black_adder

Hello everyone,
I finally got tired of Percy and Baldrick and made the ultimate move to Canada couple of weeks ago. However, keeping up with my plans, i have landed in Ottawa

Probably like everyone else, i am finding the cellphone prices to be dearer than UK. I had my initial shock when all my prepaid credit got drained on receiving a call, not knowing that actually receiving a call costs here at the same rate as outgoing.

In order to keep on receiving calls from Percy and Baldrick back home, i need to find a cellfone package that will;

-let me receive unlimited calls from uk
-let me send and receive unlimited texts to uk
-be the most affordable of the lot

Any cunning plans fellow comrades?

Jingle

Good luck with trying to meet all those wishes

Try this site - it offers good comparisons between different plans and phones.

J

Lemons

Oh dear... cell phone charges are a very sore point in Canada!

There is a new player on the market, Wind, that are promising lower pricing. I wonder if they are in Ottawa yet?

Almost Canadian

I think you have more chance of finding rocking horse shit. If you do, I will gladly stand you a slap up binge in Mrs Miggins's pie shop.

XCMTBer

When we got to Ottawa 3 years ago I had to get the Wife a cell phone and ended up signing a 3 year contract for around $55 a month with rogers

Used the tips on RFD to call retentions yesterday and got the monthly down to $25.25 taxes and fees in! Tried to see if bell would do a deal and they were not interested.

WIND mobile are not in Ottawa yet.

RFD thread on getting cell phone deals from Rogers http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/m...s-111887/1925/

abaddon

I've not made it to Toronto yet (hopefully, very soon though). You might want to look at Skype on a good smartphone for UK calls.

abaddon

Big Stevo

You could look at Koodo.

The wife just got a phone for emergencies and pays $15 a month with no tie-ins after the 1st 6 months. This includes 50 texts and 50 mins talk time..
For an extra $5 she can get unlimited texts. She can also text the UK and doesn't get charged for incoming calls!

Worth a look.

iaink

No charge for incoming calls? Thats a break from canadian norms isnt it?

For low usage folks I usually recommend Virgin PAYGO and paying $100 for a credit that last a year, but for heavy users I have no idea who to recommend

Partially discharged

Mine is $40/month + the various rip off surchages (SAF + 911 + taxes) but I use it as my work phone (and I get 1000 CDN LD minutes/month). I use Skype to talk to friends and family in the UK and YAK for LD to the USA or UK.

Wind are supposed to be in Ottawa later this month.

RFD is a great website for all sorts of deals. They have a similar thread on how to get deals on Rogers cable packages.

cornmatthew

Most providers do have an unlimited incoming option, though it's something you have to ask for and not included as standard. That will cover incoming calls wherever they're from -- UK, down the street, doesn't matter. You do have to watch out for long distance charges if you take calls while you are outside of your home area.

Unlimited incoming text is pretty straightforward, too. Most text add-ons include that -- just make sure you have something as you may pay per received text if you don't have a texting package at all.

Texts to the UK will be trickier. I don't know of any unlimited packages, and even the plans that give you a set number of texts seem to be rather stingy. If you get a smartphone, you could look at using an app to send cheap texts over the Internet, but then you're into the wonderful world of data plans.

izzi81

ok so I'm not all that clued up when it comes to phones.. but what's to stop you getting a pay and go contract in the UK, partner gets same, get skype on it, take phones to Canada, top up online when required and just use skype?
Obviously just for calling UK and partner's skype phone.

Or am I talking nonsense

Partially discharged

I would advise the original poster to bundle their services..ie cell/home phone/cable/internet with one of the only 2 companies in any area that provide this and haggle for a bundled discount deal. Often times as a first time customer you can wangle a good deal. With cell phones, unlimited incoming is listed for many as a $10/month add on but it can be negotiated with some creative dialogue between the customer and both of the competing companies by playing one off against the other.

jernikfra

The best Cell phone plan in Canada is one that almost no one knows about! I have been using it since August and swear by it. I can't begin to tell you how much it has saved me.

Incredible as it may sound, I am currently paying under $20 a month for unlimited minutes, and free long distance to mobiles and landlines in 50 countries! I can call my Mum in the UK and talk for 24 hours a day and never pay anything extra!

It involves 3 different providers, and some clever thinking. I have mastered it and have convinced others to sign up for it after demonstrating to them how it works.

Most people react with anger and disbelief when I show them how it works and how much $$$ they have been wasting on their current plans. Don't get angry though, be happy you have been shown how to save so much.

Forget retention plans, special offers, and whatever other special prices you think you can get, this blows them all away!

Follow these steps carefully:

1. Get a Telus prepaid phone and get your phone number and you will get an airtime credit for buying the phone.

http://www.telusmobility.com/en/

2. Sign up with "Magic Number" for $7-9 a month depending on contract and give them your telus prepaid number and then choose your "magic number". This is now your new number. Your telus number is now just a texting number. Magic number gives you unlimited minutes by forwarding all calls to your magic number to your real number and by having you dial your own number before you dial the real number, so it looks as though all your calls are to and from the same number, your magic number.

http://en.alldaytalk.com/Cell/default.asp

3. Now go back to telus prepaid website and sign up for "1 number unlimited calling" for only $7 a month and enter your "magic number" as your 1 unlimited calling number. Then choose a text plan if needed. You will get a $50 airtime credit for buying the phone, but this will expire after only two months, so buy another $50 in airtime right then so that the airtime credit will total $100 and won't expire for a year. If you select the $5 text plan with your $7 phone plan you will only pay $12 a month to telus and since you have $100 in credits, it will be 8 months before you have to top up again!

4. Sign up for free Rebtel long distance service and enter your magic number as your number. It will give you and the people you are calling local numbers to call to avoid long distance charges. To call the UK, dial your magic number, then dial the rebtel number, and you will be connected, then get the person you are calling to call you back and you can talk forever since magic number service is unlimited. Don't be fooled by rebtel telling you to buy more credit, you don't need it. It is free as long as the person calling waits on the line while the person being called hangs up and calls the caller back on their local number.

5. Follow these steps very carefully and trust me it works! I have all my contacts in my phone stored as magic number first, then three 2 second pauses then the number then pound.

6. Don't think this is complicated, it is not. Once you have done it once or twice it is as easy as pie!

http://www.rebtel.com/en/landing/Wel...tasaid=1103154

cornmatthew

Using a UK phone in Canada is called "roaming". It's not usually cheap.

DandNHill

According to the manager of my local Orange shop back here in Blighty, Orange is about to set up in Canada which if that is the case might give a bit of competition to the existing players and therefore bring the prices down??