Getting online as soon as in Canada
 

Sorry if this has already been answered but I have done a search and cant find the answer!
When we finally get over to Canada I am wanting to get a laptop and get online asap so can be in contact with people. Im not that clued up on laptops and how they work. One thing that is worrying me is when we first get there we are going to rent an apartment for a few months whilst we are looking for somewhere to buy. If the apartment we rent is not already hooked up to the internet and say the land lord did not want us to get all wires etc to the property... is there anyway of us getting on line with the laptop?
Whats the best way?? Sorry if this is a thick question but I really do not know much about computers and one of my priorities is getting online as soon as so I am in contact with people.

Re: Getting online as soon as in Canada
 

Hi Sarah

We are taking our laptop with us and the majority of apartments have wireless internet connections. When we were over in May, we had no trouble at all accessing the internet in each hotel room or bed and breakfast. The suite we are going to rent is wireless enabled, so we know we will be able to use it straight away.

Just make sure when you start looking for apartments that they have internet access available, I would think 99% of places will have internet access as standard.

HTH

Mel

Re: Getting online as soon as in Canada
 

I haven't rented for many years but I'm pretty sure that virtually all apartments would have cable TV and/or at least one telephone outlet.;)

That gives you the option of going with either Shaw cable for high speed internet or a telephone company for dial-up or possibly ADSL.

Cheers
Steve

Re: Getting online as soon as in Canada
 

Thanks mel thats put my mind at rest. Just one of 'those' little worries that popped in to my head today... wonder what it will be tomorrow! hee hee!

Re: Getting online as soon as in Canada
 

Don't worry about it. (Our laptop was our bible - all our research was on it.)

When we came over we made sure the hotel (first 2 weeks) had high speed access so we literally were talking to our family when we arrived.

We then organised for cable tv, internet access and a phone line for our rental house for the day after we got our keys...... we were in our hotel for 2 weeks and then moved straight into our rental house. (The people before us has Bell but we chose Rogers.)

Remember there are also internet cafes you could use and many of the coffee shops have access points too.

Re: Getting online as soon as in Canada
 

We were in a rental at first. That had internet access points, but it was up to us to arrange the service ourselves. We used Shaw, I think. It was very easy and straightforward.

Re: Getting online as soon as in Canada
 

If you really want to be able to use the internet from anywhere subscribe to Compuserve Classic. It's a dial up service with free phone numbers in each country. I have used it to retrieve email in maybe twenty countries and from some really out of the way places such as camp grounds, a moving car, and $15 motel rooms; all it needs is a phone connection.

Re: Getting online as soon as in Canada
 

Our furnished rental came with broadband, they had a deal with Shaw and a contact there - we just rang him up and he popped over within the hour and sorted a connection out for us. Maybe your rental will have the same? Who wants to rent anywhere without a high speed connection these days?

Not that I'd do it but I did notice I could pick up at least 3 or 4 unpassworded wireless connections in the building at any given time too...

Re: Getting online as soon as in Canada
 

Just a quick question........

When you say high speed internet access how 'high speed' do you mean. I am referring to Calgary in particular because thats where we will be in December.

We are on broadband at the moment in South Wales but due to us living on a new development the 'high speed' here is only 512 and is painfully slow, so we were looking forward to Calgary being lightening quick.......

Look forward to your comments

Re: Getting online as soon as in Canada
 

Here's Shaw's info - http://www.shaw.ca/en-ca/ProductsServices/Internet/ Not sure what your other options in Calgary are, Telus? Try Canadianisp.ca for provider info.

Re: Getting online as soon as in Canada
 

I have a friend who is very into lots of downloads and stuff, and he has tried Telus ADSL twice and given up and gone back to Shaw.

This would be in Calgary.

Re: Getting online as soon as in Canada
 

Me too, bit of a UK Nova addict. Shaw certainly shape torrent traffic but there are ways to deal with that, and they've been very tolerant of me repeatedly taking liberties with the 60Gb up/down limit on my package - can't complain about them at all. Just hope they offer a service in Resolute ;) :D ;)

Re: Getting online as soon as in Canada
 

Hi, as am not up on computer technology, could you explain ISP's. Can you get them for different provinces only we are going to Ontario and in the uk at the moment use AOL thought i might just transfer if that is possible or would you recommend a different server?
thanks Zannahb

Re: Getting online as soon as in Canada
 

As a temporary solution, I would either find a local cafe (many have free wireless internet access now to tempt people) or maybe sign-up to Bell Hotspot at virtually any Starbucks (not that I like to recommend this coffee company). While i'm giving my advice, if you don't already have a laptop, consider an Apple MacBook... easy to use, decent price and bundled with easy to use applications including WiFi card.

Good luck!

Re: Getting online as soon as in Canada
 

One gets access to the internet (mainly) from two methods:
(1) subscribe to an ISP (internet service provider) who generally offer dial-up or broadband access to the internet plus email services, customizable home pages etc. These ISP's are specific to the available telephone providers in your city/region, so assuming that you move from the UK to Canada, you can't migrate from one supplier to another - you have to cease and then order in your new home. You can usually keep your old email service even though your don't buy their ISP service.
(2) free or paid WiFi (wireless) internet access that your local coffee shop, airport lounges etc sometimes offer. Some companies (BT, T-Mobile, Bell Canada) offer WiFi at many locations and charge a monthly subscription. These companies usually have "roaming agreements" so if you are signed-up with BT, you can still access a location that is served by a T-Mobile Hotspot.

Hope this helps.