Comments on: Cell Phone Cost Calculator Killed In Canada. Enough Is Enough!

By: Veber

Veber — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:54:36 +0000

@Folletto Malefico
you already have a Cell Phone Cost Calculator in Italy!

By: Ben A

Ben A — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:49:10 +0000

Guys I have been living in Europe doing university study, research and work for years and got shocked and felt disappointed when I arrived to Canada by communication costs. I am also Computer engineer and I would love to be a part of this and I will have some time to put into this.

By: Ben

Ben — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:37:38 +0000

Yep we need to do something
just compare the money we pay here in Canada with the money people in euro pay for the same services its embaressing for Canada .

By: David

David — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:12:19 +0000

Hi there, I’ve been working on a calculator for quite some time actually. It seems deceptively simple to setup at first, but I was astounded at how quickly the complexity snowballs. The question is, do you want to be comprehensive and really make a best effort for consumers, or just give a quick sampling? Then there’s the question of expectations. When you present such estimates, many expect not just the straight calculations for each plan, but to be presented with the optimal combination of options that result in the lowest monthly cost for each plan. And that is a difficult problem to solve.

I have, in fact, already built such a calculator/optimizer: cellplanexpert.ca -its a free beta that covers most voice plans, voice related options & basic features. However txt and data is still being added. The data is also quite up to date.

Two problems with the comprehensive approach though. With over 4000 plans (including term-length variations) published in Canada, not to mention the gazillion options on available on each plan, managing it all takes some slick software and a lot of work, especially as they changing all the time.

The other problem is that to determine what options are best for a given person, we need quite a bit of information on their usage profile. This quickly becomes onerous for most people, so our solution is to make most of the profile questions optional. Our best efforts are based on yours, so to speak.

Maybe give it a try! Let me know what you think. I’d love some feedback! Whether people care enough to spend a few $- enough to justify the time spent keeping the database up-to-date anyways- remains to be seen.

By: Antonio Cangiano

Antonio Cangiano — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:50:03 +0000

Thank you for the encouragement, guys. I’m blown away by the positive response to the idea of MyPhoneBill.ca. I’ll post an update on this blog very soon.

By: shelfoo

shelfoo — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:48:37 +0000

Also a developer sick of the Canadian phone companies.

If you want a hand, let me know.

Cheers.

By: Allan Farrell

Allan Farrell — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 22:48:57 +0000

Just found your post via Hacker News. I just purchased a newcell phone from Telus. Figuring out what company offered me the best deal took forever. I eventually went with a pay as you go plan out of frustration. I’m a web developer as well – mostly rails these days. I have time and energy for something like this if there is any way I can help.

By: Paul Lambert

Paul Lambert — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 22:38:42 +0000

Hi Antonio,

Great post, I’m a longtime reader and you’ve really hit a nerve.

Don’t wait to see if OCA releases their code – as you pointed out this probably won’t happen. Why not just start and lead a new implementation, now? I, for one, would love to contribute. By these comments it seems it I’m not alone.

By: Ben

Ben — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 21:08:21 +0000

I’m from the UK and, like you, I was horrified by the state of the Canadian phone business.

I’m a programmer with a grab bag of experience so if you want any more help drop me a line.

Good luck and I hope you manage to make the telcos squirm!

By: Serguei

Serguei — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 20:39:38 +0000

Yep, that’s exactly the state of affairs in Canada.

What’s involved in building the service you have in mind?

I happen to be a rails programmer with some free time on hands. If there is something I could code to help, please email me.

Serguei