Cell Phones

[pamatrail]

Hey I just arrived to vancouver one month ago, Im looking for a cell plan for me and my wife. We are not that cell phone people like most people here, I need a really cheap cellphone with no high tech, only the basics  and a basic plan (few minutes and text msgs) only between the 2 of us and a couple of calls to friends . I have heard good thing and terrible thing about kudos, telus, rogers and fidos. For you people, what company is more reliable and which company has the best plans (best bang for your bucks)

thanks

[Krypto · Accepted solution]

Well, it really comes down to matching the best plan for your needs and matching your reception needs.  Based on your needs, I'd check into family plans - you can get two phones, then share the minutes.  Most of these family plans also allow unlimited minutes between the family members.

Based on what I know of these carriers, I'm not a huge fan of Fido, Solo or Koodo.  They are good low budget carriers (all subsidiaries of Rogers, Bell (I believe) and Telus, respectively), but they don't tend to rank highly in my opinion for various reasons for each.  Virgin Mobile also doesn't score too well in my books.  Fido now has new plans, so they might be better, but I don't know for sure.  Personally, I'm with Telus Mobility, while my boyfriend is with Rogers.  I tend to find that I often get slightly better reception than him (he's more likely to drop calls than me), plus, I get better reception when we travel up to the Okanagan (I get reception along the Coquihalla, while he gets nothing from Hope to Merrit, and nothing after again for a while).  If you intend to travel into the interior a lot, I'd suggest Telus, otherwise, either will do fine.  Just find the one with the best plan for you.

For some place to start, here is a link to Telus' share plans: http://www.telusmobility.com/bc/plans/pcs/shareplans.shtml

Rogers family plans can be found here: http://www.rogers.com/web/content/wireless-plans/couples_and_family

Based on your needs, I'd maybe suggest the $25 or $30 Telus Share plan with either the My Faves or unlimited local calling after 6pm and on weekends.  Since you mentioned you'll only use it to call a few friends, the My Faves option may be the best way to go.

I hope this helps out!

[Credible_Chris]

I generally believe that Rogers (and Fido) has better canada-wide coverage (especially here is Saskatchewan).  Unfortunately I don't hold Canada's telecommunications companies in very high regard because its very obvious that they are all collectively price-gouging us.  Its a fact that Canadians pay more (up to 30%) for cellular services than our broke american counterparts.

Thats why I use Sasktel (only in saskatchewan), crown corporations to the rescue!

[Mark_Kokolsky]

It really does, as Krypto said, come down to your specific needs and talking/texting habits.When it comes to coverage it really seems to depend what area of the country you are in. Here in Alberta the majority of customers i deal with seem to have found that Telus provides the best coverage, but it varies by area, and while no company will admit it, every network will have dead spots, just in different places. A family plan would be a great option for you as it would give unlimited calling between members, but if your usage is quite low i wouldnt rule out fido or koodo. Koodo runs off of telus's full network, and Fido with rogers. So coverage with them should be more than adequate. Now with these companies they are very (competitor), as fido charges to even get a paper bill. But if you are looking for a bare minimun of minutes they both have $15 plans which will give 50 min and 50 txts, or for $20 you can get 100min, the 50txts, and unlimited evenings and weekends. Even with 2 phones it may come out cheaper than a family plan, but its savings are only going to be realized if you remain under the allotted minutes. Just another thing to consider.