This documents my recent dealings with Virgin Mobile Canada. It started as a nice relationship on the eve of my 2nd daughter's birth at a Scotia Square kiosk (I was on the Rogers rebound, the kiosk is long gone) but ended with a classic case of clueless customer service perpetuating cellular providers interest in hooking new customers over retaining old ones. Long story short, I'm now with Telus (and running out of alternatives to run to) thanks to a business rep with GBS Communications (gbsinc.ca). If you are a small business, I recommend talking to them. If you are looking for consumer cellular options, good luck. It is a wasteland of horrible, horrible customer service but this might help: comparecellular.ca

Also, Bell/Aliant does not offer a bundle for just mobile phone and home internet? To me, those are the two main things a person would want or need in 2012. You have to add a third product (a land line phone or their TV/satellite service) before you get whatever discount is associated with bundling. Bundles are bullshitty at the best of times, but I find this hilarious. What new student coming to town for university is looking to sign-up for one of these?

Also, Eastlink is getting into mobile service (currently they are a local cable, internet and home phone service provider), but it has been delayed and I stopped holding my breath:

eastlink.ca
eastlink.ca

That latest on Eastlink Mobile? Not before this Christmas (2012) but they are working towards “the most compelling customer experience possible”.

TELUS has the best customer service in my opinion, though with any provider it's a crap shoot. I'm really hoping Eastlink changes that - their service has been excellent with their other products (at least for me), so I'm hopeful.

"Early 2013"

goo.gl

Is this the “wireless” project that needs coordinating?

E-mail I received on 27-DEC-12 from Eastlink:

SUBJECT: Early 2013 Wireless Arrives!

Hi Iain ,

We just want to say thank you for signing up to receive updates on the launch of our wireless service and to let you know your wait will soon be over.

Our service will begin to roll out in early 2013 and you will be one of the first to be notified when we launch in your area.

We look forward to providing you with great value, so avoid signing those long-term cell contracts. We wouldn't want you to miss out on what Eastlink has to offer.

Bah, they didn't send any e-mail to me, and I signed up too, ages ago... Netflix likes you better, too; I still don't have an instant queue.

ANS is reporting that Eastlink's 2 GHz range wireless (compared to the big guys 700 MHz licenses) won't support the iPhone. Videotron is going through the same thing, but I know nothing about this personally: iphoneincanada.ca

On a side note, my current rep at GBS that signed me up to Telus is leaving the company, so, I will see how long this relationship actually lasts. I'm not too worried about it overall because I know now that in the future I can walk into an Apple store and let them broker my cell contract with the carriers. Cutting the carriers out entirely is the only way to limit stress until they actually realized they are in the service business.

This seems correct and I'm irritated now.

Having no experience with this sort of stuff, because I'm apparently some sort of Luddite, what do you mean that the Apple store will "broker your cell contract"? Just that they will sign you up to whatever carrier you want without having to deal with the carrier per se?

I probably made it soon a little fancier than it is (I don't think they do much haggling outside of the carriers limits or anything), but they are authorized to enslave you to Bell, Fido, Rogers, Virgin, Telus: apple.com

Basically, instead of dealing with a barely-trained, underpaid kiosk working agent of confusion you can talk to a fully indoctrinated and at-least-I-am-happy-to-be-at-work type. One is going to obviously sell you an iPhone the other is going to sell you whatever product they are incentivized to do at that moment.

Oh yeah, also unlocked option is now available in person: iphoneincanada.ca

I am, as I type this, waiting for the Eastlink chatbot to answer my question about iPhone compatibility with their forthcoming service. They are currently scoring a lot higher on the Turing Test than the Netflix chatbot did.

Incidentally, the Dal Surplus site is selling two iPhone 5s, 32 gig, with a reserve bid of $300. I assume they are unlocked.

j.mp

Anybody that knows at Eastlink is at CES.

I shocking sold an used, unlocked, partially warrantied 16G iPhone 4S for $420 (asked $450) to a guy on Kijiji. Not that I didn't think that was a fair price, it was just they are total jackals.

Next week?! mobilesyrup.com

I'm not normally very conspiracy minded, possibly despite appearances, but I wonder about the timing of this + AWS spectrum exluding iPhones + BB10 launch.

I wonder if Apple will see Eastlink as a big enough company to make a separate model for? I'm guessing there are other networks in the world that operate within the same spectrum as Eastlink's?

Have to say, BB10 and the Z10 aren't bad. Had a chance to give one a good try and I am impressed. I actually prefer a lot of the OS and the design of the phone over most flagship Android's.

Interesting times, indeed!

Well here's a comment from some random person on the Internet:

"Eastlink is indeed operating in the AWS band. It’s not known yet whether they’ll be offering LTE or not. The fact that Eastlink’s network is showing up in the list of networks in an iPhone5 means that Eastlink does operate LTE in the AWS band, since the iPhone5 only supports LTE in the AWS band."

"You don’t see Wind, Mobilicity nor Videotron show up in the network list of an iPhone5 because those networks do not offer LTE in the AWS bands which the iPhone doesn’t support, which is why Wind, Mobilicity and Videotron don’t offer the iPhone."

mobilesyrup.com

Does this potentially solve the iPhone band issue? That is, if the iPhone 5S or 6 or whatever uses it. I can't tell if it covers the AWS-1 or UMTS band IV, if that is really what it is called. qualcomm.com

en.wikipedia.org