In the Community...

6 months, 4 weeks ago in Ideas and Suggestions

Easy sign-ups, easy access to support and easy access to billing details.
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6 months, 4 weeks ago in Ideas and Suggestions

Empower your workforce and use intelligent business sense. For example, a motivated employee is far more efficient than an unsatisfied employee - so keep your employees happy. It is cheaper to retain existing customers than to sign a new one - so keep your existing customers happy. I have worked for one ...
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7 months ago in Ideas and Suggestions

When the media blitz begins, I really hope that the message isn't attacking the other telecoms (this is a big turn-off to many consumers), but instead focuses on the WIND service and perks. It is too easy to just jab/compare to other companies, but promoting your own merits ...
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7 months ago in Ideas and Suggestions

I really like the idea of being completely "naked" to the consumer. Don't try to hide clauses in 10-page contracts. Instead make the contract (I am not talking about commitment here) as short as possible and really encourage/go over it with the customer. If there is a cancellation ...
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7 months ago in Ideas and Suggestions

I have always despised carrying a device for personal use and a device for business use so it would be great to see a nice "corporate" back-end that allows business users to add, at their own cost, certain features they want. In short, it would be great if a company ...
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7 months ago in Ideas and Suggestions

Something needs to be done with inbound calling. I just had a 20 minute conversation with someone in San Francisco. I am not in my "local calling zone" so I know that the call is going to cost me an arm and a leg. I consciously think about this while ...
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7 months ago in Ideas and Suggestions

I would love to see the rewarding of existing customers. It is always frustrating to hear that new customers are always getting the better deals when signing up with existing firms. It is a lot cheaper to keep an existing customer than to gain a new one.
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7 months ago in Ideas and Suggestions

It already looks like the community managers are doing this, but a consistent message throughout the brand existence is crucial. Customer confusion is one of the primary reasons individuals choose one provider of the other. I would love to see a Canadian telecom focus their marketing on their service rather ...
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7 months ago in Network and Coverage

The roll-out of the network will be interesting - I assume that rental/licensing an existing 3G network will be used, but I would love to hear how the inherit "spotiness" with a roll-out will affect/not affect service.
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7 months ago in Ideas and Suggestions

Please do not charge for incoming text messages - those that do not text themselves (aka my Mom) are the ones getting burned by this one.
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7 months ago in General Comments

Stable and informative billing. Far to often the "other" carriers have inconsistent/ever-changing user portals.
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7 months ago in General Comments

This is unbelievably exciting! Changing the Canadian telecom industry has always been a dream of mine and I am confident that WIND has the capabilities and the people to revolutionize it! Hopefully some day I can be a part of such a positivity-focused organization!
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Simply put, competition and innovation.

Absolutely agree with open platform allowing for other devices! For this reason, the use of SIM cards is a must.

Competition brings innovation. As a technologically-advanced Canadian it has been a shame to see how our wireless landscape lags behind so many other countries. I am not a fan of CRTC, but I hope that the right thing will be done as more competition will benefit all Canadians.

This is very exciting, Ken! In a negativity-focused industry it is great to see a positive light spring forth. In many discussions about Canadian carriers it is always about picking "the least evil" firm, whereas it should be about picking the best. The social media effort your firm is carrying out is one that will undoubtedly be used as an example in the future. I look forward to all of the future announcements!

I agree with Ron, I think the website looks and functions beautifully! My sole complaint is the lack of a favicon. All of my bookmarks are solely favicon's so the lack is preventing me from bookmarking - guess I'll just have to keep the tab open. Haha!

Absolutely perfectly said! Fair pricing is crucial. I am tired of getting different prices and offers depending on which CSR is serving me.

I like it! I could see the implementation of a specific campus sub-domain that allows subscribers to connect in an innovative way. Hmmm...

I agree with this and big red has done a nice job with this implementation with the iPhone. 1GB is 1GB of data.

@Ron, your point makes a lot of sense. I think that is a situation where it would be nice to see 100MB (or whatever mid-high on-device usage entails) of data included in all plans. Another idea would be that all data plans over 1GB include tethering. This is going to be a tough one to figure out!

Ooooh!! I really like this idea. As pumped as I am about WIND, I am stuck in a Rogers contract right now - I have a feeling that a lot of techie individuals, like myself, are in the same situation.

@Fused, yes it is. My comment is more-so concerning the future of the company. Other than "hardware credits", the existing telecoms do not really reward their customers. Instead they change their billing practices and charge for incoming text messages, increase service fees and other harmful money-grabbing tactics. I realize that my comment won't really need to be addressed for a year or two, but if a consumer knows that they will be rewarded in the future they may very well choose that firm over another.

Hmmmm...that would be nice, but highly unlikely as those are two very different networks. Wireless data is far different from the fiber/copper that makes the cable/DSL networks. Personally, I find the 6GB data plan for my iPhone is quite reasonably priced at $30. I tether for a couple of hours a week and use my phone quite extensively - I haven't gone over 4GB yet in any given month.

Open Handset Alliance FTW! I love my iPhone, but I despise how locked down and controlled it is by Apple.

Exactly what Ron said! Over the past 6 years I have split my time between Toronto, Waterloo and Sarnia with the same 416 cell phone number (I just can't bring myself to give it up). I always have to overpay for long distance plans and it stinks.

@christiand, you are exactly right about the 3-year contract. I was in a 3-year contract with Bell. When Bell started to charge for incoming text messages my business law sensors went off so I looked at the contract. Turns out that them charging for incoming texts was a fundamental change and I was able to weasel my way out of the contract. I did my best to tell others, but I am sure that Bell has/had MANY customers that were not aware of this "fundamental change". You know what would impress me? Random acts of thanks. If a provider sent ...

@Johnn, I think that would resolve the problem, but I have had arguments with Rogers over getting charged 2x the LD rate on inbound calls from international locations. I still have not looked into it too much, but my understanding is that with my 416 number, I am getting charged $0.25 (or whatever it is) for all inbound calls outside of 416. When I am in 519 area I get charged twice that. This is the sort of complication that should not require me to sit down and look up what exactly I am being charged.

I definitely see this being a great option if the current method of long distance stands. Hopefully WIND goes with the "local area" being all of Canada so that your issue would be addressed in an even better manner. Plus, if WIND goes nationwide, you can bet that other telecoms will as well - a win for the consumer stemming from increased competition.

@Rap, exactly! That has worked well for land-lines.

This would be great, especially if it would make European access easier! I would love to be able to travel to a foreign country, but a local SIM card, pop it in and then talk away.

This would be a fantastic shift in wireless fundamentals!

Ahah! The favicon appears - I can now bookmark the site.

I am pretty sure that it has to do with the spectrum they own, but I want to have this addressed as well. This is probably my biggest fear.

I have seen a few comments on this and it is something that just flat-out needs to be addressed. This practice should be illegal. Yesterday I posted about receiving international calls and being charged DOUBLE long distance because I was outside of my calling area.

@hello You are spot on with this one. I know little about this fee, but read a spot on it a while back - this HAS to be illegal. There is so much collusion across the existing wireless providers that make price gouging easy. I just don't understand why the CRTC does not do more when it comes to this sort of thing.

@Skelton. I also have experience working with a telecom - one of the big 3. I worked on planning the roll-out of fiber networks that were to leap-frog the competition. The industry does change quickly, but Canada has really lagged in moving forward. Rogers established their GSM service ages ago and now Telus/Bell are working together on another leap-frog network. With WIND building their own network we are going to have 3 separate networks - the costs associated with all of these is enormous! I completely understand your desire to have infrastructure collaboration, but I think that will be difficult ...

@Chris. Exactly! Organize the billing so that it is straight-forward and easy to predict. It would also be great if there was an update every few months on if you are on your "optimal" plan. I have a habit of signing up for more than I generally need and it would be just awesome if a company contacted me to say "Hey, you really don't need what you are currently paying for". I understand that this could be poor from a financial-stance, but it WILL make the customer happy and add to brand loyalty.

@Christian. You are most likely right when it comes to why consumers choose Bell and Rogers over Fido/Koodo/Virgin - it is the phones. When I switched away from Bell I was all about going with Fido as they had the best plans. Unfortunately, they didn't have any phones that interested me. I gave Virgin a shot, but their phones were nothing spectacular either. Now I am with Rogers because of the selection they offered. This is probably the biggest concern as far as the WIND spectrum is concerned, but I feel like there are a few things we don't quite ...

Johnn is spot on with this one. We, the consumer, would rather have sustained competition in Canada than ridiculously cheap rates from a company that may not remain viable. The key, as Johnn pointed out, is "reasonable rates" - we just want prices to be fair and transparent.

@ProfessorChaos. Your comment has helped me organize my thoughts a bit better. Virtually all wireless subscribers recognize those 4 problems you noted and as you said, this is where the marketing campaign should focus their attention. I think it would be great for them to address those exact issues, but without some coloured couch, or claiming that "big blue, big read and big green" charge X for X. Basically, attack the issues, but not the companies. Just an example --> "Why pay $40 + SAF for what you can get for $25 all-in". No company name has to be mentioned, ...

The best feeling is knowing what we, the consumer, are being heard - that in itself is a major change!

My most memorable positive experience arose when I was buying a new camera. I had done my research, but also wanted to talk with the salesman who advised I step down a few levels to save some money. His honesty and no-pressure two-way discussion with me was great! I left the store with the advice that I should not buy today, but instead think about the information he presented and come back in a few days, which I did. Now, whenever I enter [camera store name here] I will only by from him. Since that experience, and seeing him many ...

Let me just chirp in and say I DESPISE WhoCalled.

Great posts Tony & Ken. The CWTA Code of Conduct makes a lot of sense, but the only way we will see a substantial change in how agreements are made is if you exceed the points laid out in the document. When it comes to my experience, the most confusing part of the process is understanding how incoming long distance (Canada and international) calls/texts work. It wasn't until last week that I realized I was getting charged for international INCOMING text messages, even though I subscribe to a text messaging plan. Perhaps I should have been aware of a possible ...

Very happy to hear you are not deterred, Ken. You have the support of your community, the Canadian public and technology lovers across the globe. Keep up the good fight!