241 replies to this topic

[Holden West]

^Eh, it's been done and I'm sure Google has bought the rights.

[VicHockeyFan]

Coun. Bob McKie cited the proliferation of towers and antennas and their potential health concerns as his main reason for opposing the tower.

"Until we have a chance of saying, 'Yes, you can have a tower' or, 'You can put an aerial up on top of an apartment block,' I don't think we should be allowing anything more in Esquimalt or we're all going to be walking around with our hair standing straight up and turning green," he said.

Coun. Lynda Hundleby suggested council be provided with information about local flight paths and warning systems that could be used to ensure that a tower would not be topped with a strobe light because of its proximity to homes on Craigflower.

http://www.timescolo...6434/story.html

OK, hands up, who voted for McKie?

[SamCB]

As a tax paying resident of Esquimalt I could not give 1/10th of a s**t about a cell phone tower going up in the middle of a golf course. Non issue, and out of the municipality's jurisdiction, but thanks for talking about it, council.

[Baro]

There was a town that jumped on the whole "cell towers/wifi/reptoids cause ill-defined health problems" bandwagon of crazy and tried to sue a cell company over a new tower. In the months before the hearing the cell company secretly turned the tower off but didn't tell anyone. At the hearing a parade of residents spoke and listed their nebulous health problems along with them all saying it was 100% the fault of the cell tower, many saying their problems got better when they were farther away from it. City council and idiot residents were made to look utter fools.

Psycho-somatic symptoms can be quite powerful but the cure is simply addressing one's scientific ignorance.

That article is infuriating. No benifit for esquimalt? Does no one there use phones? "I guarantee you if you were to phone every single household in Esquimalt and say: 'Do you want a 40-metre monstrosity growing out of the middle of the community?' I'm sure you'd have a very difficult time finding anyone to say yes to that," and with no cell towers he won't be able to phone those people to ask, what a catch-22 situation!

[bluefox]

That is correct, the iPhone is not compatible with Wind's network. But who knows, Apple might introduce a model in the coming years that is.

Rumour is that, indeed, the next iPhone will support more frequency bands, including the AWS HSPA spectrum (UMTS band IV) that Wind uses. This would only be a logical progression for the iPhone since the new model is supposed to be LTE-compatible, and Bell, Telus and Rogers all use AWS spectrum for their LTE networks.

Long story short, if the next iPhone is able transmit at the 1710-1755 MHz range and receive at 2110-2155 MHz, Wind should be able to support the next iPhone.

That, however, does not mean that Wind will actually carry the phone, just that unlocked "new iPhones" could operate properly on Wind's network.

[VicHockeyFan]

You can get a prepaid plan from Wind, with unlimited incoming minutes, for as little as $100 a year, or $10/mo. (and that gives you 20c/min outgoing).

[G-Man]

The iPhone is just playing catch up with other brands now.

On wind, I noticed that you can buy Wind top-up cards at 7-11.

[Mike K.]

Nice. Thanks for that, Bluefox.

[bluefox]

The iPhone is just playing catch up with other brands now.

On wind, I noticed that you can buy Wind top-up cards at 7-11.

Also at Mac's and select Shoppers Drug Mart locations in Vancouver as well.

A few dealers have also switched from being Fido authorized dealers, and now sell Wind (as well as Mobilicity in some cases), though I know Fido actually did terminate their relationship with at least 1-2 of those dealers, so the switch to Wind was really one of necessity for them.

Nice. Thanks for that, Bluefox.

No problem.

[Mike K.]

I just received a letter from Fido stating that their Fidodollars gimmick will drop from 5% Fidodollars for every $1 you spend on your services down to 4%. Earlier they dropped what you can use your Fidodollars for which made the whole thing a complete wash.

I cannot wait to shed myself of the burden that is Fido.

[phx]

^ worst scam ever

I never did get the blue-tooth headset I ordered with my fido dollars.

[sebberry]

I'm paying a pretty penny but so far I haven't been ticked off by Bell:

6 GB data - BlackBerry $30.00
100 CDN Long Distance $12.00
Extended hours - nights $7.00
All-in 30 Double-36M $30.00 (I can't remember if this is 2 or 300 minutes)
Text Messaging 2500 sent $10.00
Unlimited Incoming Minutes -$15.00
Visual Voicemail $5.00

promotional discount CR $7.00
promotional discount CR $15.00

[bluefox]

I'm paying a pretty penny but so far I haven't been ticked off by Bell:

6 GB data - BlackBerry $30.00
100 CDN Long Distance $12.00
Extended hours - nights $7.00
All-in 30 Double-36M $30.00 (I can't remember if this is 2 or 300 minutes)
Text Messaging 2500 sent $10.00
Unlimited Incoming Minutes -$15.00
Visual Voicemail $5.00

promotional discount CR $7.00
promotional discount CR $15.00

Double minutes would be 300 on that particular plan; it normally comes with 150 anytime. I used to have the same price plan.

Thought about giving Bell's loyalty department a ring? You could probably negotiate with them a little bit based on the plan and features you have. Looks like you're already getting the 6pm evenings/weekends and incoming free from them, but lots of people I know are getting that 100 minute long distance feature for free because of the existing in-market promotions for these features that are being offered to new customers. Just one example. Might be worth a try, especially if you're coming to the end of your term.

Anyway, I digress. Back on topic.

[Holden West]

This is so confusing. I long for the good old days when you'd simply send BC Tel a cheque for fifteen bucks or so. Er, but then I wouldn't be able to converse with you.

[VicHockeyFan]

Wind said today they passed 500k customers.

[Doggier]

Any recent word on Wind? I sent them a message asking if they might be in Victoria by Dec 2013. No answer, as is their MO (strange marketing strategy). I know that the Dec 2013 timeline might be a little aggressive give the current rate of their progress here. But I wold like to see the competition. I'm hoping that the recent info on buyout of Wind by The Egyptian parent Orascom might provide the funds to get this thing up and running here in the next year or so. What's the word on the street?

[Mike K.]

Nothing has changed as far as we know.

[Doggier]

Oh well, that's too bad that nothing has changed.

NIMBYism is alive and well in our region. Makes putting up towers a real challenge. The other, likely bigger challenge, is the game ROBELLUS plays with existing towers. They are supposed to make unused space on towers available to competitors per Industry Canada licensing requirements. The thing is, they have a loophole. They claim "future expansion" needs. Based on this they refuse space to Wind even when there is a ridiculous amount of space available on a tower.

I wrote Industry Canada on this issue and they responded that it was outside of their mandate to address this type of complaint. I find it interesting that they write the requirement but fail to bring definition or process for compliance.

These tower issues are why I feel it will be at least another year before Wind will be able to build out their network to the point they can go live in Victoria. It's a sad reality.

[Doggier]

On a side note: I see that some people cite the lack of iPhone support as preventing them from moving to Wind.

I have traditionally been a big supporter of Apple products but my support is now waining. I see Samsung products as equal or better. More importantly, I see the Android network and Google Play (for Apps) as superior to the Apple network and apps.

If you are an iPhone person, go have a serious look at android and specifically Samsung, or HTC. Also go to Google Play and have a look at the selection of Apps. In many ways, the apps are better on android. Of course this depends on the apps you need. For my needs, Apple can't keep up.

I switched to Android, and glad I did. I still have an iPad, but I'm looking for a Samsung Tab. My rationale for this is file management. Apple has made it too difficult to move media between hardware and onto different displays/players. Who knows, my beloved MacBook may have to go next...

[Mike K.]

My contract with Fido expires in June or July. I still have the i3s but it's starting to really show it's age.

I have resisted upgrading my phone because of Apple's insistence on new phones released less than a year apart. By the time I'm ready to upgrade the i5s will likely be on the market or nearing release. But then if WIND shows up on our doorstep in 2013 I'll ditch Apple and go with an Android just to free myself from Fido.