Mobile data while visiting Canada

[FallenBytes]

Our family is going on a vacation tomorrow to Vancouver. All of our phones are on a Verizon shared data plan and changing to another plan (while not as rediculous as $20/MB) is still ridiculously expensive. I would like to know if there are any carriers that service Vancouver and/or Vancouver Iles that we can get just a mobile hotspot from to use for a the two weeks we are there and how much it might cost.

[Aniallation]

Our family is going on a vacation tomorrow to Vancouver. All of our phones are on a Verizon shared data plan and changing to another plan (while not as rediculous as $20/MB) is still ridiculously expensive. I would like to know if there are any carriers that service Vancouver and/or Vancouver Iles that we can get just a mobile hotspot from to use for a the two weeks we are there and how much it might cost.

Welcome to Linus Tech Tips! If you have a Verizon LTE phone then it's factory unlocked, and you can just get a pay as you go data plan from some companies. If you're just using data then there's some good tablet plans on Virgin Mobile )Canadian version) that you could just set the APN for on your phone. If you're only in the Vancouver area then there's some cheap mobile hotspot options from Wind Mobile, but it's only 3G, and crappy 3G at best.

[dizmo]

Don't they have some kind of travel plan?

Data up here isn't super cheap. Figure $30/1gb.

[T.Vengeance]

Glhf. We have the worst rates NA for wireless stuff.

[Aniallation]

Don't they have some kind of travel plan?

Data up here isn't super cheap. Figure $30/1gb.

 

 

Glhf. We have the worst rates NA for wireless stuff.

 

The big 3 have ridiculous rates. I use Wind which isn't all bad, but only works in the city.

[dizmo]

The big 3 have ridiculous rates. I use Wind which isn't all bad, but only works in the city.

The $30/gb was for Koodo.

Does Wind have LTE? What carrier do they piggy back on?

[T.Vengeance]

The big 3 have ridiculous rates. I use Wind which isn't all bad, but only works in the city.

I jumped on the Rogers Socialite 20 bandwagon bandwagon before they took out the 100mb data. So I guess mine is alright...20 bucks for unlim text, free calling from 3-6pm, and 100mb data. They took out the data part now though which sucks for anyone who didn't get it.

[FallenBytes]

Thank you for the quick and detailed answers. And thanks for the warm welcome.

[dizmo]

Our family is going on a vacation tomorrow to Vancouver. All of our phones are on a Verizon shared data plan and changing to another plan (while not as rediculous as $20/MB) is still ridiculously expensive. I would like to know if there are any carriers that service Vancouver and/or Vancouver Iles that we can get just a mobile hotspot from to use for a the two weeks we are there and how much it might cost.

There are loads of coffee shops etc that have free WiFi. So likely you can just get away with that if you're in the city.

The hotel you stay at should also have free WiFi.

Or are you looking for a data plan for your phone?

 

I jumped on the Rogers Socialite 20 bandwagon bandwagon before they took out the 100mb data. So I guess mine is alright...20 bucks for unlim text, free calling from 3-6pm, and 100mb data. They took out the data part now though which sucks for anyone who didn't get it.

Free calling from 3-6? What a weird, borderline useless feature.

I pay $15/month for unlimited text with Koodo and add minutes and data as needed. Unlike Rogers, my data carries over. So if I don't use the full gb, I'm good.

[Aniallation]

The $30/gb was for Koodo.

Does Wind have LTE? What carrier do they piggy back on?

No Wind is just 3G. It's not that bad since I'm someone who came from a 3G phone on Telus and now I'm getting the same speeds. I've never used LTE and to be honest I don't want to, because then coming back to Wind is gonna suck

 

Wind outside of the city uses Rogers for their roaming, but in the city they use their own network, which runs on AWS 3G. It's the same as non-refarmed T-Mobile, which can make finding used phones that work on their network a pain in the ass.

 

But hey, $35 a month for unlimited province-wide talk, canada-wide text and data

[T.Vengeance]

There are loads of coffee shops etc that have free WiFi. So likely you can just get away with that if you're in the city.

The hotel you stay at should also have free WiFi.

Or are you looking for a data plan for your phone?

 

Free calling from 3-6? What a weird, borderline useless feature.

I pay $15/month for unlimited text with Koodo and add minutes and data as needed. Unlike Rogers, my data carries over. So if I don't use the full gb, I'm good.

It was probably more catered to students (after school calling and stuff). 

[Aniallation]

If it's just data you need then Virgin's charging $35 a month for 5GB

[FallenBytes]

It's just data. Personally I'm OK with kicking it old school and just turning off data all together. But the rest of my family has iphones and an unhealthy dependency on iMessage. From the looks of it free WiFi hotspots around the city would be the way to go.

[dizmo]

No Wind is just 3G. It's not that bad since I'm someone who came from a 3G phone on Telus and now I'm getting the same speeds. I've never used LTE and to be honest I don't want to, because then coming back to Wind is gonna suck

 

Wind outside of the city uses Rogers for their roaming, but in the city they use their own network, which runs on AWS 3G. It's the same as non-refarmed T-Mobile, which can make finding used phones that work on their network a pain in the ass.

 

But hey, $35 a month for unlimited province-wide talk, canada-wide text and data

Ahh, that'd be an issue. I'm guessing that means no HSPA+ then? I'd at least need that speed.

I was also looking at their coverage area and apparently if you leave the city you have to pay per text message, minute, mb of data, etc.

Horrible! With Koodo it piggy backs off Telus, but I don't get charged any kind of roaming fees. I can go where ever they have coverage.

 

 

If it's just data you need then Virgin's charging $35 a month for 5GB

Depending on how he wants to use it, a $15 Koodo SIM and $25 for 500mb might be a better way to go.

 

 

@FallenBytes these maps might be of use to you. Honestly if you're staying in the city of Vancouver, there's a coffee shop (or three or four) on every block.

 

http://www.theprovince.com/maps/wifi.html

 

https://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=102907355002263029726.0004753850aedeb88d5a7&dg=feature

 

Enjoy your stay! It's just starting to get cooler, so that'll be pretty nice.

[Aniallation]

Ahh, that'd be an issue. I'm guessing that means no HSPA+ then? I'd at least need that speed.

I was also looking at their coverage area and apparently if you leave the city you have to pay per text message, minute, mb of data, etc.

Horrible! With Koodo it piggy backs off Telus, but I don't get charged any kind of roaming fees. I can go where ever they have coverage.

I just stay in the city all the time so it works for me. Yes Wind is HSPA+. A friend let me borrow his Bell phone+plan for a while and I intentionally turned off LTE cause I didn't want to get used to it then give it back and go back to Wind. On HSPA+ only, Wind and Bell give about the same speed.

[FallenBytes]

Just got to Vancouver today and was there just long enough to hop a ferry to Victoria for four days for the fair and gardens. Then heading back to VC for another for days of... well idk yet, the rest of my family is just kind of winging it. The WiFi maps will def help though, thx diz