Ever-aggressive in offering new pricing options, Canada’s Wind Mobile has recently launched a pay-as-you-go pricing scheme. Pay Your Way means there’s no set monthly fee, but you top up on texts and voice minutes as you use ’em. That time expires based on how much you put in at a go; if it’s under $20, it’s only good for a month, but if it’s $100 or more, it’s good for a year. Whether it’s expiring or you’re gobbling it all up, Wind will send you a friendly warning when the well’s running dry. The pay-per-use rate on a regular prepaid plan is $0.10/minute within the province, but the new Pay Your Way scheme costs $0.25/minute regardless of whether you’re calling inside or outside a Home Zone to anywhere in Canada or the U.S. The new scheme is only for voice and texting service, so if you want data, you’ll have to get an add-on for now. It sounds like they’re working on data, which could be an interesting option for those flirting with smartphones for the first time.
This is a step in the right direction, but pay-as-you-go data is the obvious next move if Wind Mobile wants to make smartphones accessible to people who are unfamiliar or cautious with them. I suspect Mobilicity will try to offer something similar as soon as they can to compete. The big three Canadian carriers already offer this kind of top-up system through their subsidiaries, like Bell does through Virgin Mobile, Telus does through Koodo, and Rogers through Fido. Still, the Pay Your Way plan from Wind would allow folks to spend most of their time with the cheap add-ons, like $5/month for unlimited Canada and U.S.-wide texting, and occasionally top-up on an as-needed basis.
If you’re a heavy user this kind of system is less than great, and even for casual cell phone users, the expiry date on minutes can seem unnecessary. Any Canadians out there tempted by the new offer? For more details, head over to Wind Mobile.
[via Wind]