When to buy a SIM card and change phone number when moving to live in a different province?

[Anne_323]

Hello. Do you think that my following steps would work well?

1. Buy a new unlocked cell phone and a Public Mobile SIM card and plan in Alberta in the beginning of August 2019. I'm not sure yet which plan I'll choose, but I'll likely choose the $10, $15, $20, or $25 plan. I would have an Alberta area code for my phone number.
2. Try out the phone in Alberta to ensure that it works well.
3. At the beginning of September 2019, change my phone number to have a Halifax area code.
4. Go live in Halifax from September 2019 to August 2020 to attend school. 
5. Go back to live in Alberta in September 2020 and onward. At the beginning of Sept. 2020, change my phone number to have an Alberta area code.

Note:

• When I live in Alberta, I'll only receive calls from people in Alberta. When I live in Halifax, I'll receive mostly all of my calls from people in Halifax.
• It seems like it would be a good idea to change my phone number in the above process to prevent people from being charged long distance when they call me.
• I don't need to keep the phone number that I have with my current cell phone. 

Thank you very much.

[srlawren]

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@stonechucker wrote:

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@Anne_323, There is an option for txt in Fongo to regular phones for a small monthly cost.  So, if you’re willing to spend an extra few dollars, yes, that texting from Halifax would work.

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@Anne_323 as @stonechucker noted, Fongo offer free calling, but do charge a monthly fee for texting, which is $2.79 (plus tax, I'm sure) for 1 month, $5.49 for 3 months, or $9.99 for 6 months.  So for a year, you'd pay 2 x $9.99 plus tax to support texting, which isn't bad really, but I was suggesting using your AB number as you'll alredy be paying for texting as part of your Public Mobile plan. The other downside of texting in Fongo is that you have to use their app for texting, you can't use whatever app you use today for texting.  But yes, it's defintiely an option, particularly if you want to just be able to give only ONE number to everyone in Halifax.

[stonechucker]

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@sunflowershine wrote:

@Anne_323 There are special plan for students from some carriers. PM has 3G service and it is slow in a sense that my niece is at school who can't bear with 3G network.

You have to consider your usage. If you are in school, you will have free wifi at school. The cheaper pay-as-you-go in Canada is "Speakout" from 7Eleven. If your usage for calling is minimal, this is a good choice. They have a cheap smartphone on sales. You can check it out. 

You can also download free calling apps such as TextNow or Fongo. I have saved a lot in the past. 

Just because I am not a frequent user in calls and texts, that PM is my choice. I only use data when I really need it. Everyone will be different. Don't rush to make a decision. 

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@sunflowershine , Public Mobile only has 4G/LTE plans, with fall back to the 3G for voice (all calls).  The 3G Speed plans are delivered on the LTE network, throttled to 3G theoretical maximum speeds.

The is no actual 3G only service, unless your phone doesn’t support 4G, or you force the device to use 3G network.

@Anne_323, There is an option for txt in Fongo to regular phones for a small monthly cost.  So, if you’re willing to spend an extra few dollars, yes, that texting from Halifax would work.

[Anne_323]

Thank you everyone for your responses.

My current phone is a very cheap Alcatel phone (blackberry style) that I barely use. I only use one $25 talk voucher from 7-eleven SpeakOut on it per year. I don’t need to keep this phone or its phone number once I get something newer. I currently usually use a landline phone at my parent’s house. I would like to buy a proper smartphone with talk, text, and data (1 GB or maybe more) in the near future.

Some of the Public Mobile plans seem cheaper/better than the SpeakOut smartphone plans. I’m not sure if SpeakOut is 3G or 4G though.

@srlawren - I haven’t heard of a VoIP account with Fongo, etc. before, so I’ll have to read about it. You recommended me to ask people in Halifax to text my Alberta number. However, if I create a VoIP account with a Halifax phone number, would I be able to get people in Halifax to text this account?

Thank you!

[sunflowershine]

@Anne_323 There are special plan for students from some carriers. PM has 3G service and it is slow in a sense that my niece is at school who can't bear with 3G network.

You have to consider your usage. If you are in school, you will have free wifi at school. The cheaper pay-as-you-go in Canada is "Speakout" from 7Eleven. If your usage for calling is minimal, this is a good choice. They have a cheap smartphone on sales. You can check it out. 

You can also download free calling apps such as TextNow or Fongo. I have saved a lot in the past. 

Just because I am not a frequent user in calls and texts, that PM is my choice. I only use data when I really need it. Everyone will be different. Don't rush to make a decision. 

[stonechucker]

@Anne_323, are you going to receive local calls while in Alberta before you go to Halifax?  You could forward your current phone number to a new NS number if your current plan has included Canada Wide. Calling.  Activate a NS number using a purchased voucher in Alberta, and forward your current phone to the new phone.  

This is way you don’t have to worry about a number change, and for 30 days, you save a lot on taxes.

[srlawren · Accepted solution]

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@mimmo wrote:

Finally many companies use tel number as a method of authentication Google Uber, banks, etc. So changing numbers might be cause some issues in the future. 

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@Anne_323 with this last bit in mind, here is an alternate suggestion, provided your plan with public mobile will include some data:

1) Activate your new SIM and desired plan with the Albert phone number, test to make sure all is working well.

2) Activate a free VoIP account with Fongo, Talkatone, or another VoIP provider of your choice.  Choose a phone number based in Halifax for this VoIP account.  Install the Fongo/Talkatone/other VoIP app on your phone, configure it with your account, test making and receiving calls on that number

3) Move to Halifax for one year.  Keep your Public Mobile account using the AB number, and your friends/family in AB can continue to call you that way.  Give your new friends, businesses, educational institute, etc your Halifax Fongo (or other) number so they can call you on a local number.  If they want to text you, also give them your AB number and ask them to text you there.  Texting is always nation-wide so not a concern, even if people in Halifax only have local/province-wide calling.  

EDIT: Forgot to mention:  leave your phone nubmer of record on your bank accounts etc (as Mimmo noted above) set to your AB number, so they can text you verification codes as needed.  Texting is always at least nation-wide, so it should not be an issue.

4) Move back to AB when you're done school and keep using your Public Mobile account and AB number as if you never left.  If you still have people to keep in touch with from Halifax, keep using Fongo/other and people can continue to call you as if you are local even when you're back home in AB.

[mimmo]

@Anne_323  be advised plans might change soon, chatr just increased their plan prices, public might(probably will) follow.  You could get a 10$ now and futuredate a plan change. And simply not renew plan till you are ready.

Also when you activate use a current pm number as a referal and you will get a 10$ account credit.

Finally many companies use tel number as a method of authentication Google Uber, banks, etc. So changing numbers might be cause some issues in the future. 

[computergeek541]

@Anne_323, be sure to take a phone number from the appropriate city, also keeping in mind that some area codes are used among cities that are long distance from each other.

[Anonymous]

 @Anne_323 

I'll just add...why get another phone when you said you didn't care about your current number on your current phone? Is your current phone compatible with Public Mobile? Is it locked?

Edit: popping did an edit 🙂 You can change your number only once every 30 days too.

[popping]

@Anne_323 

Your plan will work.  Number change is free.  But you can only change number once per month.

Please note that tax is charged according to your phone area code.

You will be paying higher tax after getting a Halifax phone number.