I HATE Canadian telecoms but I need a new cell phone. I'm trying to keep costs down so I'm trying to figure out whether it's better to get a new phone contract as well.
I work from home so I'm on wifi most of the time so my data usage is under 1GB a month but the tier one providers (Telus, Bell, Rogers) all seem to be pushing 5G connectivity and huge data volumes I don't need, and are pushing data sharing (which I also don't need).
So, I've ruled them out as too expensive...
The tier two providers (Koodo, Virgin and Fido) aren't that much cheaper but offer pre-paid (PAYG no contracts) which might work out slightly cheaper than post - paid. But, they seem to have even more fine print conditions.
Then there's third tier providers such as Public and Chatr but they only seem to have 3G data (frankly, I'm too impatient for 3G...)
And then there's Shaw. No idea how that works as I don't believe they have their own masts so not sure what their real life network coverage is like and whether they suffer from dropouts.
I've think I've concluded that it makes more sense to buy the phone outright at the start (~ $500 for a Google Pixel 6a) rather get a monthly contract or tabvut I've got a headache from trying to figure out their shitty websites and endless terms and conditions hidden in fine print and bogus "offers"
So, a couple of questions:
- Is 5G connectivity game-changing ?
- How much data does the average NSMB reader consume?
- Can anyone recommend a great deal they are on?
- Anyone using Shaw? How's it working out? (I'm a Shaw internet user and I can't get access to the best deals as I'm not a new customer...grrrr)
For reference, I'm on a monthly deal with Koodo (1GB/unlimited Canadian calls and Text, caller ID and Voicemail which is all I really need) for $39.20 after tax but can get out of it easily.
My only real problem is that Koodo (like Telus) charges $12 per day if I need to roam in the US. Admittedly, COVID has kept me out of the US for the last couple of years but I've got a couple of road trips planned which potentially could rack up significant roaming charges....
I'm considering switching to Koodo PAYG as at least I can purchase US add-ons which don't expire...
Anything else I should consider?