They have cell phones in Canada?

Kate of Lokys

I have never owned a cell phone. Nor have I ever wanted one.

However, in one month, I will be moving up to Sudbury to attend university, and it occurs to me that I need some way for people to get in touch with me. I can use Skype to phone back home here, but I need something local that can be given to profs/classmates/potential employers/etc. Getting a landline phone for an eight month period would be kind of ridiculous, if it's even possible in residence, which pretty much just leaves me with the cell option.

This phone will not be used much. I have a perfectly good laptop if I want to text message somebody or check my email, I do not need a phone to duplicate that function. I also have a comfortably well-worn Sansa MP3 player and a mediocre digital camera. I do not need those things from a phone. I do not need unlimited talk time, or data transfers. What I do need are the following:

Service:

1. Reception in Sudbury, and preferably on the highway between Sudbury and Barrie as well. Breaking down on that road in the middle of winter and needing to call for a tow would be bad; breaking down on that road in the middle of winter and seeing "Searching for service" on my cell phone would be fatal.

2. Some sort of cheap pay-as-you-go plan. I seriously anticipate using this thing for maybe 20 minutes a month, so I'm not too into paying $40 plus a $6.95 network access fee plus a $4.25 911 service fee plus whatever the hell else just for the sake of being able to take a call. I know all of the major providers have some sort of prepaid plan, but does anyone have personal experience that would put one above another?

3. Do the various providers force you to use specific phones, or could I just buy anything and use it with any company?

Phone:

1. Cheap is my highest priority. I don't care about battery life or extra features, it just needs to *work*. It'll be plugged in 90% of the time anyway, I refuse to be one of those obnoxious people who carries a cell phone everywhere just in case somebody important absolutely needs to get in touch with me.

2. Being able to use custom ringtones would be an incredibly distant secondary consideration. It would be vaguely neat, but not neat enough to pay anything extra for.

So. What's the best phone and provider I could get that has service in Sudbury and won't force me into a two-year contract?

supertall

I've heard that Rogers has the best reception on that side of the country. I've also heard that phones will only work on certain networks, you can't buy one and use it with any service provider.

SilverWind

Rogers is pretty good, and I'm using their 'Pay as you Go', which you just add money to as you see fit--a good deal for people who barely use their phones (like me).

I think there also may be some sort of deal where you can talk to people with the same provider for cheaper/free? Not sure if that's Rogers, but check around.

Pheezer

I know that Rogers is hellishly overpriced in Manitoba and that their reception is the worst of the three we have available (MTS being best, Telus second).

Telus will likely be the cheapest option. But I don't know about reception in Southern Ontario. Lots of people from there post here I think though, so I'm sure you'll get enough of a response to make an informed decision.