Overview:
Bell Canada is the largest communications business in Canada, and has been around for 127 years. It is named after Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the telephone. Bell offers wireless, residential, business and enterprise communication solutions.
Pros: Bell has several choices for data plans, including email, Internet and voice options. You get unlimited voice minutes on many plans and with two of the plans, you get long distance minutes, as well. If you know exactly what you’re going to be using your BlackBerry for, you can pick a plan that will have the features you want without charging you for the ones you don’t want. You can also choose how much data you think you’ll use, depending on the plan.
Cons: There is a monthly activation fee of $8.95, and a one-time activation fee of $35. As well, you don’t get unlimited data on any of the plans. If you go over your minutes, each additional minute costs $0.30. You will have to pay for additional data, and it can get quite expensive, from $1 to $12 per MB, depending on the plan that you have.
Detailed Provider Information:
Voice Plan Options: Bell has two data plans that include voice options. The first plan is called the Email, Internet and Voice: BlackBerry 45. You get 100 anytime voice minutes and unlimited local incoming minutes. It costs $45 a month. The second plan gives you more voice features – it’s called the Email, Internet and Voice: BlackBerry 55. You get 250 anytime voice minutes, unlimited local incoming minutes, unlimited nights local minutes, and 100 long distance minutes within Canada. Not only that, you also get call waiting and conference calling. At $55 a month, it’s by far the better deal if you need voice on your BlackBerry.
Data Options: Bell’s data plans have varying amounts of data, depending on the plan that you get. The BlackBerry 45, 55, and 25 include 4 MB of data, the BlackBerry 40 includes 8 MB, the BlackBerry 60 includes 30 GB of data, and the BlackBerry 100 includes 1 GB. The names of the plans indicate how much they are a month – so for example, the BlackBerry 60 is $60 a month. They all include activation fees, both monthly and one-time. Be careful not to go over your data usage – depending on the plan, you could pay $1 to $12 for every additional MB. There are also relatively high charges for using data in the U.S. – they range from $3 to $6 per MB.
Messaging Options: Email is included in all data plans. Text messaging is an optional feature and ranges in cost from $3 to $10 a month, depending on the service that you choose.
Customer Service: Bell offers phone and email support for its customers. As well, you can access their online knowledgebase which answers questions on whatever you want to know. You can also do things like check your recent payment online and adjust your services.
Contract: BlackBerry phones are available without a contract, but you’ll have to pay a lot for them – in some cases, almost $400 more than you would pay with a contract. Bell’s plans require a 1 to 3-year contract. If you want to get out of your contract, you’ll have to pay an early termination fee, which will be revealed to you at termination.
Messaging: Text messages are $0.15 each if you don’t have this feature added.
International Calling and Messaging: Charges per call will vary on the country that you use your phone in. They will also vary depending on if you use an analog or a CDMA connection. In-country calls and incoming calls internationally are approximately $1.80 per minute on the analog network, and $0.99 on the CDMA.
Roaming Charges: Roaming charges apply outside of your calling area.
Activation Fee: All of Bell’s plans include a one-time activation fee of $35 and a monthly system access fee of $8.95.
Additional Features: Depending on your plan, you can get extra features like voice mail, extra minutes, detailed billing, national mobile to mobile, roadside assistance, and more.
Insurance: See Terms and Conditions.
Phones: Bell offers the BlackBerry Pearl 8130. With four models to choose from, you might have trouble figuring out your favorite BlackBerry to use.
Some Additional BlackBerry Models Available:
BlackBerry 8830 World Edition
BlackBerry 8703e
BlackBerry 7130e
Coverage Map: The Bell coverage map can be found here.
I refuse to waste another second of my life on Bell except to warn the world about Bell. I will keep this as short and simple as possible:
Hell is all Canadian Wireless plans and the Devil is Bell. Keep your soul and choose another Canadian provider. Purgatory is better than hell.
Bell is my first mobile provider. For $55/month, I am getting 250 daytime minutes, unlimited local evenings and weekends (starting at 6pm), 2500 text messages/month, call display, voice mail, and 4MB data/month, not to mention free email, blackberry messaging, etc. I like the plan that I have, which is by far the best Canadian plan (versus Telus/Rogers). I like their online account information, as I can daily check how many minute I've used, how much data I have left before I go over, etc. Very handy.
I have not been impressed with the call quality. I've heard bad things about Bell, but so far I'm more than content with them.