Canadian phone for US citizen?

[Lou Schneider]

I'm planning to go to Alaska this summer and will be spending a month or two passing through Alberta, BC and the Yukon on my way up and back.

Here in the US I can go into any Walmart and buy a $30 cell phone and a $35 a month unlimited use, no contract service plan.  $60 will buy a decent Samsung Galaxy phone, which I've done and it works great.  But it only works in the US, Canadian coverage isn't available.

I realize cell coverage will be intermittent once I leave the big cities, but is anything similar to what I have now available in Canada?  Can pop into Walmart or somewhere else after I cross the border and get a similar over-the-counter setup?

[Twotoes]

My Verizon phone works in USA, Canada and Mexico. I can also switch to an international plan for Europe for an extra cost. 

[Lou Schneider]

Thanks, Twotoes.  I'd switch to Verizon if they offered something similar to the $35 a month plan I have now with a reasonable add-on for Canadian coverage. They do offer a similar prepaid plan, but want an extra $5 a day, or $150 a month for Canadian coverage.

Their single line subscription plans starts at $75 a month, more than double what I'm paying now.  And they can cancel your service if you use more than 50% in Canada or Mexico over a 60 day period.

That's why I'm wondering if over-the-counter, no contract plans similar to what I have now are available in Canada. 

[Darryl&Rita]

Petro Canada As close to a disposable phone as you will ffind in Canada. Prepaid plans only. I think WalMart also has similar plans available with the 2 major carriers.

[SWharton]

Why don't you get a Cricket Phone(ATT MVNO), it includes Mexico and Canada I believe.

[hiljoball]

CDMA does not work in Canada, so the cheap flip phones sold at Walmart US don't work in Canada. You need a phone that works on the newer technologies like LTE.

I have an I-phone and use a US based sim card when in the US, and a Canadian based sim card when in Canada - of course each has its own number. Using a carrier in the nation you are in is much cheaper than international roaming.

The cheapest service in Canada is a PetroCan pay as you go  - how much you buy depends on how much talk/text/data you will need. (PetroCan uses Rogers network)

https://mobility.petro-canada.ca/?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

If you are in western Canada, Telus has good coverage

https://mobility.telus.com/

The other major carriers in Canada are Rogers and Bell.

One thing to be aware of is that distances in Canada are vast and cell tower coverage in remote areas is restricted to the areas of population - so there are areas with no coverage - especially in the mountains.

John

 

[LindaH]

7-11 in Canada has a pre-pay phone plan called SpeakOut.  I looked into it several years ago when we were planning a trip to Alaska, but I haven't looked at it lately to see what the specifics are.  It does look like it's still available, though:

https://www.speakout7eleven.ca/

[SWharton]

24 minutes ago, hiljoball said:

CDMA does not work in Canada, so the cheap flip phones sold at Walmart US don't work in Canada. You need a phone that works on the newer technologies like LTE.

I have an I-phone and use a US based sim card when in the US, and a Canadian based sim card when in Canada - of course each has its own number. Using a carrier in the nation you are in is much cheaper than international roaming.

The cheapest service in Canada is a PetroCan pay as you go  - how much you buy depends on how much talk/text/data you will need. (PetroCan uses Rogers network)

https://mobility.petro-canada.ca/?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

If you are in western Canada, Telus has good coverage

https://mobility.telus.com/

The other major carriers in Canada are Rogers and Bell.

One thing to be aware of is that distances in Canada are vast and cell tower coverage in remote areas is restricted to the areas of population - so there are areas with no coverage - especially in the mountains.

John

 

Not all flip phones are CDMA, only those on the Verizon network.

[scouserl41]

Call your existing provider, if they don't offer coverage in Canada and Mexico they can likely give you coverage there for a fee. That way you can still get incoming calls on your existing number. But check they don't have a foreign roaming charge.

When we were in Canada a couple of years back we bought a no contract T Mobile phone in The US which covered Canada too and when we got back we switched it to ATT as the DW needed a new phone anyway. ATT now cover Canada and Mexico.