Pre-paid cell phone

[stinkynuts]

Can anyone recommend a good, cheap pre-paid cell phone and plan? I only use my cell phone a few times a month, and am tired of paying 45 dollars a month for the service.

I prefer a service plan which does not involve minutes that expire, and where you buy only the minutes you want.

 

[smiley1437]

I'm fairly certain that all pay-as-you go plans expire eventually - however, you just want to find the ones that last the longest.

You should check out mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) like Virgin Mobile and Petro Canada Mobility - I think they are the most competitive.

MVNO's don't actually own their networks. Virgin operates on the Bell network and I believe that Petro Canada Mobile operates on the Rogers network so if you have a personal bias one way or the other, pick the underlying carrier that you hate the least.

 

[Shallow Throat]

Try Virgin Mobile. You can buy a $100 prepaid card and it won't expire for a YEAR. If you want to avoid monthly plans entirely, they have a minute-to-minute plan which is 30 cents/minute. Also, voicemail fees and the monthly service fees are non-existent. Simply put, you can get 5.5 hours for $100 which lasts a year.

 

[justvisiting1]

Purchase A Telus Phone From Walmart For $47.94 And When You Activate It On A Pay And Talk Online, You Get $50 Credits In Which You Will Have $40 Remaining, As They Have Already Taken A $10 Activation Fee...

If You Were Smart Enough To Understand, You Then Can Add The Unlimited Incoming Calls For $30 A Month...


I Love You Telus!

 

[stinkynuts]

I think Virgin Mobile may be good. I have a phone that had Bell Mobility. Is it possible to activate this phone with Virgin Mobile, or do I have to purchase a new one with them?

 

[LordLoki]

If you are not on a plan, just turn yours into a Pay as You Go

 

[Damondean]

Virgin is good

I think Virgin Mobile may be good. I have a phone that had Bell Mobility. Is it possible to activate this phone with Virgin Mobile, or do I have to purchase a new one with them?

You have to buy a new phone. But they are cheap. I bought a Nokia at Best Buy that was on sale for about $40. The pay as you go minutes expire but it seems every time you top up, all of it extends.

 

[LordLoki]

You have to buy a new phone. But they are cheap. I bought a Nokia at Best Buy that was on sale for about $40. The pay as you go minutes expire but it seems every time you top up, all of it extends.

No you do not. Everytime I get a new one I give the old one away as a pay as you go. But Damondean is correct, if you try and switch carriers. (most of the time)

 

[stinkynuts]

My contract with Bell expires, and it appears that the phone I currently have is a model that is supported by Virgin Mobile. I'm guessing that I don't have to buy a new phone from them. Unless VM somehow configures their phones to work with their service...

 

[Hard Idle]

I think you do have to buy a phone from Virgin. Since they don't charge monthly for any features or access fees (YET...).

I'm not really happy with it anymore. The main reason I took the phone was that all minutes lasted 120 days. But now that they've brought the expiry times more in line with other providers, and have raised the per minute charge a couple of times, I wouldn't chose them again.

I feel like I've been Bait & Switched by Virgin. Plus you have to live with that dorky surfer-dude on the voice mail prompts, very embarassing to have employers leave messages on what sounds like a kiddie phone.

If I had it to do over, I'd go with either the Petro Canada or the 7/11. I heard they just give you an unlocked GSM phone which you can use later use with other Roger's network providers if you become dissatisfied.

Solo has really great terms on evening and weekend minutes (5 cents) but they charge a $4.99 monthly access fee on prepaid which negates the benefit.

 

[Malibook]

FIDO has a plan for $10 per month, $11.40 total, $.30 per minute.
Any unused dollars get accumulated in your account.

 

[stinkynuts]

Yep, after doing some research, I think 7-ll has the best plan. The minutes do not expire for a full year, and the rate is only 20 cents a minute, with free caller ID and message box. Plus, they offer freequent promotions which make the cost of the phone (around $75) practically zero.

 

[justvisiting1]

The Unlimited Incoming Calls For $30 A Month...

WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?

GO WITH TELUS...

 

[goalie000]

I use PC Mobile from Loblaws, Phone was on sale at the time, $39 and you buy $25 cards that last for 60 days before expiry if you don't use it. You can top up at any time. They use the Bell network if you don't mind that.
You can also add US roaming to the plan if you need it.

 

[ct_yank]

just be aware that some of these plans do not allow calls between the us and canada. i was in canada making calls and all of the sudden my phone was disabled. it took a while to get the situation resolved.

 

[Edifice]

It's too bad none of the other phone carriers adopted Fido's unlimited incoming and outgoing calls for $45/month idea.

I am paying close to $60/month for my plan with Telus and I still tend to go over the 300 minute mark before 6pm.

It's all those damn small $5 surcharges for little things like call waiting, voicemail and call display.

 

[hot rod]

I use my cell phone very very infrequently. More like I just have it for emergencies etc, so the $10 a month plan from Fido works just great for me. I never use all the minutes and they just keep accumulating from month to month. Unfortunately after many years of use the display screen on the phone is going (works sometimes and not others) so I've got to suck it up and buy a new phone. Where is the cheapest place to buy a new phone for use on Fido on their pay-as-you-go plan?

 

[mmouse]

The cheapest GSM pay as you go is PetroCanada and 7-Eleven, both of which resell Rogers service. Min refill is $20 for 6 months (Petro) or $20 for 1 year (7-11). I've been a Petro customer for several months and the service & features are exactly the same as Fido, which I was on before. For infrequent/inconsistent usage it is way way cheaper.

For a cheap GSM phone, go to the Chinese mall at Sheppard/Brimley. On the ground floor is a small store selling used unlocked phones.