New Prepaid Gsm Canada

[BLC]

I see both Telus and Bell have prepaid on their new 3g networks. Bell seems to have a 30 cent a minute offer which isn't bad for Canada. They also offer a sim card for $5.

[RTuesday]

Originally Posted by BLC

Bell seems to have a 30 cent a minute offer which isn't bad for Canada.

That's local calls only, long distance works out at 70c/min total on both Bell and Telus prepaid. Still, not bad for somebody who makes mainly local calls and just needs a low cost phone, can get as low as $10/mo with a $100 topup on Telus

For a traveller or visitor the eKit Simple Calling is still reasonable, 29c (US) per min + 50c connect charge per call (including international calls to landlines in many countries).

Neither Bell or Telus seem to have any data at all on prepaid, which is odd for 3G.

[Stu]

I don't get how Canada manages to hang on a localized market when they have always had national providers (pretty much from day one) and a very large country. Canada wide plans are expensive and very few Canadians subscribe to them.

I was in Canada over the weekend and noted that my ATT contract phone was roaming on Bell rather than Rogers (which it had traditionally roamed on).

[PhotoJim]

We haven't really had national providers. Even now we don't entirely. I can't get Bell service here in Saskatchewan. (Bell roams on SaskTel for CDMA, and right now has no GSM service here at all.)

Rogers was the first national carrier. Bell and Telus were regional. Gradually Bell has become more national (it recently bought Aliant in Atlantic Canada, but it still doesn't operate in two of the ten provinces). Telus has gradually become national but doesn't have any of its own network coverage in Saskatchewan; it has a roaming agreement with SaskTel. It does sell service here, though.

Canada is big and it costs a lot of money to put up enough towers here to have a good network. Of course I'd like to see long distance included in rates but so far there hasn't been enough competitive pressure to do that.

There are new competitors coming online soon (e.g. DAVE Wireless) but a recent CRTC ruling means that Wind Mobile won't be coming online, so I'm not sure if there will be enough pressure to get rid of tolls. It is likely that DAVE will not charge tolls, but it will take the company a long time to build out a good network.

I think the day will come... but it may be five years. It will not be 2010.

[BLC]

Originally Posted by RTuesday

That's local calls only, long distance works out at 70c/min total on both Bell and Telus prepaid. Still, not bad for somebody who makes mainly local calls and just needs a low cost phone, can get as low as $10/mo with a $100 topup on Telus

For a traveller or visitor the eKit Simple Calling is still reasonable, 29c (US) per min + 50c connect charge per call (including international calls to landlines in many countries).

Neither Bell or Telus seem to have any data at all on prepaid, which is odd for 3G.

They have data add ons that are very expensive. You can get the "unlimited internet" which isn't, for $10 a month as an add on as well.
I guess for just talking Petro Canada's 20 cents a minute is still the cheapest.

[VladS]

The prepaid winner in Canada is Telus...

For C$7 you get unlimited in/out calls to one local number. A C$100 refill lasts 365 days. Pair that up with an Asterisk box or even PBXs and you get a sweet deal.

[bylo]

Originally Posted by BLC

I guess for just talking Petro Canada's 20 cents a minute is still the cheapest.

Petro-Can hasn't been 20¢/min for at least a year. 7-11 SpeakOut still is if you buy at least $75 of airtime. But even that ends this year.

Currently if you buy $100 airtime from SpeakOut you get a free basic phone. That airtime is 20¢/min and is good for one year. If you use their referral plan both you and the referrer gets a $10 bonus.

If you don't want to spend $100 or need a cell phone in Canada for only a few months Petro-Can offers a basic phone for $30 when you buy $25 in airtime. That airtime is good for 4 months.

For more details see:
Speak Out
The Unofficial 7-Eleven Speak Out Wireless Canada Consumer Page
Prepaid Cell Phones — Petro-Canada Mobility Prepaid Cell Phone Plan

As for Telus, they're still CDMA. I'd rather stick with GSM where I can use the same phone.

[adam917]

Does anyone know if SIMple Calling will roam on Bell or Telus when in Canada now that their network is live? Last time I was there (mid-September, Montreal) it could sometimes find 302-880 (Bell/Telus shared) during a scan but never register. This was before the new network(s) launched. If it can roam on the new network, that could mean great news if the coverage mirrors or betters existing CDMA coverage, where Rogers never got around to covering (such as all 3 territories, all of Newfoundland outside the St. John's area, all of Labrador, virtually all of rural Canada, etc.).

[RTuesday]

Originally Posted by BLC

They have data add ons that are very expensive. You can get the "unlimited internet" which isn't, for $10 a month as an add on as well.

Thanks. Bell doesn't seem to have any prepaid data on 3G, but I have now found the $10 offer you mentioned on Telus (but no other data deal). Doesn't allow tethering though.

[bylo]

Originally Posted by PhotoJim

There are new competitors coming online soon (e.g. DAVE Wireless) but a recent CRTC ruling means that Wind Mobile won't be coming online...

There`s still Wind in Globalive`s sails See Wind coming to Canada