WIND Mobile
So, as I've probably mentioned a few times now, a week ago I got a Nexus One. I already dedicated my last post to reviewing it, so I'll move on to the network I've been trying it out with since Sunday.
As many Canadians are aware, this past holiday season saw the launch of a new wireless network operator in Canada. WIND Mobile, being funded through capital from Egyptian wireless operator Orascom, initially ran into trouble when the CRTC revoked their licence to operate due to "foreign control", after pressure from the incumbents (even though, during the spectrum auction, the government said they were Canadian enough)
In any event, by the end of the year WIND will be one of three or so new operators in this area (Public Mobile launches in May, and Mobilicity has no announced launch date). They operate in the AWS band, and so are compatible with the T-Mobile network stateside (to my understanding, at least; they did). Hence, the original version of the Nexus One is compatible with their network; the new version only will work with the three incumbents.
At launch, many of the complaints with WIND focused on their limited (but slowly expanding) network, partly with requests to extend coverage further out, but largely with complaints about dead zones within; my basement is an example of that. In addition, they only offer one mobile data plan for most phones, unlimited (with a soft cap at 5 GB), so many potential customers are requesting a cheaper hard-capped data plan (as well, there isn't any base plan at the $25 price point; it jumps from $15 to $35).
The network seems to hold up so far, other than a couple of outages and the aforementioned dead zone in my basement. The former is annoying but at least should be a rare ocurrence, while I can accomodate the latter by having people call me on the landline or use Wi-fi for the internet. Yeah, having Google Voice in Canada would be nice. :P
Also, it seems that, due to some irregularities in the billing system, I got $7 from the original data plan payment back. Yay bonus! Didn't even have to ask for that one (and the sales associate didn't know why it happened, but I have some guesses and he let me keep it).
My plan is "Chat" ($15) + "Infinite Mobile" ($35), so would run me $50/month once the $30/month credit runs out in September. But with no contract, that should give me a chance to look at the alternatives (or switch to cheaper data if it becomes available). In the meantime, the deal seems reasonable.
As many Canadians are aware, this past holiday season saw the launch of a new wireless network operator in Canada. WIND Mobile, being funded through capital from Egyptian wireless operator Orascom, initially ran into trouble when the CRTC revoked their licence to operate due to "foreign control", after pressure from the incumbents (even though, during the spectrum auction, the government said they were Canadian enough)
In any event, by the end of the year WIND will be one of three or so new operators in this area (Public Mobile launches in May, and Mobilicity has no announced launch date). They operate in the AWS band, and so are compatible with the T-Mobile network stateside (to my understanding, at least; they did). Hence, the original version of the Nexus One is compatible with their network; the new version only will work with the three incumbents.
At launch, many of the complaints with WIND focused on their limited (but slowly expanding) network, partly with requests to extend coverage further out, but largely with complaints about dead zones within; my basement is an example of that. In addition, they only offer one mobile data plan for most phones, unlimited (with a soft cap at 5 GB), so many potential customers are requesting a cheaper hard-capped data plan (as well, there isn't any base plan at the $25 price point; it jumps from $15 to $35).
The network seems to hold up so far, other than a couple of outages and the aforementioned dead zone in my basement. The former is annoying but at least should be a rare ocurrence, while I can accomodate the latter by having people call me on the landline or use Wi-fi for the internet. Yeah, having Google Voice in Canada would be nice. :P
Also, it seems that, due to some irregularities in the billing system, I got $7 from the original data plan payment back. Yay bonus! Didn't even have to ask for that one (and the sales associate didn't know why it happened, but I have some guesses and he let me keep it).
My plan is "Chat" ($15) + "Infinite Mobile" ($35), so would run me $50/month once the $30/month credit runs out in September. But with no contract, that should give me a chance to look at the alternatives (or switch to cheaper data if it becomes available). In the meantime, the deal seems reasonable.