Can anyone confirm that Ottawa / Gatineau (National Capital Region) is considered as one province?

[michelb]

Hi,

   I've searched the forums but there appear to be conflicting answers.  Can anyone confirm if NCR is considered one region under the Province-Wide region? (i.e. I can call / received calls in Gatineau from Ottawa and vice-versa) or if they are still treated as separate regions (i.e. you need Canada-wide if you want to call / be-called from Ottawa-Gatineau).

   I'll be moving to PM but live in Ottawa and work in Gatineau so I want to confirm that NCR is considered one calling region even if it spans 2 provinces.

Let me know.  Thanks,
Mike

[TK]

@RedEyz

Yes, I have tested call forwarding. Pls see 

http://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/Are-calls-quot-unanswered-quot-or-quot-unr...

  Re: Are calls "unanswered" or "unreachable" when stepping outside the province?

To clarify forwarding, I did the following tests using different phones.

Note that forwarding takes a few minutes to be effective.

Cell A, with PM sim card, Fongo installed

Cell B, no sim card, Fongo installed

Phone C, home landline

Test 1- Using A, I forwarded always calls to Fongo, then I turned off A. Using C, I called my main number (not fongo). Fongo on B answered.

Test 2- Using A, I forwarded unanswered calls to Fongo, then turned off A. Using C I called my main number, all calls go to PM answering system; no forwarding to Fongo.

Test 3- Using A, I forwarded unreached to Fongo, then turned off A. Using C, I called my main number. Fongo on cell B answered.

This happens when sim is not reachable by PM network.

Test 4- You are out of your province, no long-distance add-ons. You have forwarded unreached calls to Fongo. Cell A is on. Now your sim is reachable by PM network. What happens to incoming calls;

-Call does not pass through, as you do not have long distance add-ons.

-Again, Fongo wakes up, and answers.

This test is not yet done, needs to be out of province

[TK]

To clarify forwarding, I did the following tests using different phones.

Note that forwarding takes a few minutes to be effective.

Cell A, with PM sim card, Fongo installed

Cell B, no sim card, Fongo installed

Phone C, home landline

Test 1- Using A, I forwarded always calls to Fongo, then I turned off A. Using C, I called my main number (not fongo). Fongo on B answered.

Test 2- Using A, I forwarded unanswered calls to Fongo, then turned off A. Using C I called my main number, all calls go to PM answering system; no forwarding to Fongo.

Test 3- Using A, I forwarded unreached to Fongo, then turned off A. Using C, I called my main number. Fongo on cell B answered.

This happens when sim is not reachable by PM network.

Test 4- You are out of your province, no long-distance add-ons. You have forwarded unreached calls to Fongo. Cell A is on. Now your sim is reachable by PM network. What happens to incoming calls;

-Call does not pass through, as you do not have long distance add-ons.

-Again, Fongo wakes up, and answers.

This test is not yet done, needs to be out of province

[RedEyz]

---

@TK wrote:

A working option is to get a free Fongo number.

Forward your phone number to Fongo (unreachable option).

Whenever your are out of your province, you receive calls on Fongo, without LD addons. You can also send calls through Fongo.

---

have you tested this? because if you were out of province you would be unable to receive phone calls without the LD add-on to the province-wide plan.

A long distance talk add-on is required to receive incoming calls while you are outside your home province.

that's taken from the footnotes (#2) of the plan builder. so it would just go to the Fongo VM if you set that up, or ring on forever, or whatever. never used Fongo, don't know the settings available.

[kav2001c]

Another super simple option is Skype To Go 

Anyone who uses Office (which is like everyone these days?) gets free North America minutes as part of your package

Register your number for caller ID and dial local access number for whatever province you are in then dial long distance

No data used + you always get unlimited minutes

Other way is via Skype app, but this will use data so your choice

[TK]

A working option is to get a free Fongo number.

Forward your phone number to Fongo (unreachable option).

Whenever your are out of your province, you receive calls on Fongo, without LD addons. You can also send calls through Fongo.

[Mana]

This is a bit confusing. 

So so let's say if you are in Ontario and you have the promo plan, if you receive an out of province call, is it considered long distance and you are charged long distance?

[RogerI]

After reading these posts, I am really confused!

A few people claim they can phone back to Ontario with a Ontario registered phone while in PQ.

This is NOT what the Public web site claims. So what is the correct answer?

Also, people have been complaiming that while phoning Gatineau to Gatineau they are charged LD.

Can this be a problem with what cell tower you are connected to along the river?

This can be solved by "white listing" the towers by both sides of the Ottawa River.

I realise there are other problem areas across the country, but Ottawa/Gatineau should be a special case.

Also, would be nice if this forum had a spell checker. It would be trivial to add.

[kav2001c]

@zmawani @michelb @maoz

This is an idea we really need to promote

Click to post here under Public Lab ideas and lets get heard on this matter

This is a LOCAL call NOT a long distance call!!!

http://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Public-Lab/Ottawa-ON-Gatineau-PQ/idi-p/83112

[zmawani]

Just to add on, I have found that it seems to connect to 613 numbers regardless of where I am. I was in Montreal yesterday and it connected just fine to 613 numbers (which was my primary concern). I am curious if I went across further than 1 province (say for example I went to Vancouver for a trip), if it would still allow me to call 613 numbers as though they were local.

I am going to add some top up minutes for the few occasions where I need to call Gatineau numbers, but I imagine 200 minutes will last me over a year.

[hazing]

HI all,

Just want to give an update. I spent a good couple hours trying to resolve this issue for people living in Ottawa and trying to call Gatineau (819) area code numbers.

It turns out that the 819 area code is 'coded' as Quebec and hence when calling from the Ontario side (Ottawa) to 819 numbers, the call will not be connected. This happens even if the person with the 819 number lives in Ottawa.

In short, it's all determined by the area code and where you are placing a call.

For example, I will have no issues calling a 819 number from my Ontario provincial calling plan if I am making the call from the Quebec side assuming I am connected to a Quebec tower.

Best way around this is to use apps like Fongo, Hangouts or add 200 minutes add-on for $8.

Hope this helps as it was frustrating to understand.

[maoz]

You wont get charged to call 613 numbers as long as your phone number starts with 613. But I don't think you can make a call to 819 nunbers if you only get provincial unlimited. 

[zmawani]

I'm curious about your experience now that it's been a few months. Do you have an answer to this question?

I live in Ottawa, work in Gatineau and have just activated my phone. I'd rather not get charged extra to make a call during the work day to the Ottawa side...

[JaK]

@michelb;

@maoz has a very good suggestion. The same $15 you pay for 90 days Canada wide over province wide will buy you 400 LD international LD minutes. The difference is that those minutes do not expire on the 90 day renewal, and since they are international they can also be used for the occassional call to the US or overseas, instead of just other provinces. Do you think you'd use more than 400 minutes of inter-province calling per 90 days? Unless you're sure you would, probably would be worthwhile to try the province wide with LD add on route first, and switch to Canada wide only if necessary.

[maoz]

I am pretty sure that my cell phone couldn't be reached at home from my home phone when I activated my public mobile account last year, but I don't remember if I could call my 819 home phone at that point. I bought 400 minutes long distance and still have around 150 minutes as of today. Guess I don't call too much:)!

[michelb]

Thank you very much for the confirmation maoz and JaK.  

That's what I suspected but wanted to make sure before I "waste" the extra $5 on "Canada-wide" calling (I really don't call anyone else except in Ottawa / Gatineau but I need to be able to call and receive calls from any numbers in the area).  

I need to be reachable so can't really spend time doing tests although maybe I'll try it between the time I activate on PM and when I port my current number over (I guess I can spend a few days with 2 phones to try it out).

That would explain the inconsistent responses in previous messages (some people said it did work and some people said it was LD).

[maoz]

I think I can answer this question: I live in  Gatineau and work in Ottawa. They do treat this two areas as two provinces - actually they treat this based on your phone number. I have a 613 cell phone number and I need to have a long distance add-on to call(maybe receive too) 819 numbers. But all 613 is free for me.

[JaK]

Hi @michelb;

I live on the Ontario side and have province wide calling only. I don't have many occasions to cross the river, but I was in Gatineau (Costco) last Saturday and was able to call back home. On another occasion I had tried calling someone in Cantley, and that did not work. So yes, it would appear there is some leaway in calling back and forth between Ottawa and Gatineau, but not the whole NCR.

My suggestion would be to go ahead and order a PM sim card and try it out on a 10 day plan using a new number. If all is good, then go ahead and port your number over to PM.

Good luck, and hopefully welcome to Public Mobile. 🙂

[Luddite · Accepted solution]

Doubt it; if the area codes are different provinces do not expect it to work.

Rather pick the area code that you expect to have the most traffic and purchase a long distance add-on to cover the rest. You will soon be able to determine if Canada wide calling is a better deal for you.

In case you were not aware, you will be able to call other numbers in a province your are "visiting" but cannot reeive calls. They shoild go to you voicemail though.