Hi all -

For those in Canada what's the easier options when landing - pay as you go or line rental ? Like, how hard is it to get line rental option ? It always looks like there are offers in the papers left right and centre, but when it comes to getting credit or setting these things up, is it that easy ?

We had seen offers with buy one get one free on line rental for about $30 per month for both phones, with free cell-to-cell calls included, does this still stand up ?

Cheers for any feedback,

Rich.

We will watch this thread with interest as we were wondering the same. I have heard that on pay as you go, you pay for incoming calls as well, don't know how true that is though.

Have a look at the Telus website (typical service provider). I know that you pay for cell-to-cell calls on pay as you go phones, coz I've got one. There is a bewildering array of line rental plans but I suspect that you pay for cell-to-cell on those too. I did, last time I had one.

BTW, in Ontario and Quebec local calls with the traditional carriers (eg Bell) are free. I'm guessing that the same applies across Canada. You can pay through the nose for long distance, though. Service charges are quite steep. My last land-line bill was for $57 (unusually low). Only $13 of that was call charges.

Some people don't bother with land lines at all.

Oh, one other thing. If you do go cellular, check what the carrier's coverage is (I'm talking geography here). Their websites have maps.

Hello Rich!

With cell phones here you actually pay for incoming and outgoing "airtime". However if you call a cell phone from a landline it is a local(and therefore free call) for your landline but you still pay for the airtime on your cell phone.

I'm not sure about Telus in BC but for a local landline in QC or ON you should pay on average 23$/month for your line which includes all local calls.(that does not include any long distance).Any features on top of that you have to pay extra for. As for deposits on landlines, I think they may do an external credit check and providing that isnt bad(you wont have a problem there if you don't have a credit history here) you should be fine.,

Don't be fooled about the Cell phones. the deal you have just mentioned sounds too good to be true and you also have to be careful with which company you use as the coverage varies. I believe Rogers has just taken over from Bell in terms of % of coverage in Canada. If you always plan to stay in the city then coverage isn't such an issue if you decided to go with a smaller company.

There are also a lot of hidden fees added on in there( thats what you will find alot in canada). With cellphones it really depends on what you are going to use it for as to what plan to go with. I work for a phone company and know how confusing everything can be.....but shop around because there some good deals out there. Send me a personal email if you want me to decipher a plan for you!!

Hope this helps.....

I have a Rogers Pay as you Go Mobile. I didn't want a contract one as I hardly ever use it, and didn't want to be tied down to a contract (which over here is usually a 3year contract, not a 1 year contract). The phone itself cost me $99 at Xmas time, but came with $60 worth of credit. At the moment, calls cost me 0.33c a minute, both incoming and outgoing. All credit is valid for 1 month, unless you top up with a minimum of $10 every month, in which case credit is carried over for another month. So I just have it automatically credit my account from my bank account. Best thing is text messages are just 20c, so I can text my family back in the UK for just 20c a message...

In the past few months, Virgin Mobile has emerged in Canada and I think their deals for PAYG are the best around. Unfortunately their phones don't use sim cards, so you cannot just switch to a Virgin PAYG plan if you already have a phone. You have to buy the Virgin Mobile phone.

Hope that's of some use....

A friend of mine in Vancouver claims "Fido totally sucks."

i have a pay as you go with Bell and that is 35cents for first 2mins then 5cents minute after that. txts are 10cents per msg.not sure aboot sending them overseas as i do that online.

Thanx to all for info, very interesting and useful !

Shall explore some more.

Rich.

oh yeah.....forgot to mention....
I have a friend who has internet/cable with rogers they were given a bundle with their cellphone and were given 1000mins canadian long distance for 5$/month. They don't advertise the fact though. so that is an option for you if you need tv or internet.

Hi Rich
I am with virgin mobile here in the uk and will get a pay as you go virgin mobile when we get to Canada. There doesn't seem to be much difference between them here and over there. You will have to check the coverage (seems good in s ontario but not sure about the rest of the country)

http://www.virginmobile.ca/

good luck

Is it their own network, or do they piggy-back off someone?

Edited: I just answered my own question - it's Bell Canada.

Hi everyone....


Yes I am moving to Canada in the Autumn.... and I want to keep my Sony T630.

If I get it unlocked to any network, can I just buy a Canadian simcard (PAYG) when I get there, and will itl work???

yep they rent other companies systems

needs to be triband for north america

Aren't Bell (and Virgin) CDMA? Is that not a different technology to GSM (UK) phones meaning you'd need a new phone to use Virgin Canada? (shame because Virgin UK will freely unlock phones after you've spent £35 with them...)

Only got 1% charge left on my computer, can't Google it myself