Cell phones in Canada

[davidmilne]

hello,
i am an american living in montreal for many years.

there are three main companies that provide cell service in canada
bell,
rogers
telus

i have experience with bell and rogers

bell is the best. without too much data, unlimited us/canada calls are 60.00 can.

rogers is higher because they make the add on for the us more expensive. and if you are in the us and call canada, the roaming is much higher.

it depends on how much you want to call, and where. rogers charges for more generally. the real problem is that there are many plans. so check twice if you select a plan, the customer service people don't really know their plans.

[Bilgediver]

Originally Posted by LaughingWarrior

I can't offer much to the conversation; our wireless pricing is a dumpster fire. Telus will have better coverage than Rogers, everywhere in the West except in major cities.

If you have the time, travel from Calgary to Kamloops, then take the route through Cache Creek and Lillooet, up through Pemberton and Whistler to arrive in North Vancouver. It is an absolute MUST DO trip on a motorcycle, but excellent on 4 wheels as well. Shocking scenery and most of the route the road is in great condition.

The usual route from Kamloops through Merritt, Hope and the Fraser Valley is OK too, but not AS scenic.

I second this route. I also recommend this route to others visiting BC .

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by pterrien

You may want to look at Public Mobile. Very competitive prices (for Canada) and they use Telus network which is as good or better as any.

Especially in Alberta and BC - where apparently you will be.

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

A couple of observations from a US perspective...

There was some fine print in our US phone contract that even the sales people at the mobile phone storefront didn't know about. While the large print said some of the plans allowed free roaming in Canada, the fine print said it was only good for two weeks. After that, if you didn't return to the US at least once, they'd cut you off.

We found WiFi to be much more readily available, and reliable, than in the US. Parks Canada has lit up just about every park, campground and marina. Hotels and restaurants had it. It was usually free, although you generally had to ask for the password.

We ended up waiting until we got there, and just swapped the SIM in one of our phones for one we picked up at one of the storefronts. I think it was with Bell. They gave us a pre-paid plan because they couldn't give us a monthly plan without a Canadian address. But even for the pre-paid plan, they used their own store address, so I don't know why they said that.

Their's similar language about can't use in Canada in my AT&T (Washington State) contract: "At least half of all telephone calls and text messages in any billing period must originate in the United States". I usually spend quite a bit of time in the US so I wasn't worried about it. However, this past 12 months, due to circumstances, I've not left Canada. It's the only phone I have and use - and I've not had a problem (hopefully nobody at AT&T is reading this).


The only drawback is that other Canadians calling me have to call (or text) long distance which usually costs them money (depending upon their Canadian plan) - but I don't mind as it seems to dramatically limit unimportant,time-wasting, calls

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by rsn48

If this is your first trip to Canada, my experience with UK types is that even though intellectually they know Canada is enormous, it isn't until they get here and travel that they realize how much bigger it is.

If you are driving from Calgary, then I highly, highly, highly recommend you deviate a bit and do the Jasper Banff highway, I'll give you a link. The first sentence on the web page is "It has to be one of the most beautiful drives in the world, Banff to Jasper via the Icefields Parkway." https://www.banff.com/banff-helpers/banff-to-jasper/

Absolutely take the detour to Jasper and drive down the Jasper - Banff highway known as the Icefields Parkway. It's spectacular! (If you haven't booked your flights yet you might consider flying into Edmonton instead. It's much closer to Jasper. Unless you have a REALLY good reason to go to Calgary - for the Stampede for example!)


I would also highly recommend the detour (already recommended) to come down the Trans-Canada highway from Jasper to Kamloops and Cache Creek (DON'T take Highway 5, the Coquihalla from Kamloops - unless you are a fan of "Highway thru Hell") and Lillooet, switching to Highway 99 through Pemberton and Whistler to arrive in North Vancouver. Spectacular!


I wouldn't plan on spending a lot of time in Vancouver (a couple of days to see Stanley and Little Mountain parks, then take Seabus and the local bus up to Lynn Canyon Park - the free suspension bridge - NOT Capilano). Then get over to the island taking the BC Ferry from Tsawwassen (Vancouver) to Swartz Bay (Victoria), in itself a spectacular trip, have a look around Victoria (the Provincial Museum, Beacon Hill Park, Butchart Gardens), then head up the Trans-Canada highway up towards Nanaimo. If you have time, go out to Ucluelet, Long Beach, and Tofino stopping at Coombs and Cathedral Grove (unless you go to California for the Redwoods, probably the biggest trees you will ever see), then back to Nanaimo.


From Nanaimo, head up to Courtenay/Comox (best place to charter a sailboat to explore Desolation Sound and Princess Louisa Inlet - or the whole BC coast for that matter) and take the ferry from Little River across to Westview / Powell River. Then drive down the beautiful Sunshine Coast (name invented by a realtor. It has nothing to do with the weather) taking two more ferries to get back to Vancouver.


My two cents worth having lived here most of my 72 years

[edsailing]

Originally Posted by Scorpius

Absolutely take the detour to Jasper and drive down the Jasper - Banff highway known as the Icefields Parkway. It's spectacular! (If you haven't booked your flights yet you might consider flying into Edmonton instead. It's much closer to Jasper. Unless you have a REALLY good reason to go to Calgary - for the Stampede for example!)


I would also highly recommend the detour (already recommended) to come down the Trans-Canada highway from Jasper to Kamloops and Cache Creek (DON'T take Highway 5, the Coquihalla from Kamloops - unless you are a fan of "Highway thru Hell") and Lillooet, switching to Highway 99 through Pemberton and Whistler to arrive in North Vancouver. Spectacular!


I wouldn't plan on spending a lot of time in Vancouver (a couple of days to see Stanley and Little Mountain parks, then take Seabus and the local bus up to Lynn Canyon Park - the free suspension bridge - NOT Capilano). Then get over to the island taking the BC Ferry from Tsawwassen (Vancouver) to Swartz Bay (Victoria), in itself a spectacular trip, have a look around Victoria (the Provincial Museum, Beacon Hill Park, Butchart Gardens), then head up the Trans-Canada highway up towards Nanaimo. If you have time, go out to Ucluelet, Long Beach, and Tofino stopping at Coombs and Cathedral Grove (unless you go to California for the Redwoods, probably the biggest trees you will ever see), then back to Nanaimo.


From Nanaimo, head up to Courtenay/Comox (best place to charter a sailboat to explore Desolation Sound and Princess Louisa Inlet - or the whole BC coast for that matter) and take the ferry from Little River across to Westview / Powell River. Then drive down the beautiful Sunshine Coast (name invented by a realtor. It has nothing to do with the weather) taking two more ferries to get back to Vancouver.


My two cents worth having lived here most of my 72 years

Thanks for all the advice, it's very much appreciated. Can't wait for June to come....

[bgallinger]

Originally Posted by roland stockham

Does not make much difference who you go with. Fido (part of Rogers) is one main discount providers but I never noticed any difference. If you want data as well as calls plan on $50-$100 per month. No I am not kidding!!!! Canada is about the most expensive place in the world for cell phones. On the plus side all coffee shops have free wifi and coffee is only $2.50-3.50. The other issue is coverage. No issues in cities or major highways but anywhere even slightly remote has no cell service

This so true! Canada is famous for its crazy cell phone costs. Jump to WiFi whenever you can!

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by edsailing

Thanks for all the advice, it's very much appreciated. Can't wait for June to come....

June should be good. The roads should be just fine but there should still be lots of snow in/on the mountains as you drive through then. On the coast our weather is very much Britain's. In June you can expect pretty good weather probably with some showers. They say it only rains once a year around here: It starts September 22 and it ends July 15 - but that's a bit of an exaggeration! PM me if you like. Depending on when exactly you'll be here maybe we can hook up - break bread together or something.