How do you like Wind? - Shaw Purchases Wind

[CaramonLS]

Originally Posted by darockwilder

Has anybody switched to their LTE service? Supposedly it's live now in Calgary and Edmonton.

So, I changed my plan so that it was "LTE ready" this week and for about an hour I got LTE network coverage and speeds. However, for the last 3 days, I didn't get any LTE coverage on my phone. I called their tech support today and they said that I would be getting coverage sometime in 2017, that even though my phone is compatable with the network, it is not currently one of the "activated" phones in the network (aka the ones they personally sell).

I did buy a Moto G5 Plus from Amazon and it is one of the phones that should work on the Band 66 network, but since it is not one of the phones they sell, it isn't "supported" right now.

[RedHot25]

Dumb question alert (sorry I'm not overly technical): to get LTE speeds on freedom, you have to a) specifically have 1 of the phones they are currently selling that is LTE enabled for them, and b) also sign up for a LTE plan of theirs?

I'm on a plan from their wind days with a nexus 5. It's not a do or die thing about LTE for me, more I'm just curious.

[CaramonLS]

Originally Posted by RedHot25

Dumb question alert (sorry I'm not overly technical): to get LTE speeds on freedom, you have to a) specifically have 1 of the phones they are currently selling that is LTE enabled for them, and b) also sign up for a LTE plan of theirs?

I'm on a plan from their wind days with a nexus 5. It's not a do or die thing about LTE for me, more I'm just curious.

1) You definitely need to be on one of their new LTE plans (aka give up your unlimited plan). They basically just want you to give up your old plan, because all of the new plans are LTE ready. Mine changed from the unlimited with 3GB unthrottled, then to unlimited to 4GB unthrottled with no unlimited package. I didn't find it a big deal for me, same price, $40.

2) Have a phone with band 66 compatibility in Calgary - most phones aren't compatible with this band yet.

3) I have heard mixed things on the issue I am experiencing, so I cannot confirm whether you really need one of their LTE phones right now or if I am just personally experiencing a problem with my specific phone because I didn't purchase it from them. I'll post in this thread when/if the issue gets resolved. I went to the store today and got a new SIM, it activated on LTE for 20 minutes and then booted me off.

[calumniate]

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

1) You definitely need to be on one of their new LTE plans (aka give up your unlimited plan). They basically just want you to give up your old plan, because all of the new plans are LTE ready. Mine changed from the unlimited with 3GB unthrottled, then to unlimited to 4GB unthrottled with no unlimited package. I didn't find it a big deal for me, same price, $40.

2) Have a phone with band 66 compatibility in Calgary - most phones aren't compatible with this band yet.

3) I have heard mixed things on the issue I am experiencing, so I cannot confirm whether you really need one of their LTE phones right now or if I am just personally experiencing a problem with my specific phone because I didn't purchase it from them. I'll post in this thread when/if the issue gets resolved. I went to the store today and got a new SIM, it activated on LTE for 20 minutes and then booted me off.

If you're able, could you comment on if the deadspots downtown resolve themselves on Lte? (Chinatown and Stephen Ave for example). Thanks

[TheScorpion]

Man, this is super. LG G6 with essentially unlimited super-fast LTE for $59 a month?

[calumniate]

I just grabbed the Sony xa1 and am now on lte. Seems pretty good so far

[Boblobla]

I was looking at their website, do they not support apple phones? I would love to switch from Bell but I doubt I could talk the Mrs. away from an iPhone...

[jwslam]

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

Mine changed from the unlimited with 3GB unthrottled, then to unlimited to 4GB unthrottled with no unlimited package. I didn't find it a big deal for me, same price, $40.

Are you sure? Seems like all the plans they have online now are XX amount of "full-speed data" meaning they're still unlimited?

[Dirty Mr. Clean]

Originally Posted by Boblobla

I was looking at their website, do they not support apple phones? I would love to switch from Bell but I doubt I could talk the Mrs. away from an iPhone...

The iPhone doesn't support this spectrum.

[jwslam]

Originally Posted by Dirty Mr. Clean

The iPhone doesn't support this spectrum.

Yes they do... Freedom is not an Apple dealer, but certain 5's and everything 5s and later is Freedom compatible (Band 4). No Freedom LTE (band 66) iPhones yet though.

http://www.spherethat.ca/blog/2015/1...nd-mobilicity/

[CMPunk]

So those of you that have Freedom, is it really worth it? It would save me a ton of $$, but if the service is terrible, then why bother. I generally use my phone just in Calgary, with a few jaunts to Lethbridge to see the family, so is the coverage good?

[jwslam]

Originally Posted by CMPunk

So those of you that have Freedom, is it really worth it? It would save me a ton of $$, but if the service is terrible, then why bother. I generally use my phone just in Calgary, with a few jaunts to Lethbridge to see the family, so is the coverage good?

You'll be roaming on the way to Lethbridge and in Lethbridge; so you'll need to pay for the higher priced plans that include roaming.
In Calgary, coverage is not bad. Just don't expect it to work in deep dark basements or 3 walls into a concrete building. Speeds will also be slower than what you currently have.

[calumniate]

Yeah, have to say that unfortunately even with LTE, the concrete dead spots in downtown are still an issue, though I can now sometimes intermittently get a signal. Yay? lol..

[CMPunk]

Originally Posted by jwslam

You'll be roaming on the way to Lethbridge and in Lethbridge; so you'll need to pay for the higher priced plans that include roaming.
In Calgary, coverage is not bad. Just don't expect it to work in deep dark basements or 3 walls into a concrete building. Speeds will also be slower than what you currently have.

Ya I knew about the roaming, and that's fine...just wasn't sure what the in town quality would be like.

[FlameOn]

Originally Posted by calumniate

Yeah, have to say that unfortunately even with LTE, the concrete dead spots in downtown are still an issue, though I can now sometimes intermittently get a signal. Yay? lol..

That won't change until they get something other than the AWS/band 66 spectrum they are currently on. Which if the CRTC would get off their butts to get the 600 Mhz auction going, would make Wind incredibly good at that point.

[calumniate]

Originally Posted by FlameOn

That won't change until they get something other than the AWS/band 66 spectrum they are currently on. Which if the CRTC would get off their butts to get the 600 Mhz auction going, would make Wind incredibly good at that point.

Thanks - well now I feel dumb, haha. For some reason I'd equated LTE to using a different band altogether. That makes sense though

[Swarly]

With Wind/Freedom for about 4 years now, I have no issues with speed but I don't work deep in the center of a concrete building either. Sure it is a little slower if you were to speed test against a friend's phone but when loading web pages or streaming Spotify I have never taken issue.

As for the roaming charges, I find them quite low/fair. I left my phone on full roaming while I was in Golden/Banff for an 8-day ski trip and racked up a total of $17.50 in extra charges. (most of my texting done in the group was over WhatApp so appears as data rather than texts). I was still checking emails and playing games on my phone, the only thing I didn't do that I normally would be is streaming music or videos.

Away - Calling Min 4 $0.60
Away - Data MB 309.000 $15.45
Away - Texting Text 29 $1.45
Total $17.50

Other than that my base bill is $40 a month, I used to be paying $90+ with Rogers. So for me, it has been well worth it to switch.


not to mention the $15/month add-on if you were going to vacation (or regularly traveled for work) in the states, which costs about $5/day up to $50/month with the big 3.

[jwslam]

Originally Posted by calumniate

Thanks - well now I feel dumb, haha. For some reason I'd equated LTE to using a different band altogether. That makes sense though

Wind LTE is Band 66, vs the current Band 4 they are using. All of which are on the high frequency range. (1700+)

You need the low frequency range <1000ish to penetrate buildings

[Azure]

What the CRTC needs to do is force the big 3 to give provide wholesale access to their wireless networks similar to how they are forced to give access to their wired networks.

That would create a whole new market with MVNO carriers, plus allow Wind and others to negotiate better pricing for their roaming plans, plus maybe even provide additional coverage within their home zones for a fee.

Teksavvy and others are offering some pretty incredible prices now for internet plans with great speeds and no bandwidth limits all because of the wholesale pricing. I believe the cost of buying GB/s worth of bandwidth has gone down substantially.

[calumniate]

Originally Posted by Azure

What the CRTC needs to do is force the big 3 to give provide wholesale access to their wireless networks similar to how they are forced to give access to their wired networks.

That would create a whole new market with MVNO carriers, plus allow Wind and others to negotiate better pricing for their roaming plans, plus maybe even provide additional coverage within their home zones for a fee.

Teksavvy and others are offering some pretty incredible prices now for internet plans with great speeds and no bandwidth limits all because of the wholesale pricing. I believe the cost of buying GB/s worth of bandwidth has gone down substantially.

I was speaking with someone recently who is with Nucleus (a grandfather of a Calgary tech company), and they essentially re-sell shaw internet at a substantial savings. Seemed interesting, though I don't think they offer the 150mb/s. Still, if all I wanted was decent internet, I'd likely go with them.