I was a little surprised to see this covered by an organization that also falls under the Bell Globemedia empire; nonetheless, yesterday’s Globe & Mail carried news that Bell Sympatico is logging the internet activities of its users, and has been doing it since June 22nd!

As a subscriber to the other media empire’s internet service I can’t be too smug, as Bell’s snooping is apparently in advance of a Canada-wide Internet Surveillance Bill coming down the pipe. Of course such legislation will protect us all from terrorists and pedophiles—oh, and perhaps make Steven Harper and his cronies some extra cash when they sell our individual surfing habits to advertisers and data-mining companies…

His reality show may have sucked serious ass, but The Rebel Billionaire is all the rage in Canada right now—if you want a mobile phone, at least.

Virgin Mobile not-so-quietly launched in Alberta, BC, Ontario and Québec yesterday, and though it’s basically a repurposed signal from Bell Canada (and the same hideously ugly phones), I think it’ll do quite well. Here’s why:

Bell’s own prepaid plans charge 30¢ for the first 2 minutes of a given call, and 5¢/minute for any additional airtime on top of that. Virgin charges 25¢ for the first 5 minutes of each day, and 15¢/minute for everything after that.

Here’s how a day of light cell phone usage would break down:

Bell

5 min. = 2 x 30¢ + 3 x 5¢ = 75¢

3 min. = 2 x 30¢ + 1 x 5¢ = 65¢

2 min. = 2 x 30¢ = 60¢

Total for the day = $2.00

Virgin

5 min. = 2 x 25¢ + 3 x 15¢ = 95¢

3 min. = 3 x 15¢ = 45¢

2 min. = 2 x 15¢ = 30¢

Total for the day = $1.70

So after only 10 minutes of airtime, the Virgin Mobile client has already realized a savings of 15%, for the exact same service as Bell, but with no contract!

If, after all this, you’re still considering a contract with Bell Mobility, please click here for an important message…

To:
councillor_shaw@toronto.ca
councillor_shiner@toronto.ca
councillor_ashton@toronto.ca
councillor_minnan-wong@toronto.ca
councillor_lipreti@toronto.ca
councillor_miller@toronto.ca
councillor_kelly@toronto.ca

Cc:
michael.neuman@bell.ca
nadir.mohamed@rogers.com
darren.entwistle@telus.com

Bcc:
callforhelp@g4techtv.ca
homepage@pulse24.com
marketplace@cbc.ca
technews@canoe.ca

To the councillors of the TTC:

I was shocked to read this article detailing the TTC's plan to install an underground wireless network solely for the purposes of advertising.

As a Torontonian who has travelled abroad, I believe that what our supposedly "world class city" needs much more than a wireless advertising network is a usable mobile phone signal in its subway system. As a TTC user I must ask you: Given the steep declines in ridership on the system, how exactly do you think that more advertising is going to attract more riders? Do you not think that underground mobile phone service is a more valuable investment for the TTC and wireless carriers to make?

Along with the other recipients of this email, I would be most interested in hearing your thoughts on this matter...

Sincerely,

(Your name here)

I’ve had a hate-on for Bell Canada ever since they casually added an extra two hundred dollars to my phone bill, simply for flicking a switch to activate the already-installed jacks in my new condo. At nerd school I learned how they choked the speed of their residential high-speed internet service, just so they could charge more for the real thing.

But my biggest beef has been their overpriced landline service. Each month I’ve had to fork out forty of my hard-earned dollars just to get a dial tone. Well, no more!

I was thrilled to hear the announcement of City Fido in Toronto this past April, and equally disgusted by the junk offer put forth by Telus to steal its thunder. Because I believe in Fido so much, I’ve signed up for a two-year contract and given them the go-ahead to liberate my home phone number from Bell.

Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, I’m free at last!