Originally Posted by cargomatic

Wait till your phone brakes down within the first year here. You do not get a replacement like the UK. They have to send it off for repair which takes about 3 weeks, and if you want a loan phone while yours is away. You have to pay for that too. Mine broke down within 3 months. don’t ever get a Samsung touch screen smart phone. After it broke down, they told me it was the most unreliable phone they had.

Originally Posted by Yelkcub

I am looking into getting a mobile and I went down to the Mall and spoke to a few guys in different shops - the feed back I got was as follows:

1. Fido is owned by Rogers but the former still only uses Fido's infrastructure whilst the later uses both meaning that the reception on Fido is not brillant. Does anyone know if this is true? Fido offered us SIMS on Pay As You go which would allow us to use our unlocked UK phone.

2. Has anyone used Solo - They offer So Low Plans for any plan over $25 you get unlimited local and international text messages (you do have to pay for add on such as Call display, voicemail, etc). They offer monthly contracts - has anyone done this and are they difficult toi get out of (the chap suggested that it only required you to give one months notice to quit)?

3. As a recent arrival, it was suggested that very few companies would offer us a contract due to our credit history. They even suggested that PAYG would help build up our history - does anyone know if this is totally true or if there is an alternative approach?

Hope someone can clarify.

Yelkcub

Originally Posted by Yelkcub

I am looking into getting a mobile and I went down to the Mall and spoke to a few guys in different shops - the feed back I got was as follows:

1. Fido is owned by Rogers but the former still only uses Fido's infrastructure whilst the later uses both meaning that the reception on Fido is not brillant. Does anyone know if this is true? Fido offered us SIMS on Pay As You go which would allow us to use our unlocked UK phone.

2. Has anyone used Solo - They offer So Low Plans for any plan over $25 you get unlimited local and international text messages (you do have to pay for add on such as Call display, voicemail, etc). They offer monthly contracts - has anyone done this and are they difficult toi get out of (the chap suggested that it only required you to give one months notice to quit)?

3. As a recent arrival, it was suggested that very few companies would offer us a contract due to our credit history. They even suggested that PAYG would help build up our history - does anyone know if this is totally true or if there is an alternative approach?

Hope someone can clarify.

Yelkcub

Originally Posted by dgagitw

I got the cheapest fido option - $15 + taxes per month for 50 minutes talk and 50 texts - and the reception in the GTA is fine. Also, I had no problem getting a contract - I think having a credit card probably helped. There's no tie in (one month rolling contract) but they stiffed me with a rubbish phone and a joining fee of course, but I think it's pretty much the cheapest option out there if you can live with the limitations.

Originally Posted by 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

Originally Posted by WASYLBRYTAN

I was just about to try exactly what you say but I figured out a simpler way:

1. Buy an unlimited plan from Skype to suit your purposes then get one of their free Skype to Go Numbers.
2. Use your Skype To Go Number as your One Number with the prepaid Telus Seven Dollar Plan. This is considerably cheaper than your method: $13.25/month after taxes and considering that Telus has a minimum topup of $10 dollars/month.

Another good way with the Telus plan is to register the local access number for Voipstunt, but that limits you to 300 free minutes per week. Alternatively, you can do the same thing with any voip service that can be used via an external access number. I ran the numbers on several of them and found Skype to be the most cost effective. Thanks to Telus for unknowingly giving us the best deal in Canada.

Originally Posted by pancakemeow

Then when people want to call you, which number do you give them? The Skype To Go number or telus?

Originally Posted by WASYLBRYTAN

I was just about to try exactly what you say but I figured out a simpler way:

1. Buy an unlimited plan from Skype to suit your purposes then get one of their free Skype to Go Numbers.
2. Use your Skype To Go Number as your One Number with the prepaid Telus Seven Dollar Plan. This is considerably cheaper than your method: $13.25/month after taxes and considering that Telus has a minimum topup of $10 dollars/month.

Another good way with the Telus plan is to register the local access number for Voipstunt, but that limits you to 300 free minutes per week. Alternatively, you can do the same thing with any voip service that can be used via an external access number. I ran the numbers on several of them and found Skype to be the most cost effective. Thanks to Telus for unknowingly giving us the best deal in Canada.

Originally Posted by cdnexpat

I thought skype2go didn't offer any local Canadian numbers?

Originally Posted by WASYLBRYTAN

They seem to, I just got my 604 number three days ago. I was going to cancel my Skype subscription because it ended at the end of April and I was going to use Voipstunt with my cell. But I was pleasantly surprised when they offered me skype to go so I bought another one year subscription. It is true that they don't offer incoming numbers in Canada but that is because our government won't allow foreign competition. Any new phone provider coming into Canada must pay part of their proceeds to existing Canadian phone companies to make sure Canadian profits are maintained. That's why American companies offering service here must charge more than they do in the states. In a way, I can see their point. It is a type of Protectionism. The high rates are irritating, but ultimately they keep us from being completely taken over by the states. Meanwhile, thanks to Telus, we have a bit of a loophole.