BC Low Minute Cellphone Options?

Corvus

So, I want to get a cellphone. I don't need anything fancy, nor do I need much usage/minutes, so I'm looking for advice on what the most economical options are from my fellow Canadians. Americans, none of your carriers exist up here, FYI.

Prepaid, pay as you go, monthly plans, what should I do? There are a zillion carriers, but from what I understand the low cost brands are just arms of the majors , IE, Telus owns Fido or whatever. I'm not sure I want to sign up for a three year contract when it looks like the marketplace is moving towards more deregulation and competition.

I don't need a smart phone, so hardware isn't a big issue.

DekuStick

Rogers owns Fido.
Bell owns Telus.

If you're avoiding a contract you'll find the phones these guys offer you to be pretty expensive. Rogers and Fido uses GSM like 95% of the world. This means you can find unlocked quad-band GSM phones rather cheap and with a much bigger selection. You'll need to pay for the SIM card and I think it's only 10 bucks from Rogers.

When it comes to plans you need to ask yourself how you'll use the phone. Will you be doing a lot of texting or will you be mostly calling people, or will you do a lot of both? How many texts do you think you'll send? how long do you think you'll be talking on the phone? Will you be calling people outside your local calling area? The answers to these questions will lead you to what you need to get out of a cellphone and if you need pay as you go, prepaid or a plan.

vonPoonBurGer

Bell doesn't own Telus, they share parts of a network. They're so closely tied in the mobile space that they might as well be one company there. Rogers does wholly own Fido. You may have heard of Koodo, they're actually just a front for Telus. Like for real, if you read the fine print your contract is actually with Telus. There's really only two major networks in Canada, Bell/Telus and Rogers.

If you're looking for the cheapest way to get a phone and don't need any extras, you might want to look at the Rogers pay as you go system using a $100 top-up. If you buy a $100 block, the minutes don't expire for a year. The downside is you need $100 up front, the upside is you can have a cell phone for a year for as little as $8.33/mo. As far as I know that's the cheapest way to go wireless in Canada.

Corvus

Thanks guys. I do not need many minutes. As for texts, well, I don't expect I'll be sending many, since I've never used them.

Yeah, I've seen the Koodoo stores around. I just looked up that new company Wind, and their native coverage area looks tragically small, so I think they're out.

$100 up front is not a problem.

Entriech

So I'll reccomend 7 Eleven, if you can believe that.

http://speakout7eleven.ca/

They've got a wireless service called Speakout Wireless. It's a standard prepaid deal, you buy a phone, buy time cards, etc. It's on the Rogers GSM network. They charge 25c per minute, and 20c per minute long distance, and 10c for outgoing text messages. There's also a standard $1.25 a month 911 access charge.

The real reason they're awesome for low-use/emergency cell phone users is the length a time card will last. Most prepaids you will need to top up your account every month, or every three months or you'll lose any existing cash on it. Speakout's time cards last a full year before they need to be topped up. I'm sure you can see why that's an advantage if you don't plan to use it a lot.

I've had my phone with them now for about 3 weeks, and everything's been just hunky dory. Their base selection of phones is kinda sucky, but because they're a GSM network (hence SIM based), you can swap your Speakout SIM card to any compatible GSM phone without much issue.

If you have any further questions let me know. There's also a fan site with forums and information, though some if it is outdated. Cheers!

Corvus

Ooh, thats interesting. I do recall seeing phones in there last time I went for a slurpee. Yeah, the having to keep topping up to avoid losing your minutes seems like a pain. I have a family member with a telus pre-paid and they always have way more minutes than they need because you're tied to topping it up. Seems like bullshit for something thats supposed to be more freedom than a contract.

Mom2Kat

I will put a plug in for 7-Eleven Speakout wireless and not just 'cause I am an Assistant Manager at one. The phones are all Nokia and when I was working tech support for AT&T Wireless in a canandian call center I noticed the Nokias had the lowest incedence of trouble and in my own experience my nokias were the hardiest. The highest priced ones right now are about $150 but you can get some of the older ones at $40. There are mp3 player ones and basic phone ones.

The lowest card you can buy is $25 but like previous poster said they are good for a year. The selection might suck at some stores a our supplier Calalta is really bad on delivering what we order when we order it. There are also texting plans with a smaller card but I can't really say as I know too much about them. Plus now through the middle of august at least you get a free large slurpee when you buy airtime!

Corvus

Thanks for the info.