Tag: carriers

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Mobile Syrup

Telus mailed me a free SIM, $70/25GB plan to switch from Koodo

Usually, my physical mailbox is full of useless junk mail (no, I’m not interested in selling my house), but on Monday, I was surprised to receive a rather interesting offer from Telus.

The deal, entitled ‘Need an upgrade,’ seems to aim to encourage Koodo customers to make the jump to Telus. For those who are unaware, Koodo is Telus’ flanker brand.

“Patrick, since Telus and Koodo are part of the same family, we wanted to let you know about a special Telus deal,” reads the offer.

The Unlimted 25 5G plan costs $70 per month and includes 5G speeds. The ad stands out because it comes in at $15/mo less than the carrier’s in-market version of the plan, and it includes a physical Telus SIM card. It’s surprising to see a carrier still send out a free SIM, especially in the modern era of digital eSIMs.

It’s important to note that Telus lists data speeds with this plan at up to 250Mbps with unlimited data at a “reduced speed” of 512Kbps once the 25GB has been hit. However, there are no overages with this plan. Those interested in switching can bring their own device or purchase a new smartphone through Telus.

Since I’m with Koodo and currently have a plan that gives me 30GB of LTE data (usually at speeds of 20Mbps-70Mbps) for $70/month, the jump to 5G alongside the loss of 10GB of data isn’t worth it for me. Maybe if the deal was tied to the carrier’s Unlimited 50 5G+ plan that offers 50GB of data at 1Gbps, it would be a much better option.

It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time a Canadian carrier has given away a free SIM card. For example, Bell sent a ‘win-back’ offer that included 20GB of data for $55/mo to some former customers last year.

Have you received an offer to switch from Koodo to Telus? Let us know in the comments below.

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Mobile Syrup

Rogers change in leadership won’t impact plans to separate wireless, wireline traffic

Rogers has replaced Jorge Fernandes as the company’s chief technology and information officer.

Ron McKenzie now fills the role, Rogers’ website outlining the company’s leadership team shows.

Rogers told The Globe and Mail, which first reported the news, that Fernandes is stepping down from the role. “Effective immediately, Ron McKenzie becomes Chief Technology and Information Officer,” Rogers said.

The leadership change comes nearly two weeks after a national outage left many Canadians unable to use their phones and home internet services, among a barrage of other services.

MobileSyrup reported the company plans to separate its wireless and wireline services to prevent a similar outage in the future. At this time, all traffic goes through one core network, and separating them will prevent an outage from taking out both networks simultaneously.

A source familiar with the matter told MobileSyrup Fernandes announced the plans at an all-hands meeting. The leadership changes won’t impact these plans.

The migration will likely happen in the next two years, and the project will take up to 18 months to complete. Rogers will complete the change deep within its network, and customers shouldn’t feel a difference. It’s unclear what the project’s final price tag will be.

Image credit: Shutterstock 

Via: The Globe and Mail 

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Mobile Syrup

Rogers says it will now credit subscribers for five days of service after major outage

Rogers has confirmed that it will compensate customers with five days’ worth of service following a massive national outage that began on July 8th.

“We have been listening to our customers and Canadians from across the country who have told us how significant the impacts of the outage were for them,” Rogers said in a media statement. “We know that we need to earn back their trust, and as a first step, we will be crediting our customers with the equivalent of five days service.”

Around 4:30am ET/1:30am ET on July 8th, Rogers’ entire network experienced issues, leaving millions of Canadians without access to internet, phone and other Rogers services. Further, Interac and emergency services were down while events like The Weeknd’s Toronto concert were postponed.

While Rogers said on the morning of July 9th that service was restored for “the vast majority” of people, issues have persisted for some, leading the company to now credit people for five days, up from the previously promised two days. According to Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri, the outages occurred due to a “maintenance update in our core network,” although the company hasn’t provided more information. To that point, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has ordered Rogers to provide a detailed account of the cause of the outage by July 22nd.

In the wake of the outage, Innovation, Science and Industry Minister Francois-Phillipe Champagne said on July 11th that he’s called on the “Big Three” telecoms — Rogers, Bell and Telus — to come up with a plan within 60 days to prevent similar service disruptions in the future. Specifically, he wants the carriers to reach agreements on “emergency roaming,” “mutual assistance during outages” and “a communication protocol” during telecom emergencies like the Rogers outage.

Meanwhile, a Quebec resident has launched a class-action lawsuit against Rogers, accusing the carrier of “gross negligence” while seeking $400 for each of its customers. Some people have also already received phishing scams from parties claiming to be Rogers offering them compensatory credits.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Via: CP24

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Mobile Syrup

Lucky Mobile offering 2GB of bonus data or up to 8 months

Lucky Mobile’s latest plan offers extra GBs of data for an affordable price. Lucky Mobile is offering 2GB per month of bonus data for up to eight months on select plans for new members.

This offer ends on June 20th. Additionally, Lucky Mobile is offering up to 16GB of bonus data with a new activation on a minimum $35 per month plan applied as 2GB per month. This bonus is only available for eight months.

You’ll have to purchase a $10 SIM Card to get this deal and activate the SIM card by July 18th, 2022.

You can check out the complete deal here. 

Source: Lucky Mobile

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Mobile Syrup

Lucky Mobile is offering 3GB of bonus data until May 9

Lucky Mobile is offering a flash sale featuring 3GB of bonus data. This flash sale is available until May 9th.

Below are all of the offers:

  • $70 for 23GB with 500MB with autopay
  • $60 for 18GB with 500MB with autopay
  • $50 for 13GB with 500MB with autopay
  • $40 for 7.5GB with 500MB with autopay
  • $35 for 5.5GB with 500MB with autopay
  • $25 for 3.5GB with 500MB with autopay

After six months you’ll lose the extra 3GB of data, however.

You’ll need to buy a $10 SIM card with a new activation. While Chatr is offering a similar deal, Lucky Mobile doesn’t mention anything about six months, which means you should always have the extra 3GB of data.

These plans also come with unlimited Canada/US Talk, unlimited text, 3G speeds, voicemail and more. To clarify, the autopay bonus is when you sign up for automatic payment withdrawals from your debit or credit card accounts. Unlike Chatr, you need to sign up for the “Auto Top-Up” feature as Lucky calls it.

You can check out Chatr’s deal here.

Source: Lucky Mobile

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Mobile Syrup

Public Mobile will move to 100 percent online-only on July 13

As of July 13th, Public Mobile will be moving to 100-percent online-only and will no longer have retail locations, according to tip from a MobileSyrup reader.

Additionally, as of May 3rd, Koodo Prepaid will be available alongside Public Mobile, which means the two brands will overlap for a time until July 13th.

According to the information given to us by a reader, Koodo Prepaid will now be the “value brand of choice.”

Koodo Prepaid will include:

  • Call centre support
  • 3G and 4G speed plans
  • Koodo prepaid account management tool, which will allow sales reps to support customers with account management-related transactions. These include rate plan changes, booster purchases and SIM swaps.

Koodo Prepaid will also need no credit checks, no contracts and no overage charges, referral bonuses, chatbots and a self-care section on the website.

Public Mobile isn’t the only online-only carrier. Videotron’s Fizz Mobile moved to online-only back in 2020.

We’ve reached out to Koodo/Public Mobile for further information and will update this story.

Thanks reader 

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Mobile Syrup

Fido removes 8GB plan from its website

Fido has changed its 8GB data, talk, and text plan.

The plan now includes 10GB of data for an extra dollar. The original 8GB plan was $55 a month. The addition of 2GB of data has seen the price increase to $56 a month.

The 10GB plan isn’t listed as a promotional option and seems to replace the original 8GB offer.

The old 8GB plan (left) and the new updated plan (right). Image credit: Fido

Fido isn’t the only flanker brand to increase its prices. Virgin Plus recently removed several limited-time offers and hiked its most affordable plan by $2 a month.

You can view Fido’s plans on their website.

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Mobile Syrup

Rogers Infinite plans now offer $5 discounts with ‘Automatic Payments’

Rogers now features ‘Automatic Payments Discount‘ for its Infinite 5G data plans.

Automatic payments is similar to Freedom Mobile’s ‘Digital Discounts,’ which means you’ll need to link your credit card to your account so that automatic payments go through every month. This now gives you five dollars off your monthly bill.

Here’s what Rogers’ fine print says:

“A $5/month discount is available on eligible in-market consumer Rogers Infinite plans (excluding Rogers Preferred Program) to customers who set up Automatic Payments on their account (not retroactive). You must keep Automatic Payments active with an eligible plan to maintain this discount. Discount will end if you move to an ineligible plan or cancel Automatic Payments.”

Here are the plans on Rogers’ site:

    • $85 for 25GB with automatic payments
    • $95 for 45GB with automatic payments
    • $100 for 50GB with automatic payments.

if you don’t have a credit card on file, you’ll be paying an extra $5 for each of those plans per month. You’ll have to pay a bit more each month for those who don’t want to pay with their credit cards or have that sort of information on file.

Source: Rogers, iPhone in Canada 

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Mobile Syrup

Rogers is offering some customers 5GB of free data

Rogers is offering some wireless customers 5GB of free monthly mobile data every month for the next 15 months, according to a screenshot sent to MobileSyrup by a reader.

To redeem the extra data, sign in to your MyRogers account and select ‘Get this offer.’ If you haven’t received a text from Rogers and you’re a current Rogers customer, it’s worth logging into your MyRogers account just to make sure it hasn’t appeared.

Rogers 5G offer

 

It’s unclear how widespread this offer is or if it’s regional.

Have you received this offer from Rogers? Let us know in the comment section below.

Thanks Christopher

Image credit: Christopher

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Telus and The Alex to provide healthcare to Calgary’s homeless

In partnership with the Alex Community Health Centre, Telus has announced the launch of its Health for Good mobile clinic to enhance the lives of the marginalized communities in Calgary.

The Alex Mobile Care Clinic is committed to ensuring that vulnerable Calgarians have access to immediate, high-quality, compassionate care.

The Alex Mobile Care Clinic is staffed with both a nurse practitioner and a peer support liaison, which deliver key services to marginalized communities.

Additionally, mobile addiction management allows easy access to addiction management and treatment services. The Mobile Clinic will serve as an expansion to The Alex’s existing Rapid Access Addictions Medicine Clinic and Mobile Addictions Outreach Initiative services. Other healthcare services include routine testing, contraception, womens’ health services, STI treatment, harm reduction services and mental health care and counselling.

“With decades of experience in mobile health care, The Alex knows that being in the right place at the right time is critical to meeting the needs of those who experience barriers to good health care. With a focus on addictions support, we are also able to utilize the skills and training of our medical teams, who understand the issues that contribute to addiction and are able to provide medically-assisted support along the continuum of recovery,” said Joy Bowen-Eyre the CEO of The Alex.

All Mobile Health Clinics offer space for consultations, assessments, and the equipment necessary to provide medical care and harm reduction and space for patient privacy.

Telus also recently announced a health initiative in Quebec to expand MyCare virtual services.

Source: Telus