[GTALUG] [offtopic] Opinions on Freedom Mobile, please

[BCLUG]

Evan Leibovitch wrote on 2023-08-02 07:58:

> I associate the Wind brand with the former Egyptian ownership, which I'd 
> always thought was a little sketchy and a reason I stayed away in the 
> early days

Ah, right. And there was Russian involvement at some level too, I seem 
to recall?

Still, as a name, Wind Mobile > Freedom Mobile IMHO.

I just reflexively react to anything with "Freedom", "Liberty", or 
"Family" in the name by expecting them to actually advance the opposite.



> Most of the top-tier and second-tier brands from the Big Three appear to 
> throttle rather than charge for overages (and allow you to "top up" max 
> speed data).

That's good.  I'm pretty sure Wind was first to do that in Canada?


They also introduced the `tab`, where others had `free` new phones.  It 
made the cost of a new device quite clear, and replaced extortionate 
Early Termination fees with "pay off your tab and you're free to go".

And they'd unlock your device (carrier unlock, not firmware).


Pretty sure, now that I think back on it, that Wind Mobile introduced 
quire a few consumer-friendly policies that may now be the norm.



>     I'm curious why you're interested in 5G?
> 
> 
> I've been told that the latency improvement is even more useful than the 
> speed boost in some uses.

And that is correct, something I'd forgotten about.


Speaking of latency and veering slightly off topic, anyone interested in 
a VPN from mobile device to (usually home LAN) would be well advised to 
check out WireGuard.

High throughput (approaching theoretical maximum for the underlying 
carrier) and very fast to re-establish connections when moving from, 
say, WiFi to LTE.


rb