UK Triband phone on a Canadian network??
Jun 22nd 2007, 5:29 pm
#16
throw caution to the wind
Joined: Jan 2004
Location: Paradise AB
Posts: 1,063
Re: UK Triband phone on a Canadian network??
i did that last month
£20 to orange to unlock the phone
$25 for the PAYG Sim card (Rogers)
$25 connection fee
$40 worth of credit.
you may want to note the following though
received calls also come off you bill
Cell phones are are specific, if you buy it in Calgary then that is you local area, any calls made from outside of that area are long distance.
PAYG can be changed to pay monthly if yo wish
You can normally choose the last 4 digits
Companies try to tie you into up to 3 year contracts but thats to actually get the handset, we are taking phones from uk so we dont have to get tied in.
We seemed to get a strong signal wherever we were in Southern Alberta
Almost forgot, we tried all the providers and found that only Rogers did sim card only
Hope that helps
Lyndon
£20 to orange to unlock the phone
$25 for the PAYG Sim card (Rogers)
$25 connection fee
$40 worth of credit.
you may want to note the following though
received calls also come off you bill
Cell phones are are specific, if you buy it in Calgary then that is you local area, any calls made from outside of that area are long distance.
PAYG can be changed to pay monthly if yo wish
You can normally choose the last 4 digits
Companies try to tie you into up to 3 year contracts but thats to actually get the handset, we are taking phones from uk so we dont have to get tied in.
We seemed to get a strong signal wherever we were in Southern Alberta
Almost forgot, we tried all the providers and found that only Rogers did sim card only
Hope that helps
Lyndon
Jun 22nd 2007, 5:40 pm
#17
Canadiain
Joined: May 2007
Location: Up Over, (not Down Under)
Posts: 688
Jun 22nd 2007, 6:09 pm
#18
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 4,234
Re: UK Triband phone on a Canadian network??
For me, as I only use text and rarely use the speech part it would have been cheaper to stay with tesco pay as you go. The problem with that was that some text messages didnt arrive, I think because the senders phone wouldnt accept international messages
Jun 22nd 2007, 6:10 pm
#19
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jan 2007
Location: Toronto - I belong there.
Posts: 2,251
Re: UK Triband phone on a Canadian network??
I've got a blackberry pearl. I'm on an 18 month contract and have another year to go. The blackberry can be unlocked. (I also have an old BB 7100).
I might have the pearl unlocked regardless of what happens now. I prefer it to the old BB.
I already have a pay monthly with Rogers in place and should everything fall in to place I'll be adding BB support on the rogers account and kick it in to touch. The contract in UK will be handed over to another person.
And yes, Rogers bought Fido in 2004.
I might have the pearl unlocked regardless of what happens now. I prefer it to the old BB.
I already have a pay monthly with Rogers in place and should everything fall in to place I'll be adding BB support on the rogers account and kick it in to touch. The contract in UK will be handed over to another person.
And yes, Rogers bought Fido in 2004.
Jun 23rd 2007, 11:22 am
#21
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jan 2007
Location: Toronto - I belong there.
Posts: 2,251
Jun 23rd 2007, 12:31 pm
#22
Banned
Joined: Jan 2007
Location: Raymond Nr Lethbridge, Alberta
Posts: 167
Re: UK Triband phone on a Canadian network??
Sorry for any confusion, before we went to Canada my wife and i both got our phones unlocked, it cost us £20 each for that but we like the handsets and intended to take them over with us anyway. There is a market stall in Swindon that will unlock them a lot cheaper but that was our choice.
We went to the Rogers shop in Lethbridge and bought the sim card and had it activated there and then in te shop, that was $50.
i obviously needed credit on it so i purchased $40 worth of credit while i was there.
the way i look at it is, it cost me $50 to set up.
Next month when we go over for good, i will change it to the pay monthly (still no contract to sign) and take advantage of the cheaper packages.
i looked on the Virgin website, that phone for $49 is a bit basic, i do like the 2megapixel camera on the Nokia N70 that i use now, all the pics on my blog are taken with it and i am very happy with it, a similar phone from virgin would be $179.
I s'pose it depends what you want the phone for and also the tarriffs, has anyone out there done a comparison for calling anywhere in Canada or from the States.
We went to the Rogers shop in Lethbridge and bought the sim card and had it activated there and then in te shop, that was $50.
i obviously needed credit on it so i purchased $40 worth of credit while i was there.
the way i look at it is, it cost me $50 to set up.
Next month when we go over for good, i will change it to the pay monthly (still no contract to sign) and take advantage of the cheaper packages.
i looked on the Virgin website, that phone for $49 is a bit basic, i do like the 2megapixel camera on the Nokia N70 that i use now, all the pics on my blog are taken with it and i am very happy with it, a similar phone from virgin would be $179.
I s'pose it depends what you want the phone for and also the tarriffs, has anyone out there done a comparison for calling anywhere in Canada or from the States.
Jun 24th 2007, 12:27 am
#23
Ontario
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 403
Re: UK Triband phone on a Canadian network??
Triband phones work in Various countries, they use different frequency bands for their mobile networks, and a triband phone can be used on three of these bands, generally speaking, chosen to favour two of the home country's bands, and one for roaming in other countries.
You need to know what kind you have:
In summary GSM frequency bands used around the world are:
850 MHz (In America)
900 MHz (In Europe and many parts of Asia)
1800 MHz (In Europe and Asia)
1900 MHz (In America)
2G Triband phones are mobile phones that support the GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz bands (commonly sold in Europe, Asia, and Africa), or alternatively the 850/1800/1900 bands (commonly sold in the Americas).
A 2G Quad band (850/900/1800/1900) offers more coverage and is now quite common.
Here is a link that can show you if your phone can work in that area/country
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSM_frequency_bands
You need to know what kind you have:
In summary GSM frequency bands used around the world are:
850 MHz (In America)
900 MHz (In Europe and many parts of Asia)
1800 MHz (In Europe and Asia)
1900 MHz (In America)
2G Triband phones are mobile phones that support the GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz bands (commonly sold in Europe, Asia, and Africa), or alternatively the 850/1800/1900 bands (commonly sold in the Americas).
A 2G Quad band (850/900/1800/1900) offers more coverage and is now quite common.
Here is a link that can show you if your phone can work in that area/country
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSM_frequency_bands
Jun 24th 2007, 5:01 am
#24
Canadian Wet Coaster
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 758
Re: UK Triband phone on a Canadian network??
Jun 24th 2007, 6:34 am
#25
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: Pemberton, B.C. :-)
Posts: 835
Re: UK Triband phone on a Canadian network??
I got a PAYG so from rogers when i was in BC at Easter, and negotiated away the fee by buying $100 credit for it. Got my handset unlocked by Vodafone for free by asking and explaining why and had been customer for so long too.
Texted to UK from Canada no problems, but does not roam in UK which was a real shame.
BTW, the reason i got the $100 credit was that it dosent expire after 30 days or anything, so i wouldnt lose the number when i came back to UK for 3 months to finish up.
Yes, will change it to monthly once get ther permanently in just 9 days
Texted to UK from Canada no problems, but does not roam in UK which was a real shame.
BTW, the reason i got the $100 credit was that it dosent expire after 30 days or anything, so i wouldnt lose the number when i came back to UK for 3 months to finish up.
Yes, will change it to monthly once get ther permanently in just 9 days
Jun 24th 2007, 2:20 pm
#26
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Sep 2004
Location: Windsor, ON; Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,713
Re: UK Triband phone on a Canadian network??
I've now spent 3hrs on the phone with them trying to make a change to my plan. Not even a change I wanted, just needed a new number with mobile nos. being geographic. That means I couldn't keep my Manitoba plan (which I didn't even know was a Manitoba one as it came off their national website), and they can't put me on an Ontario one for some unknown reason. It's all been a little "computer says no" in many ways 
Good luck when your turn comes!
Good luck when your turn comes!
Jun 24th 2007, 2:37 pm
#27
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: Pemberton, B.C. :-)
Posts: 835
Re: UK Triband phone on a Canadian network??
Oh oh, good to know so can be pre-warned, thank you.
Jun 24th 2007, 2:42 pm
#28
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 4,234
Re: UK Triband phone on a Canadian network??
I've got a blackberry pearl. I'm on an 18 month contract and have another year to go. The blackberry can be unlocked. (I also have an old BB 7100).
I might have the pearl unlocked regardless of what happens now. I prefer it to the old BB.
I already have a pay monthly with Rogers in place and should everything fall in to place I'll be adding BB support on the rogers account and kick it in to touch. The contract in UK will be handed over to another person.
And yes, Rogers bought Fido in 2004.
I might have the pearl unlocked regardless of what happens now. I prefer it to the old BB.
I already have a pay monthly with Rogers in place and should everything fall in to place I'll be adding BB support on the rogers account and kick it in to touch. The contract in UK will be handed over to another person.
And yes, Rogers bought Fido in 2004.
I wonder if a Blackberry will be more use to me as a hard of hearing person than the motorola SLVR i have
thanks
Jun 25th 2007, 12:41 pm
#29
Canadiain
Joined: May 2007
Location: Up Over, (not Down Under)
Posts: 688
Re: UK Triband phone on a Canadian network??
I've now spent 3hrs on the phone with them trying to make a change to my plan. Not even a change I wanted, just needed a new number with mobile nos. being geographic. That means I couldn't keep my Manitoba plan (which I didn't even know was a Manitoba one as it came off their national website), and they can't put me on an Ontario one for some unknown reason. It's all been a little "computer says no" in many ways
Good luck when your turn comes!
Good luck when your turn comes!
Jun 25th 2007, 1:08 pm
#30
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Sep 2004
Location: Windsor, ON; Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,713
Re: UK Triband phone on a Canadian network??
My first experience of it. I've had no cause to contact them until now.
You know how we've left it after my three hours of being on hold? I've to phone them on 20th July and see if they've managed to change my plan by then. Rubbish or what
You know how we've left it after my three hours of being on hold? I've to phone them on 20th July and see if they've managed to change my plan by then. Rubbish or what