Visiting Canada for 3 weeks in July

[MattUK81]

Apologies if this question has been asked before... but advice can change quickly in the mobile world!

I am visiting Canada for 3 weeks this summer with my wife, touring Alberta and B.C (including Vancouver Island) and sadly my own local mobile operator charges a prohibitively large amount of money for me to 'roam' in Canada.  

Is it feasible for me to order and set up a SIM from Public Mobile for the trip, or would people recommend another course of action?  I will requirely mostly data (around 5GB to last up to 4 weeks), and nothing much at all in terms of calls/texts.

I look forward to hearing your advice.

Please feel free to either reply here or send me a private message.

Matt

[cavemantoronto]

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@bridonca wrote:

I wish Public Mobile would sell SIM cards for a buck on eBay also, so I do not have to recommend the competition! 

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You can buy the sim card on ebay but it won't be sold by Public.  The seller could charge whatever they want.

[bridonca]

I wish Public Mobile would sell SIM cards for a buck on eBay also, so I do not have to recommend the competition! 

[Anonymous]

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@MattUK81 wrote:

Lucky mobile, it seems, throttles data speed to 3G or less, despite using Bell's network.  That's probably why they offer such a good deal in terms of pricing....

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Public Mobile does something similar with their so-called 3G plans. It's 4G data throttled down to about 3mbps. You can also set the phone to the 3G network connection and see what happens.

[MattUK81]

Lucky mobile, it seems, throttles data speed to 3G or less, despite using Bell's network.  That's probably why they offer such a good deal in terms of pricing....

[shskr]

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@MattUK81 wrote:

Thank you... I'll have a check of Bell's coverage charts then and compare to Telus and Rogers. Thanks for all the help - honestly didn't think I'd have so many people offering advice!

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I thought PM is on the Telus network.

[MattUK81]

Thank you... I'll have a check of Bell's coverage charts then and compare to Telus and Rogers. Thanks for all the help - honestly didn't think I'd have so many people offering advice!

[will13am]

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@MattUK81 wrote:

Thanks for the honest advice.  I may just do that instead.  Which network do 'Lucky Mobile' use?  I want to check coverage across the areas I am going... I know that no providers will have 100% coverage, but some seem to do certain areas better than others....

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Lucky and Public Mobile both run on the bellus network.  Performance should be identical.

[MattUK81]

Thanks for the honest advice.  I may just do that instead.  Which network do 'Lucky Mobile' use?  I want to check coverage across the areas I am going... I know that no providers will have 100% coverage, but some seem to do certain areas better than others....

[sheytoon]

@Lieux, hahaha oh man. I thought it said "in 3 weeks" for some reason. My bad!

[bridonca]

I am a happy Public Mobile customer, but in your situation, you might be better of going to the competition,  Lucky Mobile.  I say this because of the cost of the SIM card, and it's availability.  You can get a SIM card for a buck on eBay, and have it delivered to you.  Once you get the SIM card, you can activate a 4.5 GB for $40 plan just before you get to Canada.

If you wanted to do more than 1 month, Public Mobile would be the way to go because of the flexability, and lower cost.  But 3 weeks?  Lucky Mobile.

[Alex888]

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@MattUK81 wrote:

Thank you, that's a great help, telling me the shops where I can pick one up.  I'll have to look and see which is the best value for money operator!

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The cost will be the same at every store: $10 for the SIM card, no activation fees, and the plan you choose plus tax.

[MattUK81]

I'll put a couple of jumpers in!  I'm not packing all the thermals though, like we needed a few winter's ago.  Hit -23 degrees in the middle of Banff National Park during that trip!

[Lieux]

During summer @sheytoon????

[sheytoon]

@MattUK81

There are London Drugs and Wal-Mart locations not too far from Calgary airport. Have a look on Google Maps.

Enjoy your trip! But pack some warm clothes in case you encounter winter weather.

[MattUK81]

Ferry already booked.... as are the hotels we are staying.  The ferry we are taking is Prince Rupert on the mainland to Port Hardy on the island.... then we go back on the Nanaimo to Vancouver route.

I suppose trying to find an operator that has equally good coverage in both Alberta and B.C/inc island is going to be fairly tricky.  I know that there are some complete cellular deadspots, such as Icefields Parkway in Alberta (driven that before, in winter) but that doesn't bother me...

[Anonymous]

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@MattUK81 wrote:

Thanks, really nice of you to offer the help.  We fly into Calgary, do the whole Banff/Jasper drive and then up to the north west coast of BC, ferry down to the north of Vancouver Island, drive down and to Tofino, then ferry back to Vancouver and a few nights there.  3 week trip in total...  looking for decent coverage datawise for most of my trip....

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Sounds like a great trip. There are two ferries from the mainland to the north island. Prince Rupert or Bella Coola starting points.

Keep in mind that BC is mountainous. You could easily have some spotty cell service here and there. Look at the coverage map for Telus if you haven't already. There's a link on the bottom of this page.

But Telus/Koodo/Public Mobile (and Bell) is your best choice in BC.

[MattUK81]

Thank you, that's a great help, telling me the shops where I can pick one up.  I'll have to look and see which is the best value for money operator!

[mimmo]

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@MattUK81 wrote:

Thanks for your reply - it seems as though I'm not able to have the SIM card sent to me though, as I'm outside of Canada?

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You can buy sim cards at several retailers. 

Walmart, wow mobile, superstore, London drugs and a  coupoe others. 

[Lieux]

No..not in the airport....

[MattUK81]

Thanks, really nice of you to offer the help.  We fly into Calgary, do the whole Banff/Jasper drive and then up to the north west coast of BC, ferry down to the north of Vancouver Island, drive down and to Tofino, then ferry back to Vancouver and a few nights there.  3 week trip in total...  looking for decent coverage datawise for most of my trip....

[MattUK81]

If I'm flying into Calgary Air/port, will I likely be able to pick one up there and sort everything out before I pick up my hire car

[mimmo]

Recharge.com is an online service which sells vouchers to top up your sim card.  Many have used it without issues.

Where in Vancouver Island are you going? Victoria, and tofino?

If you have any questions of van island send me a private  Message will do my best to help. I live in Victoria. 

[Lieux]

It’s very simple to use... recharge.com or ding.com

No you can’t receive a SIM card direct in UK...but it’s pretty easy to find one in a big city..

You can type those names in google and find the place in your visiting area ...

[MattUK81]

Thanks for your reply - it seems as though I'm not able to have the SIM card sent to me though, as I'm outside of Canada?

[MattUK81]

I did think they may not send the SIM cards outside of Canada.

Recharge is not a service I've heard of before?

[Lieux]

Great!!! Trip in Canada... you can choose with public mobile plans with data... for example..

For more information you can click here... https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/bc/plans.,,,what is interesting with public mobile you can do everything by yourself...be careful the plan are for 30 days not for a month..., and nice preparation for your trip

[mimmo]

Hi Matt, best thing to do is buy a sim card once you arrive here and activate it using vouchers.  sold online at recharge.com or retailers you buy  sim card at).  The system does not ship sim cards out of country and does not allow foreign credit cards.