Canada's coming phone law changes: will they affect buying a phone?

I think the changes will open up the flood gates. Phone manufacturers will be able to sell phones to Walmart and not just the "Big Dogs"

remember sites like Amazon, London Drugs, and Newegg exist. All sell unlocked phones. You dont need to go to "The big 3" to get a phone. Best buy mobile and Wal-mart even sells pre-paid phones.

Gee wrote: ↑ I think the changes will open up the flood gates. Phone manufacturers will be able to sell phones to Walmart and not just the "Big Dogs"

It isn't possible to buy directly from the manufacturer now, is it?

razorboy wrote: ↑ It isn't possible to buy directly from the manufacturer now, is it?

you mean like the Samsung or Apple stores?

yesstyle wrote: ↑ you mean like the Samsung or Apple stores?

Are there Samsung stores in Canada? Do either company make a flip phone?

I answered my own question by phoning the Samsung store: Samsung will only sell flip phones through the Big Dogs, not directly to the public.

razorboy wrote: ↑ I answered my own question by phoning the Samsung store: Samsung will only sell flip phones through the Big Dogs, not directly to the public.

I think it will be available once the changes are in place. Since all phones will be unlocked, you can go to a 7-Eleven and buy a flip phone and use it with any carrier. You'll just need to pay full price. Subsidies don't really exist today. Once the phones are unlocked, there is nothing holding you to the carrier. The monthly payment plans will disappear.

But not all phones work on the same system, do they? PM is of course on Telus' network, and it needs to be GSM (whatever the ^$%# that is,) doesn't it? Or are they all GSM?

Buy a flip phone off the prepaid rack that's packaged for Telus or Koodo and use with PM.

razorboy wrote: ↑ But not all phones work on the same system, do they? PM is of course on Telus' network, and it needs to be GSM (whatever the ^$%# that is,) doesn't it? Or are they all GSM?

All the same. Only exception is Freedom and Videotron, their phones will work on all networks but phones from other networks may not work on these two (same technology, but different frequency).

Gee wrote: ↑... you can go to a 7-Eleven and buy a flip phone and use it with any carrier.

No flip phones at 7-11 anymore, at least on-line.
https://www.speakout7eleven.ca/phones.html

titaniumtux wrote: ↑ Buy a flip phone off the prepaid rack that's packaged for Telus or Koodo and use with PM.

This. Even today, locked, all telus brands' sims will work in any of the phones. Telus, Koodo, public. They're all the same and don't need to be unlocked to use one of those SIMs in them.

razorboy wrote: ↑ But not all phones work on the same system, do they? PM is of course on Telus' network, and it needs to be GSM (whatever the ^$%# that is,) doesn't it? Or are they all GSM?

Only Rogers has a GSM network. Everyone else is 3G, HSPA etc

GSM = 2G

Gee wrote: ↑ Only Rogers has a GSM network. Everyone else is 3G, HSPA etc

GSM = 2G

We are in 2017. Only one street has horse drawn carriages, on all the rest it's just cars, buses, etc.

elwebmaster wrote: ↑ We are in 2017. Only one street has horse drawn carriages, on all the rest it's just cars, buses, etc.

Rogers has a 3G, HSPA and LTE network as well. Think of GSM as the bicycle lane.

Gee wrote: ↑ Rogers has a 3G, HSPA and LTE network as well. Think of GSM as the bicycle lane.

You're glorifying GSM...in some areas the bicycle gets you there fastest. GSM is more like an electric motorcycle, max 35 kmph.

I sense the carriers will continue to do exclusive deals with the likes of Samsung and others to distort competition. Has anyone ever tried to go to a carrier and ask them to sell a phone at the no contract price? This no contract price number is there to give impression the hardware is very expensive and not meant as a real selling price without a plan.

will888 wrote: ↑ I sense the carriers will continue to do exclusive deals with the likes of Samsung and others to distort competition. Has anyone ever tried to go to a carrier and ask them to sell a phone at the no contract price? This no contract price number is there to give impression the hardware is very expensive and not meant as a real selling price without a plan.

This is true for stores like Wireless Wave (Costco), but I've never had a problem at a Rogers corporate store. They won't hesitate to charge you full price for a flagship phone.

I've had problems at Best Buy as well. The flagship phones are constrained and these agents don't want to sell you a phone and make little or no profit. If you activate or upgrade a line and sign a 2 year term, then they have a commission they can bank.

will888 wrote: ↑I sense the carriers will continue to do exclusive deals with the likes of Samsung and others to distort competition. Has anyone ever tried to go to a carrier and ask them to sell a phone at the no contract price? This no contract price number is there to give impression the hardware is very expensive and not meant as a real selling price without a plan.

Carriers have already been doing this, and it often back-stabs them. All carriers will offer flagships from Apple, Samsung and LG. They play exclusivity on other phones, after seeing them do well on at least one of the other carriers. If the exclusive phone flops, the manufacturer will be less inclined to sign exclusivity. Then the cycle continues.

Gee wrote: ↑
This is true for stores like Wireless Wave (Costco), but I've never had a problem at a Rogers corporate store. They won't hesitate to charge you full price for a flagship phone.

I've had problems at Best Buy as well. The flagship phones are constrained and these agents don't want to sell you a phone and make little or no profit. If you activate or upgrade a line and sign a 2 year term, then they have a commission they can bank.

When you do a post-paid activation, the carrier gives much more. Activate on an AB number and cancel the service the next day to save on sales tax. Collect on activation (and sometimes upgrade) incentives. Refer friends. Accept the fact that retailers don't want to let phones go without a 2 yr agreement and play their game.

For BestBuy, the trick is to buy a gift card, then say that you got the gift card from their protection plan and you're there to buy a replacement phone.

At The Mobile Shop, you can buy a phone outright as long as you pay at least 50% in PC points.

titaniumtux wrote: ↑ When you do a post-paid activation, the carrier gives much more. Activate on an AB number and cancel the service the next day to save on sales tax. Collect on activation (and sometimes upgrade) incentives. Refer friends. Accept the fact that retailers don't want to let phones go without a 2 yr agreement and play their game.

For BestBuy, the trick is to buy a gift card, then say that you got the gift card from their protection plan and you're there to buy a replacement phone.

At The Mobile Shop, you can buy a phone outright as long as you pay at least 50% in PC points.

Sounds right. It will be for quite sometime before I bother with a flagship phone for which it is almost Can$1100 or above now.