Reasonable mobile plan in Vancouver

[Mr.Humble]

Hello there,

 

it has been a hot minute since I was here last, but I figured that there's most likely someone who can advise me.

 

I'll be going on a study exchange to Vancouver at the start of next year and because I only have one kidney left after paying for the flight tickets I need a reasonable mobile plan with lots of mobile data, preferably 5G.

 

I'm completely lost in what options there are so I will be grateful for any recommendations. I'm hoping to mainly use data, and would like to stay below 40 $ CAD if that is at all possible*.

 

I was hoping Ting would be an option but it seems that is only in the US.

 

Hit me up!

 

*side note: They say Czech Republic has some of the most expensive mobile data out there but Canadian prices suuuuuuuck

[trag1c]

4 hours ago, Mr.Humble said:

Hello there,

 

it has been a hot minute since I was here last, but I figured that there's most likely someone who can advise me.

 

I'll be going on a study exchange to Vancouver at the start of next year and because I only have one kidney left after paying for the flight tickets I need a reasonable mobile plan with lots of mobile data, preferably 5G.

 

I'm completely lost in what options there are so I will be grateful for any recommendations. I'm hoping to mainly use data, and would like to stay below 40 $ CAD if that is at all possible*.

 

I was hoping Ting would be an option but it seems that is only in the US.

 

Hit me up!

 

*side note: They say Czech Republic has some of the most expensive mobile data out there but Canadian prices suuuuuuuck

Ya canadian the big three canadian are essentially all in bed with each other so you have an oligopolly. I am not in Vancouver but Bell or Telus are basically the goto in western Canada as they have the most infrastructure. All of the smaller guys are owned by the big guys but they generally have a lot of restrictions. They can be great though if you never leave major cities.

 

I've had better luck with bell more so than the other ones but honestly it doesn't matter who you choose as they're all the same company basically lol. Just pick whoever is offering the better deal at the time.

 

Edit:

I honestly don't think you will be able to hit 40CAD a month from any of the big guys. Freedom mobile has 8GB data plans for like 40 bucks but if you ever leave the cities it's like 3G coverage or no coverage at all. In cities they have 4G.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

11 hours ago, Mr.Humble said:

Hello there,

 

it has been a hot minute since I was here last, but I figured that there's most likely someone who can advise me.

 

I'll be going on a study exchange to Vancouver at the start of next year and because I only have one kidney left after paying for the flight tickets I need a reasonable mobile plan with lots of mobile data, preferably 5G.

 

I'm completely lost in what options there are so I will be grateful for any recommendations. I'm hoping to mainly use data, and would like to stay below 40 $ CAD if that is at all possible*.

 

I was hoping Ting would be an option but it seems that is only in the US.

 

Hit me up!

 

*side note: They say Czech Republic has some of the most expensive mobile data out there but Canadian prices suuuuuuuck

I'm personally using Fido which is pretty much the Rogers LTE network. The way you can think of how things are around here is that $40-50 gets you at least 2GB of data at LTE speeds with unlimited minutes and text with the mid-tier carriers. The same amount would get you theoretically unlimited data with the low tier carriers with a huge catch. Which is you're getting about 4-5GBs at 3G speed and over that is unlimited at reduced speeds. So those reduced speeds might not be enough for streaming video, but for email, messages, and maybe even music streaming, it'll be enough.

 

Shaw Mobile would have some pretty good deals but only if you bundle with their home internet plans.

[Mr.Humble]

15 hours ago, trag1c said:

I honestly don't think you will be able to hit 40CAD a month from any of the big guys. Freedom mobile has 8GB data plans for like 40 bucks but if you ever leave the cities it's like 3G coverage or no coverage at all. In cities they have 4G.

Yeah that will not be possible apparently. I use music streaming and Instagram quite a bit so 8GB is the bare minimum.

How do the plans work from someone like Bell? Are all the regular plans on a 2 year contract or is there a possibility to get a plan without a fixed contract? Or is my only / best option a prepaid plan? I'll only be there for 4 months.

[trag1c]

50 minutes ago, Mr.Humble said:

Yeah that will not be possible apparently. I use music streaming and Instagram quite a bit so 8GB is the bare minimum.

How do the plans work from someone like Bell? Are all the regular plans on a 2 year contract or is there a possibility to get a plan without a fixed contract? Or is my only / best option a prepaid plan? I'll only be there for 4 months.

That's a tough one. I've always been on a 2 year contract/upgrade cycle so I've never really looked into anything else. I know you can get 1 year but I am not sure if they offer shorter contract periods. Looking at their ToS it seems like you can get a contract for any length of time but I am not 100% on that. I'll attach the ToS for you. Section 17 seems to cover contract periods. I would probably email or call them to confirm though.

Bell_Terms_of_Service.pdf

[jre84]

well its usually shaw or telus...but im getting 3 lines for 0.00.with shaw..however if you want lte data its 25 bucks for 25gb and basically unbeatable go shaw or go home, joking but its a great deal and nice coverage its held up against my s21 ultra on rogers...similar coverage

[Ravendarat]

Canada has some of the highest data rates of first world countries in the world, you're gonna get taken advantage of in this country based on lack of options. Virgin has OK pricing but its gonna be 4g, for 5g  you are looking at Bell and Telus generally, although if you happen to have shaw internet for home internet than then shaw Mobile is SUPER affordable, might be worth checking into if its an option

[IPD]

I would keep a VERY, VERY keen eye on Mint Mobile--hopefully they have some kind of plan there soon.

 

-First off, they're pretty much as cheap as they come. 

-Second, they are an MVNO for T-Mobile network--so if you have coverage on that network, you're gold.

-Third, GSM > LTE if you ever want to travel, as you can get local sim cards wherever you go, no new phone

-Fourth, Ryan Freaking Reynolds owns the company.  He's Canadian.  And from Vancouver.

 

Just saying....

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

11 hours ago, IPD said:

I would keep a VERY, VERY keen eye on Mint Mobile--hopefully they have some kind of plan there soon.

 

-First off, they're pretty much as cheap as they come. 

-Second, they are an MVNO for T-Mobile network--so if you have coverage on that network, you're gold.

-Third, GSM > LTE if you ever want to travel, as you can get local sim cards wherever you go, no new phone

-Fourth, Ryan Freaking Reynolds owns the company.  He's Canadian.  And from Vancouver.

 

Just saying....

They don't operate in Vancouver though... 

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

On 10/31/2021 at 2:19 AM, Mr.Humble said:

Yeah that will not be possible apparently. I use music streaming and Instagram quite a bit so 8GB is the bare minimum.

How do the plans work from someone like Bell? Are all the regular plans on a 2 year contract or is there a possibility to get a plan without a fixed contract? Or is my only / best option a prepaid plan? I'll only be there for 4 months.

You might be able to give the small guys like Chatr, Freedom Mobile, or Public Mobile a go. Music streaming and Instagram, you might be able to get away with 3G speeds for those. Just keep in mind of their coverage areas because they love to make some weird obscure coverage zones. But in general, as long as you stay within the Greater Vancouver area, you should be fine. It's only when you stray to the Valley and beyond is where you can run into coverage issues and possibly extra charges. It's been a while since I've looked at their policies closely on those coverage zones.