Why a 3 year phone plan is a bad idea...
 

Was just cleaning out some old files and found a note I wrote to myself back in 2007.

TELUS
(45$/month)

*Caller ID
*Voice Mail
*100 text messages/month
*Early Nights/weekends (after 5pm)

Unlimited between both users
225 shared minutes anytime

Share 30
150 unlim incoming
75 min bonus
Telus-telus 3yrs
1yr smart bundle 7
even. weekend free 1 yr
unlim 3months calling

Share 15
50 min bonus
Telus-telus 3yrs
1 yr bonus smart 7
Even. weekend free 1 yr
Unlim 3 month calling

With technology changing so fast now, its probably not a good idea to be locked down on something so soon.. I didn't get the ip3gs until mid 09', and I had to pay the cancellation fee with telus b/c they still didn't have GSM yet!

Different carrier/retentions/hardware upgrade...

^i was just pointing out how stuff changes so fast these days :yuno:

Interesting!

mehh
this country sucks for telecom
as much as all these "great wonderful things" are happening

a three year contract is just too long, new phones come out every year or even every half year.. most likely we'll end up paying cancellation fee..

It's ok for us people that aren't phone whores :D. I buy a new phone every 3 to 4 years.

why are u in the mobile chat forum :p

i had 4 this past 6 months....

haha to each their own. I personally don't see the need to have a new phone every few months, every year, every 2 years. I understand that technology changes rapidly but not to the point where something that comes out 6 months ago is now obsolete.

You do know that while you are locked in for three years, at any point you can call in and CHANGE the plan that you're on, right?

If a better plan comes along, you can switch to that one.

I called into Rogers last week to try and get my bill down a little and the fucken rep said that I have to pay a "early downgrade fee" of $200. :fulloffuck:
Posted via RS Mobile

early downgrade fee? ive NEVER heard of that.. what a crock of shit

^^ Depends on the contract. Some contracts states you can only upgrade but can't downgrade lol Say u got a smart phone plan and decides to go to a regular phone with no data plan, they can charge you callecation fee for cancelling that data plan.

6 months is definitely not obsolete, but technology is definitely moving faster and faster where 4 years is obsolete.

lets see what was out 4 years ago:

Cell Phones of 2007 - Second Quarter (April to June) - Mobiledia

i think 2 years is the sweet spot for preserving value and keeping up with technology (somewhat).
phone providers know that 3 years is longer than the life cycle of a phone. they keep selling 3 year contracts because they know people cancel out early all the time, or the phone breaks within 3 years. personally i think 2 years should be the new 3 years, but you may have to pay more upfront to get that.

personally i dont know of any smart phone that consistently lasts over 2 years without something breaking. almost every iphone ive encountered has had some sort of failure within 2 years. they are not built to last unless you're ok with replacing parts regularly, or use a super protective case (not a cheap $10 bumper case that does nothing but saves some scratches)

But I wasn't. I have the my10 plan and I'm paying $83 a month and I don't use the phone enough to justify paying that much. I wante to get it down to about $60 a month and the rep told me that on the phone.. fucking joke.
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Yeah but you have to understand. Not everyone wants to pay full price for a phone and signing for 3 years subsidizes the cost. Yes I sign 3 years but I've also changed phones many times within the last 2 year period. I simply sell my old one and stick the sim card into the new phone.

Signing 1 year means you have either have your own phone or cough up extra $$ for a new one. Really dependent on the user.

You can change your 3yr contract pretty much anytime you want, you are not as stuck as you think you are.

You can call in, ask to change plans and sign a new 3yr contract. As long as your plan works out to about the same $$$ they have no problem doing this. This means you're still stuck with the same carrier for 3 more years starting at that date, yet you have a better plan for the next 3 years.

I always lol @ the people who say "I'm not getting into a 3 year contract!"

Yea because in 3 years your not going to have a cell right?

In terms of hardware upgrades this is how I look at it, so iPhone 4 comes out and I reup on a 3 year term to get an $800 iPhone for $150, an initial savings of about $600

Then lets say I treat my phone like shit and after a year it's out of warrantee and I break/lose it

A year old iPhone probably has either come well down in price or there's an eve newer iPhone out hence driving the price down even more

So now I go out and buy a $400 iPhone off craigslist to replace my lost/broken one

So for $550 over 2+ years you have 2 iPhones for hundreds cheaper than the initial buyout cost
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the only reasons I would sign another 3 year contract is: the plan is unbeatable and is totally perfect for me in prices and features.

the subsidized phone aspect doesn't even come into the equation. I buy only unloced/unlockable phones and come and go as i please. The big 3 seem not to give a shit if they have my buisness so fuck em.

i keep my phones pristine so when i sell i recoup a big chunk of the initial cost.

my last plan was good for me but the Mobilicity one was so much better for LESS $.

again to reiterate, Fuck Rogers.

Doesn't even need to be.

One thing is to make sure you're talking to the retentions department, even if just to casually ask if there's anything they can do to make your current plan more affordable.

The front line support reps have absolutely zero power to give you anything beyond the standard plans that is shown in stores and on their websites.

Voice and data may be separate, but there should not be anything stopping you from switching your voice plan at any time, or switching your data plan at any time.

my iphone 3g that I just upgraded from works perfectly 3 years later. I don't even have a case for it. It's OG except for the invisible shield that I have covering the screen. I baby my phones though :D

If you are on a corporate plan, some data plans may not be compatible. Like the 6GB special going on right now. It's not compatible with my plan. I'm stuck with the 500MB data. :fuuuuu:

I think that's BS. I'm on EPP which is what the corporate plan is and I have 6GB.

i had a 3g that mysteriously bricked on me about a week after my warranty expired. apple told me to get fucked with a pinecone.

:yuno: