Mobile Phone SIM
 

Moving to Vancouver in a couple of weeks and needing a SIM card to go in my iphone 5.

I know that some networks in Canada are not nationwide - we will be spending time in other cities so my wife's mobilicity plan that only works in about 5% of Canada would not do for me.

I will need a lot or unlimited data - not keen on a long contract, wanting to pay monthly.

Any ideas? what is this thing in the wiki about only 2 networks having GSM??

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

All the major carriers will be fine in Vancouver, Bell, Telus, Rogers and their subsidiaries Koodoo, Virgin & Fido. Rogers & Fido have slightly worse coverage through the interior.
As long as your phone is unlocked any SIM will work. Also, bringing your own device means you'd be on a month to month contract, so no fixed term. However I've yet to see any provider that offers unlimited data (except Sasktel, which is obvs no use in BC!)

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

Get one from a convenience store

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

Try 7Eleven 'Speakout'. Pay as you go.

https://www.speakout7eleven.ca

I had to chop the standard SIM cards down to fit our (wife and I) iPhones, but they may have moved on now and supply Micro SIMs.
We kept the numbers when we later moved onto Bell contracts.

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

I should have said, I'm in vancouver for a year so PAYG will not do. I expect I'll be chugging data, too

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

Use free wifi Timmies or Mac Deez

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We use Virgin month by month. seems reasonable.

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

Best deal by far is a corporate plan but you probably can't get on that. If you're looking for nationwide coverage and a lot of data, its gonna be expensive. I'd recommend wind ($40/month unlimited talk/text/data) but they are not nationwide. They are more like mobilicity which you said wouldn't work so i'll cross that off.

You're left with Koodo which will give you

$54/month ($60/month with 10% BYOD discount) + tax.
Unlimited Canada wide talk
Unlimited Text (includes text sent from Canada to international destinations - great for texting mates and family back in UK)
1GB data (not much)

$63/month ($70/month w/10% discount) + tax will get you the same as above but 2GB data instead of 1

$84.60/month ($94/month w/10% discount) + tax will get you same as above but 5GB of data.

If you need more than 5 gigs you'll need to go with Telus (or Bell or Rogers but Rogers sucks in BC and Bell and Telus share towers (and bell are dickheads so you shouldn't do business with them)) and Telus is $125/month + tax for the above with 10GB of data.

Hope this helps.

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

Oh, and you'll need to be sure your UK iPhone 5 is unlocked BEFORE cancelling your contract with your UK provider. This is done by ringing their support line and explaining you need your phone unlocked because your moving to Canada. Some carriers (like O2) will do this for free, whilst others (like Vodafone, EE) will charge a small fee.

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

or this one

https://www.windmobile.ca/plans-and-...e-plan-wind-44

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

That still incurs roaming fees when your phone goes off Wind's limited network onto the Rogers network.

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

Tweed in your OP you said you'd be based in Vancouver for one year. Posters have provided you with several options.

Based on your call & data usage I think the mobile/cell phone plans available in Canada are expensive compared to the UK, therefore, you could also check UK providers before you leave. such as

https://www.worldsim.com/

https://www.worldsim.com/tariffs-roamfree/

https://www.worldsim.com/support/roamingpartners.aspx

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

Why would you use a roaming SIM in your country of residence? That's an awful idea for many reasons

1) You don't get a Canadian number with world sim. You get a US one and/or a UK one and both are Long distance for Canadians to call and even text you.
2) You are paying pay per minute, pay per text, and pay per megabyte rates for talk text and data respectively, and those are definitely higher than the local Canadian provider rates. 40c a minute! 46c a text :eek: 12c a megabyte ! ! Those are all bad for local, fulltime use. And definitely not conducive to a lot of data use, which he said he wanted in his OP.

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

Koodo wins my vote as well. We use prepaid ('PAYG') - pay $15 a month for unlimited texts (Canada and international) plus top up with $30 for 1 Gb of data and $25 for 500 minutes Canada-wide talk whenever we need it (these talk and data boosters don't expire after a month).

We make international calls from our mobile via LocalPhone - ridiculously cheap.

I think you'll find it hard to get a 1-year contract, so PAYG might be the way you have to go.

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

I use to have a 6GB deal with rogers and they have data in all cities i visited in canada as a trucker and i visited most, their LTE should now be in most cities too. Unlimited talk time with them too. But those packages may not be available now.

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

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wow they do a 30GB package lol thats a lot of data !

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

I'm also on the prepaid plan Collie wrote above, exactly that. It's more than enough for me. I top up my 1GB of data every 2 months, and my minutes every 3-4 months.

(Note that Gozit says that 1GB "isn't very much", but that's coming from a 15 year old kid who lives on his phone and is a tech nerd. Your usage depends on how much you use your phone. My mom is on Koodo PAYG as well, it takes her about 4 months to go through 1GB of data. My husband, on the other hand, who has 30 minutes each way on the GO train, tends to blow through 1GB in about a month.)

Koodo historically has also done a Double promotion around Christmas in previous years, where you can get 2GB for $30 and 1000 minutes for $25 (BOGOF, basically)... and you can buy multiple boosters at once. Assuming they do this deal again this year, I'll be buying a year's worth of data and minutes at the discounted rate - yes, you can buy 6GB for $90 in one go and just run down the balance over however long it takes. Your data and minutes don't expire, they're good for as long as your account is active. (3 months of no use = inactive account.)

Also, for calling, I use Google Hangouts, which does calls to the UK for 1c/min for landlines and I think 4c/min for mobiles (need to double check that). Both my husband and I have used this a few times now to call his family, no issues with call quality or lag or whatever. Canada calling is all included with Koodo, and Hangouts calls to the US are free.

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

Just a thought, i don't have any contract as i own my phone and that gets you better deals than advertised. I'll never get into a "DEAL" with a phone company ever again because those deals suck ! I bought a new Google Nexus 5 for $350, i know its no iphone 6 but it does everything i would ever want it to and i can move from phone company to phone company when ever i want or when ever theres really good offers on. If the original poster owns his phone the goal posts move a lot once you actually talk to a provider.

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

+1 for buying a phone outright and staying off a contract if you can.

Also, +1 for the Nexus 5. :) I adore it. (I flashed Lollipop on it yesterday! Couldn't wait!)

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

where did you get lolipop from lol :rofl:

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Manually flashed it using the factory image posted on Google's website and then the developer console to flash it. Rather nervous doing it, but it's all up and running now! :)

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Yeah and "share everything" is the biggest ripoff ever. 80 a month for 500MB data? Really?

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

But who would even try sharing 500mb of data ? lol
When you talk about sharing its normally a family. So their top deal which includes 30mb of data ? parents and two kids so split four ways, is 7.5 Gb of data plus unlimited canada calling and unlimited text, picture and video messages all for $52.50 each ? Only an idiot would go for the 500mb package and try to share it considering most have smart phones now lol

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

I think your calculations are wrong... With the 30GB plan / 4 devices its $122.50+HST per month per device based on a 5 device family. I think you were forgetting the $60 line fee per device, which covers the talk and text. (again a total rip)

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

Hi,

I am considering also getting the same when we arrive at the end of the month and wondered... We are landing in Montreal, staying a few days and then moving to Ottawa where we will be based. Do you think that it's possible for me to get a SIM in MTL with a number in Ottawa? (Either I'd order it now online so that it's ready on arrival where we stay in MTL or i'd visit a store) or will we need to wait until we are in Ottawa in which case we'll be phone-less for a few days?

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

If you get a payg SIM with koodo, you register the SIM online and then pick the region for your number. So yes, find a koodo in Montreal, and when you make your account online just select Ottawa as your area. Kiddo has Canada-wide calling as well so you don't have to worry about long distance when in Montreal.

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

Thank you for the reply SchnookoLoly, much appreciated! Would you also happen to know if I could purchase everything I need online from the UK and have it delivered to my dad's house in MTL so that we don't even have to go in person to a Koodoo shop? I have tried but whilst I could put a PAYG sim in my shopping basket online I did not seem to be able to add the 15$ plan you talked about (the cheapest one available seems to be 30$). I've tried to locate an email for their costumer service but also could not find one!

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

I don't know for certain, but I'm pretty sure that for prepaid, you have to go and pick up a SIM card. I couldn't even find where to add a prepaid SIM to your cart from their website.

Just go in person, and tell them you just want to buy a prepaid SIM card. You will be in and out in like 5 minutes. It will cost you $20 plus tax to buy the SIM card.

Then take your SIM card home, go online to Koodo's prepaid website (https://activateprepaid.koodomobile.com/), and follow the instructions. When you activate the SIM you will be given a $20 credit (so your SIM card is free). Create your account, select your number, activate the SIM card. Once you're in your account you then select the plan you want, and it's at that point you select the $15 plan, then you can top-up the account in order to add boosters ($25 for 500 minutes, and $30 for 1GB).

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

This is correct. The $30 plan she sees is not PAYG, it is a monthly one.

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

You can buy the prepaid SIM cards online - https://shop.koodomobile.com/phones/...ies/index.html - though it's a pain finding this on their rubbishy website! Mine came in just a couple of days. Be careful you order the correct one - make sure you choose the one that says PREPAID and which is the correct size for your phone (standard/micro/nano).

You have to be careful about whether or not your existing phone will work with Koodo too. My HTC Desire wouldn't work with Koodo when I came over. How do I know if my phone will work on the Koodo network | Koodo Mobile allows you to check. Your phone will need to be unlocked too. Hope that helps!!

Re: Mobile Phone SIM
 

I stand corrected then. Thanks :) - Yes your phone needs to be HSPA/HSPA+ compatible. Koodo doesn't have an EDGE network. Only HSPA/HSPA+/LTE