Mobile Rates Going Up Due to 2 Year Plan Changes

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Swayze11

Makes sense. I'm still amazed people need more then 500 MB. I consider myself an average user and I think the most I've ever used was just under 300 MB. I suppose it adds up if you watch a lot of videos or stream music.

Things are moving to the cloud, movies, music, photos etc etc. Over the past 6 months I've really upped my data usage. I prefer to stream podcasts instead of downloading them. I'll stream music too but I'm not a heavy music listener on my phone. Usually if I get a new album I'll actually put it on my phone because I'll be listening to it more frequently.

I'm amazed at what these companies pay for 2GB/month for.

If you're a Shaw internet user sign up for the Wifi Go program. Shaw has 100's of Wifi spots around the city and it can really help with a data plan if you a limited amount per month.

[WilsonFourTwo]

Originally Posted by Swayze11

Makes sense. I'm still amazed people need more then 500 MB. I consider myself an average user and I think the most I've ever used was just under 300 MB. I suppose it adds up if you watch a lot of videos or stream music.

That's definitely the big difference maker. Just crunched some numbers (ya, exciting life!) and I average about 850MB a month.

I stream CBC and/or BBC msot of the day at work and it represents about 700MB worth of the data. 30MB a day adds up pretty quickly I guess!

Other than that, its just basic usage. A bit of Facebook, maybe stream a few MLB.TV innings while on the bus, etc. The reality is 500MB is probably more than enough. I only use more because the plan is unlimited and I don't ever think about usage.

[WilsonFourTwo]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

If you're a Shaw internet user sign up for the Wifi Go program. Shaw has 100's of Wifi spots around the city and it can really help with a data plan if you a limited amount per month.

This really intrigues me. I've noticed that (generally speaking) if you're in a popular area you can connect to the Shaw Wifi.

When it first rolled out (they bailed on becoming a cell provider) I thought it would be hokey and a mistake. It looks like I was wrong on that one. Pretty cool service.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

If you're a Shaw internet user sign up for the Wifi Go program. Shaw has 100's of Wifi spots around the city and it can really help with a data plan if you a limited amount per month.

I found Shaw's wifi program more annoying than useful downtown. Walking to the bus stop, you're in range, out of range, in range, out of range. Standing at the bus stop, your in range, but with too weak a signal to do anything. Then you get to do the whole on-again-off-again dance down the street at every red light until you are out of the core. Annoying for streaming!

Total first world problem.

[QuadCityImages]

Originally Posted by Swayze11

Makes sense. I'm still amazed people need more then 500 MB. I consider myself an average user and I think the most I've ever used was just under 300 MB. I suppose it adds up if you watch a lot of videos or stream music.

I'll just leave this here...

[Azure]

Where do you actually find the time to use that much data on your phone? Even when I travel and stream music I hardly ever get close to 1GB per month.

[Anduril]

That's impressive. I'm imagining your constantly using HD quality streams though I'm not too sure about Netflix?

Whenever I have a streaming service like Netflix or Crunchyroll for Anime time to time, I find my 6GB easily feels limited. Otherwise it's 4 GB of use and that's with me trying to use as much as I can in the last couple days.

[CaramonLS]

I watch like 20-25 mins of youtube a month and that just eats data.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Azure

Where do you actually find the time to use that much data on your phone? Even when I travel and stream music I hardly ever get close to 1GB per month.

I exceeded my 2G once. And that was from two weeks tethering my laptop for work

[WilsonFourTwo]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

I exceeded my 2G once. And that was from two weeks tethering my laptop for work

You get to watch porn at work? Nice!

[QuadCityImages]

My job involves a lot of sitting around with no access to wifi or a PC. I think the gig+ of browser use is actually the most impressive of those top 3 bandwidth numbers.

Edit: I just noticed how you can see where the weekends are on that graph, and that big flat spot in the middle is where I was on vacation for 5 days.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

I found Shaw's wifi program more annoying than useful downtown. Walking to the bus stop, you're in range, out of range, in range, out of range. Standing at the bus stop, your in range, but with too weak a signal to do anything. Then you get to do the whole on-again-off-again dance down the street at every red light until you are out of the core. Annoying for streaming!

Total first world problem.

Yeah, true. I have it set up on my phone but usually when I'm out and about unless I know I'm going to be on a wifi network I'll just turn it off.

It's great for tablets though.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by WilsonFourTwo

You get to watch porn at work? Nice!

My tether is made of leather

[keratosis]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

I exceeded my 2G once. And that was from two weeks tethering my laptop for work

Yahoo mail screwed me over. Used 2.13gb in 4hrs after an update.
Was not impressed.

[Knut]

My Data rarely went over 1 GB with my Ipad + Iphone 3GS... now that i have The Iphone5 I find myself using more data because the LTE is quicker than my WiFi in certain parts of my house/backyard. Still maybe getting to 2 GB a month though.

[calculoso]

Originally Posted by Swayze11

Makes sense. I'm still amazed people need more then 500 MB. I consider myself an average user and I think the most I've ever used was just under 300 MB. I suppose it adds up if you watch a lot of videos or stream music.

500MB? Definitely not enough for me.

July 14-Aug 14: 2.28 GB
- 464 MB Google Play Store - App updates
- 375 MB Chrome Browser
- 347 MB TuneIn Radio Pro
- 276 MB gReader (RSS reader)
- 200 MB Internet Browser
- 169 MB Facebook
- 114 MB Plume (Twitter)
etc

Even if I only upgraded apps over WIFI and didn't stream music, that's still over 1 GB in data.

[Regular_John]

It's baffling to me that the big three haven't pulled on the plug on this "save Canada!" campaign. The public's reaction has been a resounding "Fata You!" and it's simply feeding into the perception that the Big 3 have been in cahoots for years to keep prices where they are.

I mean I get why they initially put the campaign together, but from the moment they started publishing their "Canadian's have some of the lowest rates in the world!" garbage the public has been calling them out on it. You'd think they'd go into damage control mode here and attempt to win us over some other way.

But nope, "big bad America is coming!" is the hill they've chosen to die on. And I hope they do.

[WilsonFourTwo]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

But nope, "big bad America is coming!" is the hill they've chosen to die on. And I hope they do.

Now they're breaking out the "Fear America" card.

http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/news/story...-security.html

The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada is calling on Stephen Harper's government to explain how it intends to review and address national security concerns related to the New York-based company. In the U.S., Verizon has co-operated with the National Security Agency to share personal data on millions of its U.S. customers. A secret U.S., leaked in June, gave the NSA authority to to collect data from all of Verizon's land and mobile customers. Now the CEP is raising the spectre that Canadians would be subject to the same surveillance if Verizon decides to enter the wireless market here.
"Canadians need to know that their government is reviewing Verizon's potential threat to national security, and what steps the U.S. company will have to take to mitigate any concerns," CEP president Dave Coles said in a news release on Tuesday.

I get it, this NSA stuff is a real concern, but to think that this data isn't already accessible to these types of agencies is silly. It's taking one issue and twisting it to suit another purpose.

[ken0042]

My mom of all people (not tech savvy) sent me the following link:
http://www.consumersfirst.ca/

It is a gov't petition saying you support the changes and allowing Verizon to come into Canada.

[DoubleK]

That is so awesome on so many levels.