How much should I be paying on my Rogers Cell Phone bill?

I pay the following per month:

$39.70

My contract just ran out and I haven't yet gotten a phone that provides internet on the phone.

I would like to have internet on the phone with the new baby, I was also thinking I'd get Melanie on a similar plan, or maybe even on a 'family' plan.

How much should I pay on a new contract to get the lowest price, but also get internet on the phone? I don't use the phone that often to be honest, but I'd still use 100-200 minutes per month to be on the safe side.

When I negotiate my new contract, what should I be asking for?

PS

I also pay 119.44 for the Cable TV and 52.99 for my Internet through them.

I'd like to lower it as much as possible, but I really don't know what I'm talking about.

What do you guys think?

39.70 seems decent to me.

I'd take a long look at Koodo if I were you. Seems to be the cheapest.

I guess being in Ottawa you have options like Wind and Mobilicity which I know nothing about.

SeawaySensFan wrote:39.70 seems decent to me.

I'd take a long look at Koodo if I were you. Seems to be the cheapest.

I guess being in Ottawa you have options like Wind and Mobilicity which I know nothing about.

39.70 is for a phone without internet access - it's about a 5 year old clunker.

I agree, there's a chance I could switch, but at the same time I have two other services with Rogers and would like to parlay this into some savings.

I don't think you save much at all with Rogers, they slap on all these fees to compensate for the discount.

I cancelled my home phone with them and my bill barely changed. Avoid the big 3 if you can, they're all in cahoots with each other anyway.

I'll go with Wind or Mobilicity if they ever offer the iPhone.

I'd go over to the Bell site and check out what you can get in a bundle. Do you not have a home phone? Keep in mind that Bell has a much better PVR with a larger disk and superior software in every way. You get it rent-free for 3 years after which time you can choose to keep it for free. Then go back to Rogers and ask them what they can do to keep your business. Make sure you tell them about the free PVR and how it's 500 GB. Tell them you don't care how many free channels you get if you cannot get the simple stuff you need all in HD including time-shifting (Rogers charges you extra for the west-coast feed of all US HD stations which is BS IMO). Tell them that since Bell's PVR is so much nicer Rogers would have to more than match their bundle offer.

Fair enough.

SpezDispenser wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:39.70 seems decent to me.

I'd take a long look at Koodo if I were you. Seems to be the cheapest.

I guess being in Ottawa you have options like Wind and Mobilicity which I know nothing about.

39.70 is for a phone without internet access - it's about a 5 year old clunker.

I agree, there's a chance I could switch, but at the same time I have two other services with Rogers and would like to parlay this into some savings.

I was with Rogers for over a decade and they thanked me for having all my services with them by Cussing me over time after time. The last experience I had was with Telus and they found a way to charge my wife 160 a month in spite of being on 50-some dollar plan. And I bought her the phone too. And when we had enough and told them we would take our business elsewhere, they locked the phone, which I paid for, in full, in cash.

Bottom line, AFAIC, Bell, Rogers, Telus... don't matter. They'll Diddle you sooner or later

Hoags wrote:I don't think you save much at all with Rogers, they slap on all these fees to compensate for the discount.

I cancelled my home phone with them and my bill barely changed. Avoid the big 3 if you can, they're all in cahoots with each other anyway.

I'll go with Wind or Mobilicity if they ever offer the iPhone.

I have to disagree. If you don't mind switching every 2-3 years you can continue getting the sweetheart deals. Lots of people I talk to say that if you are not getting 20-30% off with Rogers you just aren't trying hard enough. I'm assuming the same can be said about Bell. I've been with Rogers all this time because of the free PVR. For years Bell just couldn't touch that deal. Now it's a different story. Rent-free for 3 years and then you keep it for free (I guess you pay for servicing), and it's a much better PVR. I just don't have Bell FibeTV in my neighborhood yet. We'll see in a year or two.

The key with Rogers is to call in and complain and ask to be escalated to their Retentions group. That group has the authority to provide discounts and offer good deals. It's a pain in the Donkey process but it does work.

Hmm, I just checked the Bell site and they no-longer have the "Build a Better Bundle" interface. They show you only three bundles with a "starting at" price, give you very few details, and advise you to call or visit a Bell store for details.

I guess they want you to speak to someone in person. Man, I hate that. I only want to talk to a salesman when I know everything.

wprager wrote:
I have to disagree. If you don't mind switching every 2-3 years you can continue getting the sweetheart deals. Lots of people I talk to say that if you are not getting 20-30% off with Rogers you just aren't trying hard enough. I'm assuming the same can be said about Bell. I've been with Rogers all this time because of the free PVR. For years Bell just couldn't touch that deal. Now it's a different story. Rent-free for 3 years and then you keep it for free (I guess you pay for servicing), and it's a much better PVR. I just don't have Bell FibeTV in my neighborhood yet. We'll see in a year or two.

I'm renting so I am not allowed to have a satellite dish at my house, not to mention I don't want to lose my TV signal whenever the wind changes direction.

Their home phone is ridiculous, $28/month with no calling features ? I pay the same with Vonage and get every calling feature ever invented plus unlimited long distance.

I was tempted to get their Nextbox 2.0 but they want me to subscribe to their phone service from the Dark ages. I am shocked there is no "2 cans tied with string" for $15/month option.

Bell has FibeTV now, no need for Satellite dish but you need Bell Internet. It's only offered in certain areas. A buddy of mine has it in downtown Toronto and has been pretty pleased with it.

I was never a fan of satellite (had it for 4 years). I'm talking about FibeTV. It's already available in some parts of Ottawa (just not where I am, right now).

wprager wrote:I was never a fan of satellite (had it for 4 years). I'm talking about FibeTV. It's already available in some parts of Ottawa (just not where I am, right now).

Their website can't tell me if it's available, it just sits there and does nothing when I enter my address, I am guessing that's a no.

I only need TV for sports. Netflix >> TV

I haven't seen any HD shows on Netflix yet, but I'm guessing the b/w consumption is 4x as much as SD. I'd be over my quota before the second week was over.

I still like the bulk of my TV over cable. I just wish they didn't charge so damn much.