Cell phone family plans across canada

[Scott]

I'm with Telus for the last eight years and have zero issues with them.

I used to be with Rogers and found that unless you were in a major city you would not get service. I realize this has changed, but not enough to compete with Telus. Also, I had nothing but problems with Rogers - be it billing, package changes, whatever, it was always something.

Since I have been with Telus I have criss crossed the country several times and the ONLY time I have ever been left in a populated area without service was at the Hamilton airport and this was just when Telus was starting to expand nationwide. I've also been to some less than populated areas of this great land and still found myself with service. Go with Telus, if you're ever on the Cabot Trail and need to check closure times of liquor stores the Telus service will come in handy You won't get that with Rogers!

 

[JBoyd]

I happen to agree with Scott. I have Rogers service and while the rates are good and the plans are comparable to Telus, their service area's just plain suck.

Here in BC there are a few populated areas that do not have service, Rogers tends to keep their service to the bigger towns/cities. Rogers however has really good customer service for the most part, and will usually do quite a bit to keep you as a customer. All I have experienced from Telus in the past is bad customer service with agents that really don't know what they are talking about. I would most likely change to Telus for the increase in service area's after my contract is up.. but that is still a while away.

Another thing about Rogers, they will ding you for everything they can.. especially data charges. Rogers/Fido is the only provider with a 3G network, which means the only one with iPhone. The minimum iPhone plan starts at around $70 a month and you don't even get much data transfer. Its no wonder why so many iPhone users jailbreak their phone so they can tether to any wifi network and get free data instead of going through Rogers.

 

[Scott]

Mmmm. 25 bucks a month for my messenger, email and texts - unlimited, with my Crackberry on Telus. The unlimited package is 45 bucks. Of course you have to get a base plan and long distance but whatever.

My plan sees me pay under 100 bucks a month for the crackberry, long distance, unlimited evenings and weekends, data plan, etc.

 

[beach_bum]

I use Telus for both my cel and my land line.  I have never had problems with either.

 

[Bzzliteyr]

Jboyd, jailbreaking an iphone does not permit you to tether to any wifi, that ability is inherent in the phone.  What jailbreaking will do howveer is allow you to "unlock" your phone ie. make it able to use other cell phone companies' SIM cards.  It can then be used internationally.

Jailbreaking will also allow you to record video (cycorder app), do landscape texting and even cut and paste!!

I did a hardware upgrade to get an iPhone, I have a 6GB (tons!) data plan and I pay $65 a month.  I won't list my whole plan but I am very well taken care of.  And when I am not, I call customer service, scream "cancel" at the electronic voice thingy and then talk with a RETENTIONS rep.  I usually leave with a new perk on my phone.

I admit, Rogers has had (many!) billing issues since I have been with them but most of the time one call is all you need to sort them out.

Cheers.

 

[Lil_T]

I've actually had all 4 providers at one point or another over the last 10 years.

Aliant - never had a problem, dropped call, but I used to work for them so I had people on the inside taking care of me.  Others weren't that lucky during/ after the strike.

Rogers - living in Nova Scotia using a rogers cell phone is a mega pain in the arse.  You leave Halifax and it's a dead zone until you get to Truro.  And again in certain parts of Cape Breton, heading from Sydney to New Waterford the stretch of highway by the prison - no service until you hit Gardiner Mines. Even now, there's no service out here in Rockland, once you pass Canaan road the signal disappears.  Crappy crappy crappy.  Will never have a rogers phone again.

Telus - great rates, again, no service problems since in the areas where they are lacking in towers they run off Bell's or Aliant's towers (or companies running CDMA phones)

Bell - rates aren't fantastic, but I don't expect much from a company that was the only game in town for the longest time.  I use Bell now, and have all my stuff bundled with them.  Mostly because Rogers cable doesn't even come out as far as Rockland and I wasn't paying extra for the Anglo channels with Videotron.

 

[George Wallace]

In 2004 when I was on tasking to the Inf School, one of my Cpls found it cheaper to pay Rogers the $200 penalty to break his contract than to keep their service.  He got a fantastic deal with Aliant and was very happy with their service.

 

[Scott]

George, that's exactly what I did with Rogers when I left them for Telus.

Lil T, Bell and Aliant = Same, AFAIK.

And since Telus and Bell/Aliant have pretty much mirror coverage in eastern Canada with the piggybacking it all comes down to what exactly you want from your plan. For instance, those that wish to combine home, internet and cell services in NS may wish to go with Aliant. I use my one phone for everything and have cable internet at scandalously low prices so I am happy but others may be sort of locked towards another option.

I suppose hardware options also factor into things. For smartphones Telus seems to only offer about 5-6 choices, not sure about the others.

 

[Sub_Guy]

I use Virgin, $35 a month (no 911 fee, no system access fee)..  No complaints at all.

 

[JBoyd]

Jboyd, jailbreaking an iphone does not permit you to tether to any wifi, that ability is inherent in the phone.  What jailbreaking will do howveer is allow you to "unlock" your phone ie. make it able to use other cell phone companies' SIM cards.  It can then be used internationally.

Jailbreaking will also allow you to record video (cycorder app), do landscape texting and even cut and paste!!

I did a hardware upgrade to get an iPhone, I have a 6GB (tons!) data plan and I pay $65 a month.  I won't list my whole plan but I am very well taken care of.  And when I am not, I call customer service, scream "cancel" at the electronic voice thingy and then talk with a RETENTIONS rep.  I usually leave with a new perk on my phone.

I admit, Rogers has had (many!) billing issues since I have been with them but most of the time one call is all you need to sort them out.

Cheers.

My bad, the way I understood it is that Rogers locked the ability to tether to wifi for internet usage.

Another thing Rogers does is scale their rates per province. You can get a family plan with my5 Canada wide for roughly $70/month in BC, whereas the same plan in Nova Scotia is $55 and has more perks. Not sure if Telus also does that with their plans.

 

[Scott]

I can only state that I have a plan brochure right in front of me for Telus and it states that it is for Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Atlantic Canada. IIRC, when I moved back to the east coast and changed my plan it did get a tad cheaper and had different perks/drawbacks compared to what I had in Alberta. It's been a while though.

 

[Lil_T]

George, that's exactly what I did with Rogers when I left them for Telus.

Lil T, Bell and Aliant = Same, AFAIK.

And since Telus and Bell/Aliant have pretty much mirror coverage in eastern Canada with the piggybacking it all comes down to what exactly you want from your plan. For instance, those that wish to combine home, internet and cell services in NS may wish to go with Aliant. I use my one phone for everything and have cable internet at scandalously low prices so I am happy but others may be sort of locked towards another option.

I suppose hardware options also factor into things. For smartphones Telus seems to only offer about 5-6 choices, not sure about the others.

They're the exact same thing now, since the buy out.  I was referring to the pre Bell-Aliant days (even going back as far as MT&T)

the biggest thing that sucks about Aliant and Bell or Bell-Aliant is that there is no cap on the cancellation fee - it's $20 per remaining month in the contract.  SUCKS ASS!

 

[Scott]

I know Telus has the same thing WRT the cap on cancellation charges. IIRC, Rogers gave me a break on mine, I know I did not fork over the entire 200 bucks - or maybe I screwed them for a change? >

 

[Jorkapp]

I know Telus has the same thing WRT the cap on cancellation charges.

Actually, they don't. Telus is the only of the service providers that does not cap ECF. They made this quite clear to me before I signed, though. If you think you're gonig to jump ship for any reason, you might want sign a short contract, go month to month, or pick a different provider.

According to my contract, the ECF is $20*(number of months left in contract), or $100, whichever is more. Thus, canceling my current contract with 18 mo.s left would cost me a nice $360. Canceling a full 3-year contract will put you back a hefty $720

(Source: https://secure.telusmobility.com/selfserve/common/PCS_Retail_agreement.pdf)

 

[JBoyd]

Actually, they don't. Telus is the only of the service providers that does not cap ECF. They made this quite clear to me before I signed, though. If you think you're gonig to jump ship for any reason, you might want sign a short contract, go month to month, or pick a different provider.

According to my contract, the ECF is $20*(number of months left in contract), or $100, whichever is more. Thus, canceling my current contract with 18 mo.s left would cost me a nice $360. Canceling a full 3-year contract will put you back a hefty $720

(Source: https://secure.telusmobility.com/selfserve/common/PCS_Retail_agreement.pdf)

I believe that Scott was responding to Lil_T's in which she mentioned that Bell/Aliant has no cap on ECF. He was saying that Telus has the same policy, not that they cap the ECF

 

[Scott]

I wasn't clear enough...but yes, I was trying to get across that Telus and Aliant have the same policies WRT cancellation.

 

[gcclarke]

All of these cell phone comparisons seem to be suited for those who use their phones a lot. For those of us who only talk on their phone a few minutes per week, a pay as you go plan is likely best. When I was posted to Ottawa, I had realized that I was over-paying on my Roger's phone by a great deal, and needed to either downgrade contracts substantially, or move somewhere else entirely. So, I did some digging on google to try and find reviews of the best pay as you go plans in the country. Eventually, I stumbled across a site that pointed me in the direction of 7-11's Speak Out Wireless service.

Pros:
Calls cost 20 cents per minute*
Service Piggy-backs on the Rogers network, so coverage is pretty much everywhere you need it to be in Canada
Free voice mail
Free Caller-display
Free call-waiting
No system access fee
Canadian and US Long distance and in-Canada roaming at 36 cents per minute*
Send and receive texts for 4 cents
Phones are unlockable, so you can swap the SIM card in and out (Useful when traveling)
Money added to the account lasts 365 days, regardless of the amount of money added. Many other pay as you go plans only have money last this long if you top up with the maximum amount. Adding any amount of money to the account makes all the money on the account refreshed till a year afterwards. Thus, with a very small amount of usage, the minimum required to keep the account would be $2.08 per month.

* If you refill the phone with either a $75 or $100 voucher.

Cons:

No roaming outside of Canada
You need to physically go to a 7-11 location to top up your account. Some parts of the country (Such as Nova Scotia) do not have 7-11 locations. If you wish to get your account topped up, you'd have to get a friend or family member living elsewhere to purchase the top-up and then tell you the code to be entered.

The phones currently available with Speak out wireless are the Nokia 1661, 1208, 2760, and the 1680.

For more information, the official site is at http://speakout7eleven.ca/ and a much more useful Unofficial FAQ is at http://www.speakoutwireless.ca/

 

[macknightcr]

I am moving back to Canada in July and will be attending CMR for the next year.  I have not lived in Canada for a number of years and will be in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC, for one year Kingston, ON, for the three after that and hopefully will end up in Edmonton.  What cell provider is looked at as the best in Canda for these regions?  I have an iPhone and would like to keep it, so the provider would have to be iPhone compatible. 

 

[Alea]

I am moving back to Canada in July and will be attending CMR for the next year.  I have not lived in Canada for a number of years and will be in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC, for one year Kingston, ON, for the three after that and hopefully will end up in Edmonton.  What cell provider is looked at as the best in Canda for these regions?  I have an iPhone and would like to keep it, so the provider would have to be iPhone compatible.

Hello,

Welcome back to Canada!

Here's a thread that could be of some help, if that's not the case, I suggest you google your question.
NOW MERGED WITH THIS THREAD.
Bruce

Enjoy the reading
Alea

 

[Jorkapp]

I am moving back to Canada in July and will be attending CMR for the next year.  I have not lived in Canada for a number of years and will be in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC, for one year Kingston, ON, for the three after that and hopefully will end up in Edmonton.  What cell provider is looked at as the best in Canda for these regions?  I have an iPhone and would like to keep it, so the provider would have to be iPhone compatible.

If it's the old iPhone 2G, you're stuck with either Rogers or Fido.

If it's a 3G or 3GS, you can use Rogers, Fido, Bell, or Telus.

Rogers and Fido are OK in terms of coverage, but I've heard nightmares about getting customer service out of them. They have a 2G network to fall-back on.

Bell and Telus (in particular) have good customer service, but your iPhone will not have a 2G network to fall back on. 3G or nothing. That said, their 3G coverage is usually good in urban areas.

Frankly, it's a toss-up between the 4. There's little competition between them, and to have voice and data is expensive.