Shock at $85k mobile phone bill

by Chris Garrett on December 13, 2007

ouch! I hope I got it right when I signed up for my new data plan otherwise we will need to remortgage the house …

BBC NEWS

A Canadian man has been shocked to receive a mobile phone bill for nearly $85,000 (£41,000).

Bell Mobility said they would lower the bill to $3,243 in a “goodwill gesture” to match the best data plan available for using mobile phones a modem, the Globe and Mail reported

$3k is the best data plan available? According to the 3 sales rep I get 1gb for $20/mo with 20c per mb over, how much do they charge and how much did he download?

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{ 5 comments }

Anne Helmond December 13, 2007 at 1:59 pm

That is ridiculous! I just got upset over my $50 phonebill because my phone frequently went online while I was abroad. I still have no clue why my N95 decides to go online when I have set it to offline. I think it might have something to do with the GPS, as it uses my Dutch Internet Access point, but that is my best guess.

I pay 9,95 euro’s for unlimited (but it is actually a fair use policy) internet access, but it’s the slowest transfer rate available, which is good enough for e-mail.

D'Arcy Norman December 13, 2007 at 3:23 pm

You mean $100/day isn’t a reasonable rate for data access? I guess I’ll be waiting a little longer before picking up an iPhone…

Chris Garrett December 13, 2007 at 3:50 pm

@Anne – You have a good deal there. On my last provider I paid £10 for 5mb then £1 per mb over that. They wanted £37 for 200mb, and that was their *retention team* best deal! So for the same amount I moved to 3 and got n95 phone, calls, texts and 1gb data :) The GPS definitely does use data tariff, also check the email isn’t polling. Roaming fees add up too.

@D’Arcy – I would say that is a *touch* on the pricey side, yes ;)

Teddy December 13, 2007 at 6:03 pm

Extra Mbs, above what your particular plan covers, can cost anywhere from $6 to $12 for each one. I routinely spend over $100 a month for data and voice for my UTStarcom.

Chris Garrett December 13, 2007 at 6:13 pm

Ouch, even with VAT I don’t think I was paying more than $3 per mb! Having said that, abroad it probably goes way higher. When we were in manitoba last I tried and failed several times to get a good data connection but the roaming fees alone soon added up

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