Unpaid Advertisement

I recently read a blog posting from a blogger who was actually paid to write about a product. It's an aspect of making money at blogging that I hadn't really thought about. Turns out his readers didn't appreciate it very much though, which I thought was unfortunate. You can rest easy though that I have not received a penny for any of my posting including this one.

I've just received yet another advertisement for switching to the Shaw phone service. I was actually so disappointed with the pricing, that I called and complained verbally as well as sending an e-mail in to Shaw. Yes, it is amazing at what I can get worked up about.

If you get the phone as part of the package, they have a low introductory price of $14.95. That of course doesn't include voice mail or call display, which are two features I believe are vital. So after you add those on, you're looking at approximately $21. Keep in mind that's the promotional price and the real price will be higher in a year from now. While this may (or may not) be cheaper than Telus, you have to realize that it's an internet phone service which has one major drawback. If the power goes out, you don't have a working phone. I can (and do) live with that, but I just thought you should be aware of this.

The reason I find the offer so absurd, is that I already have a much better deal. I'm with Vonage and I'm paying $19.99+tax a month. That's not a promotional price (although they do offer 1 free month) and it includes dozens of features including call display and voice mail. It's not unlimited local calls, but long distance and local calls are treated exactly the same. It comes with 500 minutes and I only use about 250 per month. Best of all it only took me 15 minutes to set it up, including going to the store to buy the kit.

In all fairness, Shaw might be your best option if you don't already have a high-speed connection or you use a lot of local minutes. If you have an alarm system, you may want to look into a cellular service from the alarm company, or sticking with a Telus line. For anyone else looking to save a few bucks though, I'd definitely recommend Vonage. If you do sign up, feel free to tell them I sent you. I get a month free if you do.