Looking for a Prepaid Plan

[BGY11]

I've decided I'm fed up with Bell's billing system, and am looking to cancel my contract with them (I can cover the ETF by selling my phone).

In all fairness, I'm lucky if I make 100 minutes worth of calls in a month. When I do, they are to a small group of people. I may also send about 100 text messages in a month at most (again, mostly to the same people). Right now I have a BlackBerry, but don't need any of the advanced features. E-mail? I can wait till I'm near a WiFi connection with my iPod Touch. Mobile browsing? Same goes. Bottom line... I'm spending way more than I need to.

I'm looking for the best prepaid option right now (other than Rogers). Ideally, I could go with something like Telus' option to pay $20 for 30-days access to unlimited talk/text with up to 5 numbers and not have to pay much more.

Just curious what people would recommend for a prepaid provider, and what a good "dumbphone" would be to go with it. I'd prefer a handset with a slide-out keypad for text messaging.

[jean luc picard]

sell ipod, buy an iphone -> pay as you go

[GSMfan]

Just curious...why not Rogers?

In any case, I'm thinking some prepaid plan with a My5, or Fav5 or variants may be suitable.

[BGY11]

jean luc picard: Unlocked iPhones are expensive -- especially since the only one I'd want is the 32GB. Plus, on a prepaid plan (that doesn't contain data), it wouldn't be worth it.

GSMfan: I'm just not a big fan of Rogers overall... had way too many dropped calls with them, and their customer service was a joke. A lot of my friends/family who used Rogers complained of the same thing.

[Laslow Panaflex]

To fulfill a contract for a 32 GB iPhone with Telus you'll end up paying $2,406.87 ($66.86 per month) over 3 years, not including any of the possible extra charges (data/roaming, caller ID).

If you were to buy the same phone and use the pay as you go model (alternating months of $10 and $25 airtime purchases) you'd spend $1,682.56 ($46.74 per month) over the same 3 year period.

Everyone's personal needs and usage will vary, but... If you don't make a lot of calls (hence the need for air time) and have access to plenty of WiFi spots (home, work, in public) and would like a 32 GB iPod, I'd say go for it.

Freedom from Bell/Telus/Rogers? Golden.

[BGY11]

I've never really paid attention to the net cost of owning a phone for 3 years, but if that's correct, it sounds like you could very well have justified buying an iPhone off-contract for me.

Definitely not going to rule it out anymore.

[apn]

Originally Posted by BGY11

jean luc picard: Unlocked iPhones are expensive -- especially since the only one I'd want is the 32GB. Plus, on a prepaid plan (that doesn't contain data), it wouldn't be worth it.

GSMfan: I'm just not a big fan of Rogers overall... had way too many dropped calls with them, and their customer service was a joke. A lot of my friends/family who used Rogers complained of the same thing.

I'm not a Rogers booster by any means (have 2 paygo's: Rogers and Virgin), but don't forget that it's the only paygo option that provides US and International roaming. This may or may not be important to you.

The roaming rates are not great, but it beats being away from home and stuck without a phone. However, buying a local pre-paid SIM card can be a cheaper option, but the minutes generally expire before they're used.

Rogers still has the $100 vouchers valid for a year and the anytime option is something like 25c/min for the first 5mins/day then 15c/min thereafter.

[dc17]

Laslow. Interesting point. I assume this is the TELUS Prepaid you are talking about. I never considered buying a iphone outright and pay as you go till now.

[Laslow Panaflex]

I sat down and went over all of the numbers, hence my comments. I'll see if I can post the file (PDF) tomorrow. Again, for my needs (very few minutes and WiFi almost everywhere) there is no NEED to lock in and pay one of these "providers" a monthly bill. A monthly bill that over charges and under serves me, even if I barely use their services. There is still no roll over in Canada!

It seems to me Canadians went from using a cell phone for emergencies, then convenience, to blind excess without paying attention to what we're being charged. Kind of like buying bottled water at the corner store when the tap at your house is free!

[CanuckBlue]

Where can you buy an iphone to use with prepaid service?

[57]

There is still no roll over in Canada!

There is on Rogers PAYGo, provided you top up before minutes expire, or if you're on auto payment.

[Laslow Panaflex]

57: That is the case with all of the pre-paid plans - I was referring to the contract plans.

[57]

Sorry, I thought this thread was about pre-paid plans.

[reidw]

Originally Posted by 57

There is on Rogers PAYGo, provided you top up before minutes expire, or if you're on auto payment.

Bell Prepaid also rolls over the minutes if you top up before the expiry date. Surprisingly they hide this very marketable fact on their less viewed webpages and in fine print.

[Laslow Panaflex]

57: It is, but my rant went slightly out of bounds.