"Disposable" phone options for 2 weeks in Vancouver, BC?

May 17, 2007 1:45 PM

I'll soon be in Vancouver, BC for about 2 weeks, and it would be helpful for me to have a cell phone while I'm out there - but only while I'm out there. Would a prepaid cell phone be my best bet? If so, any suggestions as to where to pick one up? If not, what else might work?

Okay, I'll admit it: I'm a luddite. Here it is 2007 and I still have no cell phone (avert your eyes, I'm technologically hideous!), nor do I want to take on the expense of one. But soon I'll be visiting friends in Vancouver, BC (I'm in South Carolina atm if that makes any difference) and it would be helpful if I had a way to get in touch with them when I'm out and about on my own (I'd only be using it for quick, 1-2 minute "hey, I'm at [Location X], wanna meet up here later?" type calls). My knee-jerk reaction is that a prepaid cell phone would be my best bet - something I could get on the cheap, use out there, then forget I'd ever had - but does that really make sense? If it does I'm assuming I'd be best off just getting a phone once I'm out there rather than getting a US-based one and paying international fees, but I'd love to get opinions on that, too. I suppose if there were a US-based phone with reasonable Canadian rates I could just buy it here and then toss it in my glove box after my trip in case of roadside emergencies or what-not (my mom, at least, would be quite happy if I went that way) - but again, my primary desire is to have a means of getting hold of my friends while out in BC.

Looking through previous posts here I see some with recommendations for various prepaid phones (especially T-Mobile and Virgin, I guess?) but most of those looked to be for folks who wanted a long-term (and non-Canadian) solution so I'm hoping perhaps someone has some experience or suggestions for this more "disposable phone" situation I'm considering. The other option I'd found while googling around is to rent a phone when I get out there, but at $5.00CAN + $0.99/minute that sounds rather pricey, doesn't it? Or is that really the best way to go? Thanks in advance for any input you can provide!

posted by zeph to technology (15 comments total)

I think you can get a selection of cheap pre-paid phones at 7-11 stores in Canada. There seem to be 7-11s in Vancouver. By cheap, I'm not sure if it's $50 or $100, but probably in that range.
posted by GuyZero at 1:55 PM on May 17, 2007

Here it is. Nokia 1100 with airtime, $65.
posted by GuyZero at 1:57 PM on May 17, 2007

I'm pretty sure I saw the 7-11 across the street (and others) offering a free phone w/ $100 of prepaid airtime... 7-11s are plentiful around here. Not sure who that specific provider is for that particular deal, but around these parts we've got Rogers (who also own Fido), Telus, Bell, and Virgin (if they still exist out here... i honestly can't remember). If you only need it for two weeks, then they're all pretty much the same after you've done the price comparisons. (unless you're going to be in the 'burbs -- in that case, avoid Fido.)

My only other suggestion, once you got here, is to visit any mall (Pacific Center, Oakridge, Metrotown, wherever you happen to be closest to) and just talk to someone at any of the associated stores/kisoks. Every provider has at least one per mall, it seems.
posted by cgg at 2:30 PM on May 17, 2007

I was in Canada last year and I did get a cell phone. I think that you need to supply a local address in order to use a pre-paid handset. I purchased one through Telus and I needed to supply an address. I didn't have one, so I rented a post office box. All was fine, just cost a little more than it should. Calls are relatively expensive.

My main method of communicating was using Skype. I purchased a number in Australia for my relatives to call me and the rates to local and cell phones from Skype were excellent. I am pretty sure that you can buy a Canadian phone number as well.

If you have a laptop, you find heaps of free or cheap wireless access points and many cafes and hotels provide this service.
posted by dantodd at 2:58 PM on May 17, 2007

Any Wal-mart in Canada will have a big selection of prepaid phones, or as previously mentioned, 7-11. The only thing you need is money.
posted by blue_beetle at 3:03 PM on May 17, 2007

You may have needed to provide an address for the telus phone because, well, telus is crap. It grew out of a monopoly (AGT - Alberta Government Telephone) and hasn't shed much of the red tape.

Personally I live just outside of vancouver and carry a 'disposable'/emergency phone. It's the afore mentioned el cheapo uit form virgin. Prepaid and available everywhere. 7-11 and futureshop/bestbuy being the handiest locations to grab them usually
posted by mce at 3:12 PM on May 17, 2007

You wouldn't want to get a US prepaid phone, because then you'd continually be making long-distance calls. You can get prepaid phones here all over the place.

Telus is perfectly fine for prepaid service -- it's a 5-minute phone call to activate it. Prepaid services vary little, and you'll be in a city so you don't need to worry about coverage. There's no red tape with prepaid phones. They only want your address so they can mail you some brochures and coupons and stuff. Just give the hotel address if it comes to that.

If you're so inclined you could sell off it on Craigslist on the way out of town.
posted by loiseau at 3:43 PM on May 17, 2007

That all being said, if you'll be the one making the calls, you could just use payphones.
posted by loiseau at 3:44 PM on May 17, 2007

cgg: I believe Fido customers now use the Rogers network. I'm not sure if this is the case 100% of the time; I'm on Rogers and my friends who are on Fido find their phones connecting to the Rogers network when out here in Burnaby, which I agree is a big improvement over Fido's spotty (ha!) coverage.

I don't know how soon you will be leaving for Vancouver, but if you have the time beforehand, I might suggest picking up the cheapest unlocked GSM phone you can find off eBay (a quick search shows they can be had starting at $10 US or so), bringing it with you, and signing up for a pay-as-you-go plan once you get here, from a kiosk in a mall or whatever, as cgg suggests. I only have personal experience with Rogers, but their Anytime Plan (link looks kinda screwy in Firefox) is $0.33/min Canadian, with a minimum airtime purchase of $10 that's good for a month. If you need more airtime you can just add it with a credit card over the phone or purchase it at a 7-11 or gas station.

This is the cheapest solution I can think of.
posted by good in a vacuum at 4:41 PM on May 17, 2007

You might want to eBay a cheap unlocked GSM cell phone. You can usually get one for $20 to $30. Then you can use whatever prepaid GSM SIMs you can find up there without having to buy one of their phones.

When you come home, you can look into cheap prepaid plans in the US and have yourself a cell phone for a few bucks a month, presuming your usage is low. ;)

Or, what good in a vacuum said.
posted by wierdo at 5:12 PM on May 17, 2007

I just got a new phone so you can have my old one. You can go prepay on it, only needs to be activated. It's a 4 year old phone and does nothing fancy. It's Fido. Email is in profile if you want it.
posted by Salmonberry at 5:38 PM on May 17, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

good in a vacuum: "cgg: I believe Fido customers now use the Rogers network. "

Yes, Fido is owned by Rogers.

wierdo: "You might want to eBay a cheap unlocked GSM cell phone. You can usually get one for $20 to $30. Then you can use whatever prepaid GSM SIMs you can find up there without having to buy one of their phones."

Maybe there's something I don't know, but I've never seen or heard of SIM cards being sold separate of a phone, and only Rogers/Fido is GSM. The Telus network and the Bell network (incl. Virgin + PC) are CDMA.
posted by loiseau at 6:52 PM on May 17, 2007

zeph (and loiseau - FYI) if you pick up Salmonberry's phone, you can buy a SIM card from any Fido store (any mall will have one). Buy a 10$ voucher and you are good to go for a month.

However, I would recommend an unlocked GSM as suggested by good in a vacuum and wierdo - so that you can pick up a SIM from Verizon or T-Mobile, throw it in your car and make your mom happy (and also be able to put in a SIM in any other country with GSM service that you visit).

When I went down to New Orleans for a week and Chicago for a couple of days shortly thereafter, I threw a T-Mobile SIM into my unlocked cell, and had phone service throughout the US for my entire stay. I will never buy a non-unlocked phone ever again.
posted by birdsquared at 10:47 PM on May 17, 2007

loiseau: I got a SIM card from Rogers to go with my old unlocked GSM phone, to use with a new prepaid account. They charged me something like $50 just for the SIM, though. That was a few years back (before Rogers owned Fido).
posted by Emanuel at 7:39 PM on May 18, 2007

I guess I should mention, I have a spare SIM card to go with the phone. So all it'd be is activation + airtime. But you're right, it wouldn't be unlocked.
posted by Salmonberry at 2:11 PM on May 19, 2007