“Eastlink and Samsung Canada are pleased to announce that the Samsung GALAXY S4 is available to pre-order today on eastlink.ca. Customers who pre-order the Galaxy S4 will be the first to receive their device, starting on April 27. The Galaxy S4 will be available in-store on May 3 at Eastlink wireless retail locations in Nova Scotia and PEI.”

The prices fall inline with the other carriers at $199 on their easyTab, or $699 outright.

Source: Eastlink
Via: CNW

More soon!
(Thanks tipster!)

Halifax-based Eastlink is sure making up for some lost time. After delaying their wireless launch by a few months the company has added another smartphone to their growing collection. The Alcatel One Touch 991s is an entry-level Android that runs OS 2.3 Gingerbread, has a 4-inch display, 3.2 MP camera, 800 MHz processor and a 1500 mAh battery. The price is respectable at $179 outright, or $19.99 on their easyTab.

In addition to this device, Eastlink will soon launch the BlackBerry Z10 and the Samsung Galaxy S4.

Source: Eastlink
(Thanks Todd!)

Nova Scotia-based Eastlink went live with their wireless service on February 14th. At launch they only had the one store in Halifax, but have since opened up wireless sales in 8 locations. The company offers customers the option to purchase a device on a no-contract model, or a subsidized model called “eastTab.” As for smartphones, Eastlink has the Sony Xperia T, Samsung Galaxy S III, LG Nexus 4, BlackBerry Bold 9900 and will soon release the Galaxy S4 and the BlackBerry Z10.

Now with a month under their belt Eastlink has decided to celebrate by cutting the “easyTab” prices on select smartphones. The Sony Xperia T was $79 and is now $49, The Galaxy S III was $99 and is now $49, finally the Nexus 4 receives the biggest price cut from $99 to $29.

Pretty decent first round of savings… will be interesting to see what month 2 brings.

Source: Eastlink
(Thanks Todd!)

The newest wireless carrier to launch in Canada is Halifax-based Eastlink. The company turned on their LTE service a few weeks ago and offered up unlimited plans with no-contracts, plus kicked off their device lineup with a few stellar handsets, namely the Nexus 4, Samsung Galaxy S III and the Sony Xperia T. Following through on their promise they have officially declared that the BlackBerry Z10 is “coming soon.” No word on exact timing or prices, but those eager can now “Sign up to be notified”.

Check it out here at Eastlink

Source: Eastlink

Eastlink somehow managed to bring the 16GB Nexus 4 to their lineup. The price is a bit high at $129 on the ‘easyTab’ or $499 outright, but listed in their accessory section are bumpers – in both white and black for $24.99. Currently Google Play only lists a black version, but this new white Bumper would go amazing with the recently leaked white Nexus 4.

In addition to the Bumper is the Wireless Charger. This was released via Google Play earlier this week, but was not available to us Canadians. Again, somehow Eastlink has found a route to make this available in Canada.

Source: Eastlink
(Thanks Scott!)

The devices you can expect to see are the Sony Xperia T, Samsung Galaxy S III, LG Nexus 4, BlackBerry Bold 9900, BlackBerry Curve 9320 and the entry-level LG F4n.

We’ve received some internal documents and most surprising is that Eastlink will give customers both a no-contract and a ‘contract’ type offering. The no-contract is self explanatory, but new to the mix is something called the “easyTab.” This is similar to Koodo Mobile’s Tab, WIND Mobile’s WINDTab, or Virgin Mobile’s SuperTab where they’ll offer a discounted price on the handset then 10% of the monthly bill goes towards paying off the device. To get the ‘easyTab’ discount one would need to have a minimum of $40/month voice and data plan.

Here’s the complete pricing of the handsets:
- Sony Xperia T: $79 on the ‘easyTab’ and $549 outright
- Samsung Galaxy S III: $99 on the ‘easyTab’ and $599 outright
- LG Nexus 4: $129 on the ‘easyTab’ and $499 outright
- BlackBerry Bold 9900: $49 on the ‘easyTab’ and $599 outright
- BlackBerry Curve 9320: $19 on the ‘easyTab’ and $199 outright
- LG F4n: $9 on the ‘easyTab’
- Huawei e397 Internet Stick: $0 on the ‘easyTab’ and $149 outright

Now for the rate plans. As expected, bundling is a huge play. However, first the monthly talk, text and data rates:

$25/month Talk and Text plan (price falls depending on the bundle option)
- 200 local anytime minutes
- Unlimited Nights and weekends
- Unlimited Text, Picture and Video Messaging
- Unlimited “My Eastlink Calling” – calls between Eastlink customers
- Call Display, Call Waiting and conference calling is included
- 25 minutes of Canada-Wide Travel Pack

$37.50/month Talk and Text plan (price falls depending on the bundle option)
- No activation fee
- Unlimited local anytime minutes
- Unlimited Nights and weekends
- Unlimited Text, Picture and Video Messaging
- Unlimited “My Eastlink Calling” – calls between Eastlink customers
- Call Display, Call Waiting and conference calling is included
- 50 minutes of Canada-Wide Travel Pack

Data Add-ons:
- “Social” data is $10/month and includes Unlimited Facebook/Twitter/BBM
- 1GB data is $20/month (price falls depending on the bundle option)
- 2GB data is $25/month (price falls depending on the bundle option)
- 5GB data is $40/month (price falls depending on the bundle option)

Wireless Internet Stick data rates:
- 3GB data for $35/month
- 5GB data for $45/month

Calling Features:
- Voicemail: $5/month
- Voicemail to email (voicemail required): $3/month
- Unlimited call forwarding: $3/month
- Top 5 local Calling: $5/month
- Top 10 Canada-wide calling: $10/month
- Unlimited Eastlink calling: $10/month
- Unlimited Canada long distance: $10/month
- Unlimited North America: $25/month
- International Text messaging: $5/month

Bundling savings:
- Save 10% when bundled with 1 other Eastlink service (TV, Internet, home phone)
- Save 15% when bundled with 2 other Eastlink service (TV, Internet, home phone)
- Save 20% when bundled with 3 other Eastlink service (TV, Internet, home phone)

As far as roaming, here’s what you can expect:
- Calls to North America:: $0.50 per minute
- Sent text message: $0.50 per message
- Received text message: free
- Sent picture or video message: $0.50 per message (data applicable)
- Received picture or video message: (data applicable)
- Data is $1 per MB

Finally, there’s a “Family sharing” option that gives further discounts – up to 20%. The internal doc we received states that customers can “create a family sharing account for up to 5 family members and watch the savings grow… Only with Eastlink can you get a monthly discount of up to 20% off your monthly wireless plan for each member of your family. Each member can choose their own plan and save money by combining and sharing their minutes and data.”

So there you have it. A solid device lineup and respectable monthly price plans. Certainly worth the wait and will bring more competition to the East Coast.

(Thanks tipster!)

In addition, confirming our previous post is Natalie MacDonald, VP Regulatory Matters for Eastlink, who’s speaking at the CRTC’s public hearing for the proposed “Wireless Code” stating the we can expect a launch “this week.”

Everything should unfold in a couple days… if not before.

Update: According to Eastlink’s opening statements and presentation during CRTC hearing for the Wireless Code confirm the wireless launch “in the next couple of days.” In addition, Matthew MacLellan, Eastlink’s President of Wireless, is reportedly “x briefing the local media about our product line-up, our service plans, and our new network.”

Update #2: A report in the Globe states that Eastlink will open on Friday in Halifax and launch the Sony Xperia T, Samsung Galaxy S III, LG Nexus 4, BlackBerry Bold and Curve, then later next month the BlackBerry 10 devices. In addition, “Over the coming weeks, its wireless products will be sold in more retail locations across Nova Scotia and PEI. It also plans to open six to nine more stores over the next 12 to 18 months.”

Source: CPAC & CRTC (PDF)
Via: Twitter (1) (2) & Globe

Halifax, Nova Scotia-based Eastlink (Bragg Communications) purchased 19 licences during the 2008 spectrum wireless auction at a cost of $25 million. They’ve been slowly building out their offering and teasing East Coasters for months saying that “BIG savings are straight ahead.” Their service was originally targeted to go live mid-2011, then pushed to late-2012 and now “coming soon” in “early 2013.”

We’ve been informed that Eastlink will finally go live with their “world-class wireless network” late next week – possibly on Friday February, 15th – in both PEI and Nova Scotia. The details of the specific monthly plans, devices and exact coverage areas are still a mystery, but Eastlink will offer no-contracts, plus number portability, to customers looking switch or sign up. In addition, Eastlink will go heavy on ensuring this “made in the Maritimes” wireless service and will offer lower pricing to those customers who bundle various services together (cable, internet, home phone).

More competition is en route to the East Coast. When Eastlink goes live you can expect the Big 3 (Rogers, Bell and TELUS) and their sub-brands to diligently respond by discounting handsets and offering lower monthly pricing with new features.

More soon…
(Thanks tipsters!)