Canadian mobile - advice please!

[mattjgalloway]

Hi!

I'm going to be spending 5 and a half months in Canada - I graduated Uni in the UK this year and am taking a gap year :-D! Spending the time in Canada working in Whistler! It's going to be amazing.

But, I would like to get people's advice on canadian mobiles... I've heard they're a bit different to the UK in terms of price plans - so what would people recommend / point me in the direction of? In the UK we have pay-as-you-go which is brilliant for when you want a phone for only a short time. What's the options in Canada?

Any help much appreciated!

 

[yg17]

Your only option since you're not a Canadian citizen and probably couldn't sign a contract is pay as you go. Rogers (basically one of 2 carriers in Canada, and the only GSM one, which, being from Europe, I'm sure you're used to the awesomeness of GSM and want that) has PAYG I believe.

 

[Danksi]

I'd go with Pay As You Go, you'd probably have no choice anyway. I've found it's cheaper and more flexible than a Contract based bundle.

Pay As You Go is available from Rogers, Telus and Virgin Mobile (Bell Canada). My wife uses Virgin, which certainly used to be best value.

You may want to post on www.nsmb.com, which if you don't already know is a Mountain Biking site/forum. There are a ton of people on there, who live or frequently stay, in Whistler... they'd be able to advise on which operator has the best coverage in the area.

 

[adroit]

You should be able get a monthly plan as well as long as your visa state that you're a resident of Canada (basically anything other than a visiting visa). You can get a montly plan without signing up for a contract as long as you don't want their discount phone. However, they pay as you go plan might be better if you're not planning on using the phone much.

I assume that you already got a cell phone already and if it is a tri or quad band then you could just come here with your phone and get the sim from Rogers. Note that Bell and Telus doesn't use sim cards.

Edit: Good luck with your Gap year. I am very jelous!

 

[Iscariot]

At this current time, I do believe Rogers has the best service available.

 

[Leareth]

Most month to month contracts are for a minimun of one year so if you want to leave early you pay.

I would recommend going with a pay as you go. I personally use Virgin Mobile and pay $10 a month to get the 10 cents a minute option. The only thing that kind off sucks about Virgin is the extra cost for texting which I do not use much but know people who swear by it.
Oh and Whistler has got good coverage.

 

[Dynamyk]

Howardforums.com

For all your cell-phone questions

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Virgin seems like a good way to go. They piggyback on Bell's network, seem to have good value.

I'm stuck in a contact with Bell, unfortunately.

 

[mattjgalloway]

Sweet! Thanks guys! Such a help :-D. Yeh I can't wait to get out there to Canada now :-D.

Those Virgin deals do seem really good!