recommendations for Canada | cheap international calling
 

Hello world,

A friend of mine is heading to Toronto in mid September and he will need to place calls to Germany.
So is there any prepaid offer in the Canada for international calling at all? Can I get and activate a SIM already from Germany so he could know his number before departure?

regards,

Inquisitor

You can buy a Rogers or Fido SIM via eBay, e.g. these and then buy airtime at many stores here. I don't know if the SIM card comes preactivated with a phone number or if you have to do that while in Canada.

Overseas calls from Canada using any cellphone provider are very expensive, however, you can buy inexpensive prepaid long distance cards locally at many stores. Look at e.g. Phone Card Depot. I've never dealt with them but their Search Card Rates function will show you many of the cards that are available here.

Added: You can activate a Rogers SIM online here. Calls to Germany are CA$0.75/minute or ~€0.50. Prepaid long distance cards are less than 1/10th of that. Local air time is CA$0.25/minute (using a CA$20 airtime refill.) Note that air time is charging on both outgoing and incoming calls.

Thank you. Do you know if Betamax' access numbers (e.g. 6134820907) are reachable from Rogers or Fido?

I can try for you using a SpeakOut SIM which runs on the Rogers network. 613 is Ottawa. Do you have a Toronto access number (AC 416 or 647)?

Unfortunately they have only numbers in Alberta (4037756654), British Columbia (6044841960), Manitoba (2044809844), Ontario (6134820907) et au Québec (5149073186).
Are all the advertised prepaid rates only valid for local calls in Canada?

I was able to reach this number using a SpeakOut (Rogers MVNO) SIM.

Yes. Ottawa is long distance from Toronto so the per minute charge will be higher.

I don't think long distance is included with any of the current canadian prepaid offers.

As for calls to Betamax gateways, I was able to call the JustVoIP Toronto access number from both Fido and SpeakOut phones.

Not yet. I'm hopeful Wind changes that, and that competitive pressures force that to become the new norm.

I have my doubts Fido/Rogers will ever smarten up. In the mean time they're reducing the local calling areas: http://fido.ca/web/content/ld/local_calling_areas

Thank you guys. After all I ordered a Fido SIM from eBay, since their rate to Germany of $ 0.44 seems reasonable and after topping up $20 my friend can reach the poivy access number for just $ 0.20.
There's only one question left: Do I get it right, that the "Unlimited incoming calls" tariff does only include incoming calls that originate from the same area code, so incoming calls from Germany would not be included?

All incoming calls are free

But why does the tariff page say:
Does "local calls" mean calls that are received while staying within the area code, where the Fido SIM has it's number from? So "local" refers to the geographical position of the Fido SIM and not to the origin of the call?

A few notes... For long distance calls to Germany, $0.44/minute is just for long distance. This is on top of the airtime rate.

The local calling area is different between incoming and outgoing calls. An explanation of the LCAs can be found here: http://www.fido.ca/web/content/ld/local_calling_areas

Your best option for international calling from Canada is a prepaid telephone card. You can dial the access numbers using the Fido SIM. However, it is much cheaper to call the access number from a pay phone (free), hotel phone (usually free) or “private” house (free).

I use the “Call World” card available at 7 11 convenience stores. The rate for calling a German (and most European) landlines is less than $0.05 per minute while a German mobile is $0.42 per minute.

A cheaper alternative is the "CiCi" CiCi Phone Card card also available at 7 11 convenience stores. The rate for calling a German landline is $0.03 per minute while a German mobile is $0.20 per minute. Its minimum value is also $5.00.

@Vlad
Thanks. So we should better use callthrough for outbound calls. The link on local calling areas made clear, that the free incoming option is limited to the wider geographical area, where the SIM's number is from. Unfortunately the map of the Toronto area is currently not available. Can I expect the 613-area code to be in the yellow zone if the SIM is registered in Toronto?

@wcross
I'm intending e a German callthrough provider with an access number in the 613-area code to be used, if it can be reached at local rates from a Toronto-based SIM card. So in addition to the (hopefully local) rate charged by Fido there would be poivy's callthrough rates of $ 0.00/min for German landlines and $ 0.14/min to mobiles.

Sorry, but 613 is Ottawa, about 4 1/2 hours drive from Toronto. It's a long distance call.

Not a chance! Look at the map for Kingston, which is also AC 613 and is about half way between Toronto and Ottawa.

Please note that in Canada you will be charged long distance for all calls not originated from your local calling area, which means that you will be charged two long distance rates: one for call to Germany plus another for long distance in Canada. The way to avoid it is to use calling card with toll free access number. Check out CiCi Calling card. CiCi has no-charge toll free access number and only 2.8c/min rate to Germany. You may also check Smart card from Ontario Calling Cards for converting outgoing calls to incoming.