Best option for travelling to Canada?

PhotoJim · 10-01-2007, 16:33

I'm actually not that familiar with calling cards, but they are available at just about every little convenience store here, plus Wal-Mart and other department stores. Getting a rate below 5 cents a minute to call the UK should be easy.

You'll be okay enough with GSM 1900. If you really want to be a geek, get an unlocked dual- or quad-band phone that supports 850 and 1900 (or more). You can get them here really cheaply. The Nokia 6590i is a nice little candybar phone that people more or less give away used now, and it's dual band. Just make sure it's unlocked, or locked to Rogers so that you can use a Rogers or SpeakOut Wireless SIM.

SpeakOut seems to be the best prepaid GSM plan here right now. It's 20 cents Canadian a minute and has (I think) a one-year expiry (it's at least 180 days). Long distance is additional.

As an aside, I just want to make sure you know that inbound calling is different here than in the UK. Mobile phone numbers are regional numbers just like landline numbers are, and in fact are basicaly indistinguishable. The mobile phone owner pays for inbound calls (unless he has an unlimited plan). This also means that your friends in the UK can call you in Canada for the same rate they can call a landline, since the call is processed the same way. So depending on how you want to do your calling back home, it may be most efficient to have them call you. (You could send an SMS or make a one-minute call there to tell them to call.)

mrbarlow · 10-01-2007, 18:27

Thanks very much for your help, PhotoJim. Yes, I'm aware of the incoming call charges in North America - it seems bizarre to most of us in this part of the world, but there we are...

I've had a quick look at Speakout but it seems info is at a premium and I can't see anywhere selling SIM-only.

In ref to the calling cards, do you know whether either Rogers or Fido charge for calling toll-free numbers?

PhotoJim · 10-01-2007, 19:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrbarlow

Thanks very much for your help, PhotoJim. Yes, I'm aware of the incoming call charges in North America - it seems bizarre to most of us in this part of the world, but there we are...

I've had a quick look at Speakout but it seems info is at a premium and I can't see anywhere selling SIM-only.

In ref to the calling cards, do you know whether either Rogers or Fido charge for calling toll-free numbers?

It is a little bizarre but it has its advantages. I'm going to the UK in September and got a couple of O2 SIMs. The lowest rate I can find to forward my calls from Canada to the UK is about 30 cents a minute. If you guys had the same method for inbound calling that we have, it'd cost me 5 cents a minute for the forward and (after my first 3 minutes of airtime of the day) 5p a minute on the prepaid phone, which is about half the price.

Oh well. It's still not bad.

As for toll-free numbers, Canadian providers don't differentiate between local and toll-free numbers. The rate to call them is precisely the same. That having been said, any good calling card is going to have a local Toronto number for you to call. One in four Canadians lives in the local calling radius of Toronto.

	(#1)
PhotoJim (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 389 Join Date: 10 Dec 2006 Location: Regina, SK, CA Country:	10-01-2007, 16:33 I'm actually not that familiar with calling cards, but they are available at just about every little convenience store here, plus Wal-Mart and other department stores. Getting a rate below 5 cents a minute to call the UK should be easy. You'll be okay enough with GSM 1900. If you really want to be a geek, get an unlocked dual- or quad-band phone that supports 850 and 1900 (or more). You can get them here really cheaply. The Nokia 6590i is a nice little candybar phone that people more or less give away used now, and it's dual band. Just make sure it's unlocked, or locked to Rogers so that you can use a Rogers or SpeakOut Wireless SIM. SpeakOut seems to be the best prepaid GSM plan here right now. It's 20 cents Canadian a minute and has (I think) a one-year expiry (it's at least 180 days). Long distance is additional. As an aside, I just want to make sure you know that inbound calling is different here than in the UK. Mobile phone numbers are regional numbers just like landline numbers are, and in fact are basicaly indistinguishable. The mobile phone owner pays for inbound calls (unless he has an unlimited plan). This also means that your friends in the UK can call you in Canada for the same rate they can call a landline, since the call is processed the same way. So depending on how you want to do your calling back home, it may be most efficient to have them call you. (You could send an SMS or make a one-minute call there to tell them to call.) CA: SaskTel, Wind postpaid; Rogers, Bell postpaid iPad flex plans; US: T-Mobile postpaid data, prepaid voice; PureTalk (AT&T MVNO) prepaid voice/data; AT&T prepaid iPad plan Hardware: Too much but notably iPhone 5, iPad Mini Retina LTE, Moto G LTE (N.A. version), iPhone 4. All unlocked.

	(#2)
mrbarlow (Offline) Member Advanced Member Posts: 51 Join Date: 17 Dec 2006 Location: Cardiff, Wales Country:	10-01-2007, 18:27 Thanks very much for your help, PhotoJim. Yes, I'm aware of the incoming call charges in North America - it seems bizarre to most of us in this part of the world, but there we are... I've had a quick look at Speakout but it seems info is at a premium and I can't see anywhere selling SIM-only. In ref to the calling cards, do you know whether either Rogers or Fido charge for calling toll-free numbers?