Fido vs. Rogers vs. Bell vs. Telus

• Living in Toronto, what is the cheapest prepaid service among all these carriers?
  
  Thanks,
  
  Erika

  26 Aug 2005, 05:41 Anonymous

Replies

• cheapest cell phone provider in Toronto

  this is tough, however it will depend on the use you give to your phone. If you are a light user, you may be fine with a prepaid service by Fido (because it has per second billing)
  
  However, it varies greately.
  
  Recently VIRGIN MOBILE came to Canada and I have heard that it works for some people.
  
  I hope this helps
  
  I was with Fido for many years and recently changed to Bell because of a family pack in which you share the minutes with others who reside in the same address and billing account.
  
  I definitely recommend you to read the fine print of all the carriers because the promotions and packages change quite frequently.
  
  Robert
  
  

  Anonymous 26 Sep 2005, 12:35 - Report

• buying a prepaid cell phone in Canada

  It depends on the coverage, how much are you willing to pay for it, the flexibility to reload your account, the frequency, the system (GPRS/GSM vs. CDMA), etc.
  
  Rogers offer a great selection of phones. Perhaps the best in Canada. they are pricey and they want you to sign a 2 year agreement (not prepaid). Buying prepaid you have to pay a lot of money on the handset. If you come from Europe and have a GSM phone, it may actually work in the Rogers/Fido network (only if it is unblocked)
  
  Fido... perhaps the most affordable at the beginning, but later the per minute options are more expensive
  
  Bell. They have a package called 'Solo' that is good priced and the per minute basis is good. You should choose bell only if you are planning to stay in Canada or travel with your phone to the USA. The use of CDMA limits the international roaming posibilities.
  
  Telus: do not bother unless you are in Alberta or British Columbia. They have very limited coverage.
  

  Anonymous 02 Nov 2005, 02:19 - Report

• customer service

  It is a never ending nightmare. I have had Bell Mobility for 1 year (I am locked in a two year contract) and I must say that I have had at least 2 problems per month which means visits to the Bell World Stores or being on the phone for hours waiting for help
  
  

  Anonymous 03 Nov 2005, 12:33 - Report

• Bell's prepaid is pretty good

  I would recommend it. I have had it for about 3 years now. Never a glitch

  Anonymous 03 Nov 2005, 06:44 - Report

• My Fido telephone rocks!

  I have had a FIDO account for over 4 years. I have never had any problems and I really love my phone!

  Anonymous 05 Nov 2005, 12:37 - Report

• Cell phone selection

  Rogers is the only carrier in Canada offering the Motorola Rocke cell phone. They are more innovative than anybody else.

  Anonymous 05 Nov 2005, 01:39 - Report

• Bell will have the newest Blackberry !

  It is a great phone.
  http://www.bell.ca

  Anonymous 14 Nov 2005, 04:11 - Report

• extended voice mail?

  is any of these cell phone carriers offering an extended voice mail? it is really annoying that I can only have 12-15 voicemails with Rogers, Bell and Fido. is Telus like that?
  What if I want to buy a timed voice mail; let's say 20 minutes, 1 hour, etc.? are there any options in Canada?

  Anonymous 15 Nov 2005, 04:04 - Report

• fido, rogers, telus, bell

  Fido's per second billing will save you a bundle. I used to have fido, but switched to Telus because at the time Fido's coverage was very poor. Your phone would only work within major cities. No servoice on the highways. Since rogers bought them though, they run on rogers towers as well, so coverage has greatly improved.
  
  Per second billing can save you a ton of minutes on your phone. Especially if you make a lot of quick calls, as opposed to a small number of long calls.
  
  As for getting service in Europe, It a non issue for 99% of people. With the cost of roaming charges in Europe, you prpbably wont want to be using your phone there anyways. Better off renting one locally.

  Anonymous 05 Dec 2005, 06:32 - Report

• Bell Canada's new cell phones

  They have now an EVDO network, which pretty cool phones. They even have a CDMA/GSM phone in the line up of products.

  Anonymous 01 Feb 2006, 10:03 - Report

• they are all the same shit!

  No matter what, the service level of all these companies is pathetic. If you do a lot of international travel to Europe/Asia/South America, you should go with Rogers/Fido. They have the only GSM networks in Canada. If you are focused mostly in North America, any carrier will be about the same

  Anonymous 28 Mar 2006, 01:01 - Report

• fido

  I have been with fido for 8 years. I am very happy with their service, coverage area and products. I have had some problems but that is to be expected with the timeframe. Great customer service!

  Anonymous 12 Apr 2006, 07:53 - Report

• Bell vs Rogers

  any comments whos is better in north america.

  Anonymous 03 Sep 2006, 01:16 - Report

• North America or in Canada?

  please clarify.
  in any case, in Canada the answer is "it depends" if you are an enterprise with a lot of international travel to Europe/Asia, you are by far best covered with Rogers (GSM). If your travel is within North America, then you can live with Rogers, Bell, Telus, Alliant, etc. (depending on where you live).
  
  Fido and Solo are brands/offerings for entry level users, so depending on your call volume, those may actually be pretty good deals.
  
  

  Anonymous 05 Sep 2006, 03:36 - Report

• Fido because.

  Ok listen to me and listen to me carefully. Fido is by the far the best in Canada. Do not and try and cut corners. Go on ebay and buy a 300 dollars unlocked phone. Top of the line!! you wont have any problems.
  
  I suggest the Sony ericsson k750i. THE BEST. Trust me!
  
  Now top 3 reasons why fido is the best.
  
  1. When u change phones you can do it just by removing the sim. Bell Telus charges you 25 dollars to switch the service to an other phone.
  
  2.The deals on fido puts everyone else to shame.
  
  3. You can transfer ALL your phonebook using ur sim. Bell Telus u got to do it manuly one by one.
  
  Plus u got a [email removed] email, where u can it all the time

  Anonymous 15 Sep 2006, 06:03 - Report

• fido referral code

  anyone want to send me their fido referral code, name and fido telephone number so we both can get $20 credit ????? please email me at [email removed]

  Anonymous 15 Sep 2006, 06:47 - Report

• Charge for incoming calls

  If you choose a prepaid phone, are you charged for incoming calls, for example from Europe? Calling from Europe to North American Cell Phones is so cheap, there must be a trick ...
  Thanks, Axel

  Anonymous 21 Sep 2006, 01:18 - Report

• in Canada you get charged when receiving a call...

  no matter if you are on prepaid or on postpaid

  Anonymous 22 Sep 2006, 12:28 - Report

• HELP!!

  I have just moved to St. John´s Newfoundland... I know the companies in here are Alliant and Rogers.
  Please tell me which is better!! I´m planning to move in 1 year to Toronto or Montreal... so I need to get one cell phone company that works good everywhere!!

  Anonymous 24 Jan 2007, 12:59 - Report

• new cell in the block

  Try this new company called koodo mobile... they have the wickedest deal..and they don't have that so called system access fee.. check it out
  
  http://www.koodomobile.com/en/on/index.shtml

  cell phone saviour 24 Apr 2008, 09:16 - Report

• Speak out wireless & Petro mobility

  The cheapest prepaids are without a doubt 7-Eleven Speak Out Wireless (available at 7-11 stores) & "Petro Mobility" (http://retail.petro-canada.ca/en/mobility/2303.aspx)
  
  Here's a website on Speak Out Wireless
  http://www.speakoutwireless.ca/
  
  -20c per/min local. Long distance calls within Canada and the US are 30 cents per minute.
  -Texting 5c incoming and outgoing.
  -$25, $50, $75, $100 top-up denominations. Each lasts for 365 days (with other services you have to refill every 2-3 months, and unused credit expires).
  -No access fee (but 99 cents per month for 911)

  Anon 13 Jun 2008, 09:38 - Report

• link correction

  The Petro Mobility link is
  http://retail.petro-canada.ca/en/mobility/2303.aspx
  
  And you may find it through their main page too.

  anon 13 Jun 2008, 11:01 - Report

• Rogers Has Bad Coverage

  I have been with rogers for about 2 years now and i've had horrible coverage (I live in the edmonton area) i've even tried a new phone but the coverage is still just as bad. I'm planning on switching to telus or virgin mobile

  Mac 14 Aug 2008, 04:08 - Report

• Its all expensive

  Compared to even third world countries the services are both poorer and more expensive.
  
  You can get a prepaid account in Pakistan for free (the sim and activation) and you are billed something like 2 cents per minute for both local calls and calls to europe. Text is half a cent per text. Compare that to 35 cents per minute in Canada and the international rates are in couple of dollars range per minute.

  Asapi 15 Aug 2008, 11:07 - Report

• True, Canucks are overcharged

  As an international traveller I can tell you what the previous poster said was correct. You can easily get prepaid service anywhere in Europe from about 5c - 10c per minute. You are only charged outgoing calls/texts. Being charged for incoming is a very sick joke. Plus I don't think that there is anywhere now in the EU without coverage. You really need to pressure your Canadian/US providers to give better/cheaper services.

  international traveller 19 Sep 2008, 04:46 - Report

• FIDO

  been with fido for 3 years,, and i agree the deals are quite awesome. i pay 40-55 bucks a month for 100 weekday mins. 1000 weekend and eve, and UNLIMITED incoming calls. plus unlimited browsing,Expanded Voice mail with 2500 texts(unlimted in my eyes) and you dont get charged for incoming. service is great along major highways. and you can add Expanded network option for 5 bucks a month. and evenings start 1 hr sooner then Most other companies

  FIDO man 06 Oct 2008, 01:06 - Report

• FIDO 2

  also with fido you get what they call FIDO dollars.. esentially its like canadian tire money. it takes a percentage of your bill each month and converts it to fido dollars which you can put towards a new handset or new devices. Higher the bill Higher the fido Dollars.

  FIDO son 06 Oct 2008, 01:07 - Report

• Coke Can Phone

  Is this phone cool or what? Has anyone seen this before? http://www.liangdianup.com/inventory/349913.htm
  
  I bought it at www.LDUcompany.com
  
  It worked great until my dog got a hold of it and just about half ate it. If he had any money I would make him pay for it. I guess I will have to go order another one.

  jingling 17 Nov 2008, 01:31 - Report

• Bell vs. Telus

  I am looking for a new provider, currently with Rogers. I want good coverage, as i am in the mountains a lot! Any sugestions? Bell or Telus?

  BettyB 21 Nov 2008, 08:52 - Report

• Fido Prepaid Service

  Can unused Fido Prepaid airtime be carried over to the next month?

  new Fido 23 Nov 2008, 03:36 - Report

• rogers sucks

  i've been using rogers for 3 years now (on wireless/cable/internet), all the 3 services suck beyond my worst nightmare, i have to check rogers bill every month, to see if they have charged me with something that i didn't use and trust me there always is, i have friends who have worked in rogers and they tell me that the reason services are charged is because rogers doesn't have a billing check section, i use bell for home phone and have never had a problem with their bill.
  besides rogers is really expensive!

  bell versus rogers 24 Nov 2008, 10:43 - Report

• no Telus!

  telus sucks!
  I hate my phone and my plan.
  The service staffs are aweful.
  Plus, no sim cards,, so there's a charge if u wanna change ur phone to another one.

  Yoyo 11 Dec 2008, 06:13 - Report

• FIDO! FIDO! FIDO!

  As of early 2009, the cheapest is Petro Mobility. However, their phone selection is crap and their service is questionable.
  
  Fido still offers the best pre-paid service. $10 a month (30cents per min) or $20 a month (20cents a min).

  atheist_abu 13 Dec 2008, 11:01 - Report

• FIDO Monthly seems to be a good option

  I was looking for a good phone plan and since I have an unlocked GSM phone my only options were Rogers and Fido. It seems to me that Fido has a good monthly plan specially with no System Access fee and per second billing. I dont see per second billing mentioned for Fido's prepaid option. Will be calling Fido's customer service tomorrow to confirm

  Benaam 01 Jan 2009, 07:36 - Report

• TELUS IS GREAT

  Telus is the best for text messaging, when they mean text messaging they mean it, unlimited picture and video and sound messaging. SOO COOL. 15 dollars a month for this or 10 dollars a month for 2500 ! at a rate of 25 cents a minute they're not bad either. Only Good for B.C. and Alberta though for sure.

  Jane Roth 06 Jan 2009, 01:34 - Report

• Telus PrePaid Alll the WAYYYY

  $45 monthly package, I am a long time client, and my minute rate just dropped from 0.25 to 0.15/c!!!!! I receive free incoming calls (even LD!) all day, and make free calls after 6, unlimited msg'ing and fantastic coverage, I live in Ottawa... Used to live in AB, and B.C, its all the same I find.

  H Ardcore 17 Jan 2009, 02:59 - Report

• Which Is Better , FIDO or TELUS

  i need free texting and free inc

  anonymous 31 Jan 2009, 12:26 - Report

• Bell Rollover

  I heard Bell has rollover minutes which I think other companies don't have yet. So if your planning to get a plan, go with them

  mystery person 01 Feb 2009, 01:16 - Report

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  Ms.Lucky 05 Feb 2009, 04:14 - Report

• Rogers Sucks!

  Go with whoever you want, but Rogers. Don't let those ads everywhere cheat you. Their service is as like as any other, but they charge you more, even for what you have never used (e.g. turned off phone, you overseas!)
  Their support line is just a joke. Several minutes to have someone on the line and then (s)he does not know anything, and is rude!
  I hate rogers and am escaping to any other one.

  Lodwig 24 Mar 2009, 04:57 - Report

• Telus and Bell

  Bell runs the east, Telus runs the west. If you're in a large city, eg: Toronto, Montreal, then you will not have a problem with Rogers. You CAN take your phone number from Bell and switch to telus. Bell and Telus are fierce competitors, so the pricing is basically the same.

  Knows it 31 Mar 2009, 07:32 - Report

• Cell Operator & plan for Vancouver

  I need free incoming mobile phone plan for 1 month to use in Vancouver. Can you please guide if I should go for Rogers / Fido / Telus?

  Avinash 09 Apr 2009, 11:51 - Report

• Do not use Bell

  If you try to switch services, they will try to charge you an extra month, claiming it is on some unknown agreement that you never received.
  
  Beware.
  
  Go Fido.

  me 04 May 2009, 10:13 - Report