Best cell phone and plan in Edmonton?

June 4, 2012 7:07 AM

I'm buying my first cell phone and would like input sorting out the best phone and plan in Edmonton.

Right now I'm deciding between pay-as-you-go and a landline, or a basic talk-and-text with unlimited evenings/weekends as my only phone. I don’t need data or long distance and would like a "dumb" indestructible phone with voicemail.

Based on CompareCellular I'm leaning to Rogers or Telus prepaid by the minute, or a Koodoo or Solo 25 talk-and-text plan.

1. Any comments on how to decide between those options, or a better option?
2. What carrier do you think has the best coverage in Edmonton?
3. How should I figure out how many minutes I'd actually use in a month? On my landline right now it’s maybe 60, but I will be using the cell phone for work occasionally.
4. What type of simple phone would you recommend? I've heard Nokia is durable.

posted by narcissus_and_ambrosia to technology (4 answers total)

I have had problems with telus--like receiving texts 24 hours late. That can create huge problems, so I'm going to cancel them. I guess there is no way I can prove the problem isn't caused by the sender's provider, but it seems to be telus. They also constantly mail out lavish promotions on heavy card stock, depicting cute animals. This is kinda bad for their environment, no?
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:53 AM on June 4, 2012

My one piece of advice is to call the customer support line and negotiate your price through them. They almost always have more power to give you a deal or freebies than the people at the kiosk do. I have an iphone through Bell, and I saved $30 per month by arranging my contract through their phone support people. (They wanted me to pay $80 per month at the kiosk, phone support offered $50 per month with more features). I haven't had any issues with Bell.
posted by Nightman at 9:33 AM on June 4, 2012

I have dealt with frustration and anger at many cell providers both in Canada and the US, and Roger's is a league apart in incompetence, callow disregard for their customers, and bad service. Even if you don't sign a contract with them, know that they have the worst network coverage in western Canada. Fine if you stay in Edmonton, not so fine if you leave the city. The irony of not getting Roger's service at Roger's Pass....

I have since signed on with Virgin, who despite their quirks, have been very reasonable. They run on the Bell network, whose coverage seems to be comparable to Telus.
posted by bumpkin at 10:43 AM on June 4, 2012

I am on 7-11's pay as you go service and I'm pretty happy with it. Standard rate is 25c/minute, minutes last a year, incoming texts are free, outgoings are 10c, "unlimited browsing" (can be shoehorned, at least on Android, into about 90% of data working fine (e.g., mail, maps works, Google Talk doesn't)) is ten bucks a month. There's a lively non 7-11 forum dedicated to it where people are pretty helpful. Used to have to buy a phone from 7-11 too but I believe now you can just get a SIM and put it into any (unlocked?) GSM phone you want. Bad news is that the service is basically on the Rogers footprint, so if you have problems with Rogers coverage this won't help -- however, you don't have to deal with Rogers yourself.
posted by the dief at 1:14 PM on June 4, 2012