Tales from Telus: The Competition - Wind

Wind Mobile is the real unknown in this comparison. There are some massive caveats that are unavoidable with this service, the largest being that there is literally no coverage outside of major cities. Uncertainty with the financial stability of the company combined with spotty customer service make this a more complicated choice given unlimited data plans and low prices.

The Lineup 

Phone*	Off contract Cost	On "Tab"
Iphone 5s	N/A	N/A
Iphone 5c	N/A	N/A
Galaxy S4	$699	$199 (promo)*
Nexus 5	$499 ($350 from Google)	$99*
Lumia 1020	N/A	N/A
HTC One	$599	$199*

*Using "tab" which requires a minimum plan commitment of $50 recurring monthly

Like Koodo Wind uses a "tab" instead of a "contract". You still have to pay off the device over time or when you leave.

While Wind does not offer Iphone 5 for sale it does support them depending on the model. 

Plan in the Ass

A reminder of my current plans that would be replaced with a new device or a new provider:

VOICE/TEXT	FAVORITES* Included	Data	Price per Month(before tax &fees)
200 Local	8 favorites #’s(local & LD)	6 GB/month	$70 (promo plan only offered for 60 days)
Unlimited nationwide	n/a	1 GB/month (promo)	$55 + $20 data (promo)
200 Local	10 favorites #’s(local & LD)	1 GB/month	$55 (student promo)
		TOTAL	$205

Wind plan:

*No connection fee found online
**Wind offers "unlimited data" of two flavors: unlimited and premium unlimited

• Unlimited is included in plan cost and caps at 5 GB at which there is no charge but speeds are throttled enormously
• Premium Unlimited is a $10 recurring monthly fee on top of the plan and caps at 10 GB at which there is no charge but speeds are throttled enormously

Non-Shared Plan across 3 devices (out of contract)

VOICE/TEXT**	FAVORITES Included	Data	Price per Month(before tax &fees)
Unlimited North America	n/a	10 GB/month	$50 + $10
Unlimited North America	n/a	5 GB/month	$50
Unlimited North America	n/a	5 GB/month	$50
		Data overage	n/a
		TOTAL	$160

**Included in all plans: unlimited North American text/picture/video messaging, Call display, Voice Mail, Conference Calling

Wind's Plan is significantly less than my current bill but requires I buy out of my current contracts on which I owe the following:

• 2 year old Android (on contract)= $152.44/9 months left
• 1 brand new Android (on contract)= $479/22 months left
• 1 3 yr old iphone (off contract)=$0
• 1 wife-destroyed windows phone (on contract)=$294/19 months left

Upfront costs: 

Wind's AWS network does not support the old iphone nor the wp7 should we choose to fix the screen, which means at least one new device purchase (nexus 5).

• $925 contract buy out
• $350 device cost

Total: $1275 with monthly recurring fee of $45 less a month and 80% data.

The savings and the gains are enormous but what if Wind closes shop or I want to travel between urban areas? Deserves serious consideration.