Best option for travelling to Canada?

[prion]

Stu I have troed the allfreecalls and it does not call countries (Eg Greece, cyprus) that are even in their list......

[mrbarlow]

Thanks for that information, Stu. I will certainly take a better look at both of those sites. It would seem that Rogers pre-pay loads quite a bit on to call USA from Canada although Fido does as you suggest i.e. treats USA and long distance Canada the same ($0.20CAD + airtime). I suppose it would be a question of comparing this to calling card rates.

I must say though, that my recent experiences with Voicestick have made me lose faith in these types of services. Over Christmas I signed up with them and was never able to make any successful calls to either Estonia (landline and cellular) or Mexico. Indeed they have billed me for a call (admittedly only 1 minute) even though it never connected.

I've e-mailed them twice with no response

[mrbarlow]

Agree, Prion. I signed up with Voicestick and have been unable to make successful calls to two different countries (landline and cellular). In fact test calls to UK numbers have worked but that's not much use considering I'm already within the UK!

[misconduct]

As people have previously mentioned, Fido was bought out by Rogers so they have essentially the same network. If you don't go into seriously rural Canada or off the major highways, you should have full access to all services.

I'm not sure if Rogers has changed their rates but Fido has made changes to their packages so that you can have free incoming calls for $1 a day, a flat rate of 15 cents per minute for all calls, or a cheaper rate for evening calls but expensive during peak hours. Just choose what seems best for you. Quite honestly, if you're planning on calling home, don't go with the cheap evening rate because it makes no sense with the time difference.

As for long distance phone cards, try to go with phone cards offered by the major phone companies. ie. go with Bell, Telus or AT&T. You can buy discount phone cards everywhere (convenience stores, lotto kiosks, etc) but the quality of the phone line can be absolutely rotten with the discount phone cards plus there are often hidden fees, like a $1.99 charge for the first minute. Bell stores should sell the cards and the stores are in every major shopping centre.

One thing to watch for with the long distance cards is that they sometimes charge more for a call to an overseas mobile phone vs an overseas land line. My best friend lives in London and I call her regularly. If I call her mobile with a Telus long distance card, it can cost anywhere from 33 to 50 cents a minute (different rates depending if I'm using a $5, $10, or $20 card). However if I call her land line, it's only 8 cents a minute. The one consistent thing about just using Fido to dial internationally is that it's a flat rate regardless of land or mobile phone number. However, Fido used to prohibit international calling on their pay as you go plans and they still might do it.

[GadgetKen]

Originally Posted by misconduct

However, Fido used to prohibit international calling on their pay as you go plans and they still might do it.

According to the Fido website, they now allow international long distance on their prepaid plans. There is a prepaid international long distance calculator on the long distance portion of the Fido website. Calls to USA are 30 cents a minutes (I can confirm this from personal use) and calls to the UK are 35 cents a minute...plus the airtime cost. A quality prepaid long distance calling card would be considerably less than this, but if only a small volume of calls, it may be worth it for the convenience of direct dial long distance.

[Malkav]

also dont foget the little mvno http://retail.petro-canada.ca/en/mobility/2303.aspx

the canuk equiv of BP or esso, uhh they don't do sim only kits but for a cheap nokia for $75.-- thats not bad! anyhow have fun in canadaland and remember in may its also moose shoving season eh!

[misconduct]

Originally Posted by Malkav

also dont foget the little mvno http://retail.petro-canada.ca/en/mobility/2303.aspx

the canuk equiv of BP or esso, uhh they don't do sim only kits but for a cheap nokia for $75.-- thats not bad! anyhow have fun in canadaland and remember in may its also moose shoving season eh!

Any major convenience store like 7-Eleven or Macs should have pre-paid packages with phone. Just be careful which service you buy since a lot of them will be with on non-GSM providers and you'll likely be stuck with a phone that you can't use when you go home vs purchasing a GSM phone that you can have unlocked. Your best bet really is to have your phone unlocked before you come and to try to purchase a Rogers or Fido card on Ebay before you leave. While you can buy the sim card at any Rogers or Fido dealer in Canada, the ones on Ebay often give you bonus airtime. To get the free airtime from a dealer, you need to purchase a phone before they give it to you. Just make sure you're dealing with a good seller on Ebay and that you give it at least two to three weeks for shipping.

If you are looking to buy a new GSM phone that you can have unlocked, I know a few independent Fido dealers will unlock it for you but you lose any warranty protection the moment they unlock it. The last Fido dealer I purchased the phone from told me to find a little techie shop to unlock it for me because if they did it for me, the warranty was void but if I had someone else do it, then I still had full protection.

[Malkav]

well petro canada is a gsm service!

[misconduct]

Originally Posted by Malkav

well petro canada is a gsm service!

Yup but if someone is staying in an area where there is no Petro Canada, there are other plenty of other options out there. GSM phone kits can be purchased at a whole variety of Fido and Rogers retailers including the convenience stores 7-Eleven and Macs, major drug stores like London Drugs, electronics stores like Future Shop and Best Buy, or in plenty of places in shopping centres. Just go to the Fido and Rogers website and do a dealer locator search.

A lot of these places will sell prepaid kits by Telus, Bell, Virgin Mobile, Solo Mobile, President's Choice, or some places even have their own house brands. It's just a matter of looking for Fido or Rogers if you want the GSM service.

It's also a matter of whether people want to actually purchase a brand new phone here or pay the charge to get it unlocked at home and just buy a SIM card that has airtime included with it on Ebay. Buying it on Ebay gives you the luxury of knowing what your phone number is before you leave. I travel to Europe at least twice a year and to the US at least twice a year and it's silly for me to buy a new phone in each country I'm in. The only time that I did buy a phone while travelling was when I bought a new phone in Hong Kong that it took over a year for the technology to reach North America.

Getting your phone unlocked for a minimal fee at home is still cheaper than paying $75 to $150 plus tax for a Fido or Rogers pay as you go package with phones that the company is trying to phase out. I had my new Fido Sony Ericsson unlocked in London for 5 quid (it costs $40 to get it done in my Canadian city). Plus buying a new phone in Canada isn't worth it if you're looking for the latest models... Canada is at least 6 months behind Europe for phone models and phones are just cheaper in Europe vs North America. You can buy a cheapo phone and sim card in Canada but you'll still have to get it unlocked if you want to use it at home and it'll be an old model that Fido and Rogers are trying to phase out.

[Motel75]

Are there any "acount saver" options for Fido or any of the MVNOs as I believe there are for Rogers, ie, top up with $100 and get a year's validity? What's the best deal in terms of account validity for someone who visits Canada occasionally?