Best Canadian cell phone for emergency use?
December 18, 2015 10:57 AM Subscribe
What's the best Canadian-available cell phone/plan for someone who will only use the phone very, very occasionally?
My aging (but still super active) father hikes, mountain bikes, and otherwise has way too much fun for his age outdoors alone ALL THE TIME. He never hikes with a buddy, he often leaves no indication of where he's going or how long he'll be. He does not have, nor has he ever had, a cell phone, so if he cracks his skull open out on the rocks somewhere, we'd never know. My mother is bothered by this. My siblings and I are bothered by this. This is dangerous. We'd like to conspire to get him to change this. A previous Christmas gift of a Spot beacon has only ever been used once.
Despite the fact that he's thus far been averse to (repeated) pleas to get (and use!) a cell phone, I'd like to hook him up with a basic phone for Christmas that he can use for emergencies and (more importantly) so that my Mom can get in touch with him when he's out romping around and she's worrying about him.
Things that would be nice:
- good coverage in non-city areas
- gps (in case his handheld gps fails or something)
- prepaid/pay as you go minutes that roll over as far as possible (since he's unlikely to use many minutes in a month, it would be annoying to waste them continually)
Things that are not important:
- apps
- music
- camera
- smartphone things
My aging (but still super active) father hikes, mountain bikes, and otherwise has way too much fun for his age outdoors alone ALL THE TIME. He never hikes with a buddy, he often leaves no indication of where he's going or how long he'll be. He does not have, nor has he ever had, a cell phone, so if he cracks his skull open out on the rocks somewhere, we'd never know. My mother is bothered by this. My siblings and I are bothered by this. This is dangerous. We'd like to conspire to get him to change this. A previous Christmas gift of a Spot beacon has only ever been used once.
Despite the fact that he's thus far been averse to (repeated) pleas to get (and use!) a cell phone, I'd like to hook him up with a basic phone for Christmas that he can use for emergencies and (more importantly) so that my Mom can get in touch with him when he's out romping around and she's worrying about him.
Things that would be nice:
- good coverage in non-city areas
- gps (in case his handheld gps fails or something)
- prepaid/pay as you go minutes that roll over as far as possible (since he's unlikely to use many minutes in a month, it would be annoying to waste them continually)
Things that are not important:
- apps
- music
- camera
- smartphone things
Get a PAYG speakout phone from 7-11 - airtime in any denomination lasts a full year (last time I checked). Phone prices are reasonable.
posted by Klaxon Aoooogah at 11:20 AM on December 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Klaxon Aoooogah at 11:20 AM on December 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
I should add, I believe they use the Rogers network, so coverage should be pretty good.
posted by Klaxon Aoooogah at 11:21 AM on December 18, 2015
posted by Klaxon Aoooogah at 11:21 AM on December 18, 2015
Can you add him to one of your or your sibling's plans? The add-on cost is usually quite low for a new line on most family plans. He doesn't sound like he'll be using many minutes or much data. Pay as you go numbers can get deactivated if you're not on top of making sure that you're renewing your service period at the proper time intervals.
posted by quince at 11:39 AM on December 18, 2015
posted by quince at 11:39 AM on December 18, 2015
The 7-11 one gives you a full year before you get deactivated (I just checked).
posted by Klaxon Aoooogah at 11:42 AM on December 18, 2015
posted by Klaxon Aoooogah at 11:42 AM on December 18, 2015
Where in Canada? That might make a big difference.
I'm in BC and a pretty avid backroad hiker/camper and the above 7-11/Rogers suggestion would be terrible for coverage here. I've got a Virgin phone, which uses Bell's network, and I've regularly had full bar coverage standing next to someone with a Rogers network phone who had no service.
posted by mannequito at 11:47 AM on December 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
I'm in BC and a pretty avid backroad hiker/camper and the above 7-11/Rogers suggestion would be terrible for coverage here. I've got a Virgin phone, which uses Bell's network, and I've regularly had full bar coverage standing next to someone with a Rogers network phone who had no service.
posted by mannequito at 11:47 AM on December 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
Away from the main corridors of highways and towns, cell service can be really spotty in Canada. First thing I would do is check coverage on the network of whichever service you use. Rogers used to be the best regional network, though Bell has caught up now, I think. Even so, for our personal phones, my wife and I have found that for the two or three locations we go to out of town regularly, Telus offers the only service.
If your dad is going anywhere that's "north" (like north of lake superior, 100 km + north of the St. Lawrence, an hour north of Edmonton/Saskatoon/Jasper, evne past the Sunshine Coast in BC), he's as likely as not to have no cell coverage away from town centers.
If he's doing that, as someone who does work in the Canadian bush a fair bit, I'd echo the point to get him to carry his damn SPOT if he's really going back country.
At work, we use SPOTs, which, as well as the device, need a subscription service which isn't cheap. SPOTs are lower power than true PLB systems, so they can be a bit less reliable, but they have the great advantage that they're not directly connected to the SAR network. That means you can check-in and even sometimes cancel an alert that may have been made in error. With a PLB, push the button and that's it, you are getting a CF/CCG helicopter coming to check on you, guaranteed.
posted by bonehead at 11:54 AM on December 18, 2015
If your dad is going anywhere that's "north" (like north of lake superior, 100 km + north of the St. Lawrence, an hour north of Edmonton/Saskatoon/Jasper, evne past the Sunshine Coast in BC), he's as likely as not to have no cell coverage away from town centers.
If he's doing that, as someone who does work in the Canadian bush a fair bit, I'd echo the point to get him to carry his damn SPOT if he's really going back country.
At work, we use SPOTs, which, as well as the device, need a subscription service which isn't cheap. SPOTs are lower power than true PLB systems, so they can be a bit less reliable, but they have the great advantage that they're not directly connected to the SAR network. That means you can check-in and even sometimes cancel an alert that may have been made in error. With a PLB, push the button and that's it, you are getting a CF/CCG helicopter coming to check on you, guaranteed.
posted by bonehead at 11:54 AM on December 18, 2015
SPOTs won't allow for two way communication so they won't allow his wife to call him.
If in BC you'll want Telus for coverage (or a reseller on the Telus network). I've got pay-as-you go with them. I subscribe to a $5 a month plan for 250 texts a month. Not so much because I use anywhere near that many text messages but because it drops the price of local calls from 50 -> 15 cents a minute (sign up for any pay as you go plan for the discount, the $5 text plan is just the cheapest and I do send a few dozen texts every month). If you buy a $100s at a time the credit is good for 365 days and what with 911 and access fees it'll cover you for a year with a few minutes of voice calls per month. Works out pretty good and is far and away the cheapest route I could find last year when I was looking.
However the only prepaid feature phone they offer is an Alcatel. You can setup any unlocked phone with pay as you go so if you have an old phone hanging around you can activate it pay as you go.
posted by Mitheral at 12:52 PM on December 18, 2015
If in BC you'll want Telus for coverage (or a reseller on the Telus network). I've got pay-as-you go with them. I subscribe to a $5 a month plan for 250 texts a month. Not so much because I use anywhere near that many text messages but because it drops the price of local calls from 50 -> 15 cents a minute (sign up for any pay as you go plan for the discount, the $5 text plan is just the cheapest and I do send a few dozen texts every month). If you buy a $100s at a time the credit is good for 365 days and what with 911 and access fees it'll cover you for a year with a few minutes of voice calls per month. Works out pretty good and is far and away the cheapest route I could find last year when I was looking.
However the only prepaid feature phone they offer is an Alcatel. You can setup any unlocked phone with pay as you go so if you have an old phone hanging around you can activate it pay as you go.
posted by Mitheral at 12:52 PM on December 18, 2015
True they aren't two-way, but SPOTs do have the virtue of being in coverage as long as you can see the sky mostly---cells are still (surprisingly to many people) very limited off the main corridors. The only universal coverage is a sat phone, but those are all kinds of pains in the ass and expensive.
posted by bonehead at 2:16 PM on December 18, 2015
posted by bonehead at 2:16 PM on December 18, 2015
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(The right solution seems to me to be to get him to bring the satellite device with him)
posted by quaking fajita at 11:07 AM on December 18, 2015