messages received."

"I think I found a solution to my problem!"

"[Bell rep chuckles] Is there anything else I can help you with today?"

"Nope. Thanks, I appreciate your help!"

Problem solved and money saved! So I'll only be texting in the States unless it's an emergency and until they come up with better rate plans in Canada.