*Best* cell phone provider/plans for new immigrants

[inder.online]

Does anyone has any recommendations for cell phone plan/provider. I have my own phone and want to get a new connection.
When I did my soft landing in November, I got a prepaid Lucky Mobile number from Walmart. That got inactivated and I will need a new connection around May 2019 when I move permanently.

 

[MaryLee]

Chatr will be the best option for new immigrants. They offer 8 GB data with unlimited calls to the USA and Canada in 50$ only

 

[APPNOV2014NY]

Chatr will be the best option for new immigrants. They offer 8 GB data with unlimited calls to the USA and Canada in 50$ only

Their data is 3G and many times is unusable when you really need it.

 

[mahi2020]

Does anyone has any recommendations for cell phone plan/provider. I have my own phone and want to get a new connection.
When I did my soft landing in November, I got a prepaid Lucky Mobile number from Walmart. That got inactivated and I will need a new connection around May 2019 when I move permanently.

go for Freedom BYOD......cheapest plans/ fast internet .

 

[ahmed5]

I switched to Freedom from Chatar last year.

If you live near Toronto or Greater Toronto Area , Freedom is best.

 

[inder.online]

I switched to Freedom from Chatar last year.

If you live near Toronto or Greater Toronto Area , Freedom is best.

Thanks for the inputs.

 

[NzKhn]

Hello

Most of the choices seem to based on whether you live in Toronto or Vancouver...

What about other areas? I'm planning to land in Moncton, New Brunswick in July/August........... so would like to know which would be the best mobile phone plan for me for Atlantic Canada and overseas.

TIA

 

[0hCanadaEh]

Public Mobile seems to work really well and is inexpensive compared to others. https://www.publicmobile.ca

This is their coverage map and includes Moncton:

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/on/coverage

They use Bell/Telus network for coverage. They are in the same company as Telus and Koodo.

If you are like the OP and need USA calling they have a $50 plan ($48 if you use auto-pay feature) and includes 8.5GB data use.

The downside is there is no 'live' customer service - you have to do everything online. But that's how they keep costs low on their end.
Also the data is LTE but slowed down a bit to 3G which is no problem for texting, whatsapp, etc but maybe if you stream a lot of movies it may affect you.

Overall I am happy with their $38/month 5 GB plan.

Oh there is also a loyalty discount of $1 per year you are with them. So after 5 years my plan is $33/month.

 

[NzKhn]

@0hCanadaEh Thank you so much for this info; it really helps

 

[0hCanadaEh]

@0hCanadaEh Thank you so much for this info; it really helps

You are welcome!

Also before you sign up in the summer check to see what kind of promos are happening.

Right now the special promo is a referral credit of $50 total that is shared by the two people - the person who referred and the person who is signing up each get $25.Normally it is a $10 referral credit. But that promo ends at the end of this month but if you look on their website it will show any current specials.

The popular plan right now is the $25 ($23 with auto pay) that includes all Canada calling and texting internationally and also 1 GB data.

Have a nice move to Moncton!

 

[cadgijoe]

Hi all, I'm moving to Canada soon. So now I'm trying to gauge mobile data usage.

- May I ask what is the public wifi coverage in Canada (Windsor ON in particular)? How good is it?
- Usually does rental come with wifi service or do we have to subscribe new one?
+ If the former, usually does the rent include wifi subscription?
+ If latter, what is lowest price range per month? Do we have to purchase router?

Thanks.

 

[0hCanadaEh]

Are you asking about your home residence wifi network?

For housing rental units wifi/internet access may or may not be included.

If you have to subscribe on your own then it can get expensive and you can either buy your own router or rent a router from the internet provider.

The least expensive reliable internet provider I know is www.carrytel.ca

If choosing cable internet you have to select pricing from the list that includes Windsor. The list depends on whether Rogers or Cogeco is supplying the internet cable.

 

[cadgijoe]

Are you asking about your home residence wifi network?

For housing rental units wifi/internet access may or may not be included.

If you have to subscribe on your own then it can get expensive and you can either buy your own router or rent a router from the internet provider.

The least expensive reliable internet provider I know is www.carrytel.ca

If choosing cable internet you have to select pricing from the list that includes Windsor. The list depends on whether Rogers or Cogeco is supplying the internet cable.

Thank you. I will take that into consideration. I was also asking about free wifi at public places, given mobile data is quite expensive in my book. Is there such thing as city-wide free public wifi? How about in libraries, parks etc.

 

[viprewind]

All of these are recent immigrants who suffered under Freedom and then moved to some other service. Most in GTA. May be your experience is an exception.

Among 2nd and 3rd tier operators I have heard least bad things about chatr, koodo and fido.

Original poster - Rogers/Chatr have Chatr to Rogers conversion plan going on. Walk to some Rogers store and ask them about this plan. They will issue you a chatr sim on 40-60$/month plan and then convert you to Rogers at that moment ( or after 30 days of using chatr). After a month or less you will have Rogers at 40-60$/month. Best deal in market.

I wanted to chime in here. I live in the GTA/ Calgary first and Freedom Mobile /Wind has been great. I was in Peterborough recently with full signal, which is awesome. I have gotten more than 20 people where I work to switch and they are extremely happy. all of them had $60 , 10 GB plan with free US Calling. We also got an additional 5gb around a week ago, so we are now at 15GB for $60. My wife has Telus and she does get better signal in train stations to be honest. She also gets slightly better internet speed in Kingston Ontario, however, I have shared my data using Mobile Hotspot because she has 6GB. She will be switching to Freedom after her contract. A lot of people are upset with Freedom of old, or they were in a situation where service was not great and decide to trash the company. Do not be one of those, research for yourself and make your decision. BTW you should be thanking Freedom for forcing the big boys to lower their cost. Freedom did that.