Canada wireless broadband?

[Doryman]

Would appreciate advice from any Canadian Brats on wireless broadband providers and plans (e.g., Verizon seems to be preferred in the States.)

TIA.

Warren

[Ron on Meander]

Warren,
Telus and Rogers seem to have the best coverage to my knowledge up here. They probably have reciprocal agreements with the US carriers but I would expect the charges to be pretty high. I don't use my cell a lot so I'm probably not the best one to answer your questions. For internet use I try to pickup a wireless signal or pay the marina for use of theirs. Again I don't use the internet or the cell phone much when we are cruising.
Ron

[journey on]

If you're talking about cell phone coverage, we use the Verizon US/Canada plan when we're in Canada. For $20/mo more you can use your cell phone in Canada. It's a month to month charge, so you can revert back once you're south of the border.

If you're asking about broadband wireless for the internet, try asking for the same type of plan. We found enough wi-fi places that we didn't need access through Verizon. In the states Verizon broadband costs $60/mo. I found one place which sold me 24 hrs of access for $10. That meant 24 hrs of clock time (one day,) instead of 24 hrs of access time, so be careful.

If you're cruising north of Vancouver Il, there's very little cell phone service.

Boris

[Doryman]

[JamesTXSD]

Hi Warren,

Last year when we were in Canada, we had differing answers from Verizon. We were told we could add a Canadian data plan for an extra $129 per month, which seemed pretty pricey to me. Then. they called back and said it would be based on actual usage... I don't recall what the cost per byte was, but with a bit of figuring, the Verizon person told me (based on our average usage), it would be a couple grand per month!!! Yeah, I don't think so.

So, on occasion we bought some daily access... it was never more than $10, and even found a place or two that had free wifi, if not in a marina, then at a coffee shop. I didn't post/surf daily... just snagged it when I could.

If you do use your Verizon up there, get something in writing regarding the cost... I have heard of folks being able to add Canada coverage to their Verizon plan, but that was just phone, not data. I didn't want any big $$$ surprises on my bill when we got back to the US.

Best wishes,
Jim

[Doryman]

[cpf3]

Elaine and I were in Saulte Ste Marie, MI last year. Because we were close to the border I called Verizon to insure that I wouldn't be 'accidently' be picked up by a CA tower and incurr additional charges. Despite their assurances, we did hit a CA tower and over a month's time picked up over $1,500 in international charges! This was charged at:

"In the Canadian Broadband and Canadian Enhanced Services Rate and Coverage Areas, usage will be charged at a rate of $0.002 per KB or $2.05 per MB. ""

It adds up very fast. Fortunately, I'd called beforehand and the call was on record. All of those charges were refunded.

Having said that, I do believe that there's a US/CA plan, but I couldn't get a straight answer at the time. besides, I currently have an unlimited usage plan and any new one has a 50 MB or 5GB limit.

Chucck Flanagan

[Oly]

In 2005, so this may be outdated, I traveled to Vancouver BC, took the ferry to "the Sunshine Coast" and back. I planned to meet my son near Vancouver on the way back so I took my cell phone which is a Tracfone pay-by-the-minute phone. I don't use a cell phone much, mostly for when on the road and possible emergencies so it works for me. It costs about $100 for a year of service and more minutes than I need. Phones now cost less than $20. Tracfone makes no claims about working in Canada and they don't identify who their carrier is. But I thought I'd give it a try and it worked just fine, even on the ferry, and the charge was the typical by the minute U.S. charge (comes to pennies per minute). I can't guarantee it will still do this--especially further from the border--or a newly bought phone will work the same, but for less than $20 it could be worth a try. A lot better than the rates I'm reading about.

Steve in Olympia, WA

[sailor-d]

Just read this article in the local rag on the very topic.


http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=8332bde6-f648-4bcb-b671-e55e7ae220c3