Data caps Canada

[vhollaender]

Hey everybody

I am going to Canada to work at Whistler Blackcomb as an Snowboard instructor. I have been looking for a cell plan with data for my iPhone but everywhere it is really expensive and to little data. Right now I use 70gb pr. month but could probably go down to 10 if I keep my music on my device. How du you handle these data caps.

Thanks in advance for your help

 

[bodonnell202]

Welcome to Canada! Cell phone rates here are controlled by the cartel known as Robellus (Rogers, Bell and Telus, otherwise known as the big 3). All other brands are also owned by one of those 3 except Freedom which, unfortunately has limited coverage. Prices are highway robbery and Robellus claims it's because it is such a large country, when in fact they all collude to price fix, rip off Canadians and rake in record profits. They should all be charged under the Canadian Competition Act (similar to US antitrust laws), but the CRTC doesn't seem that interested in doing anything about it.

For 10+ GB of data you'll be looking at at least $120/month. You often get a better deal by looking at one of the budget subsidiary brands of the Big 3 though, so check out Virgin Mobile, Koodo, Public Mobile, Chatr and Fido to see who has the best deal. Personally, I get by with ~4 GB of data per month, but use wifi at home and at the office.

 

[1096bimu]

How the hell do you get 70gb?

Anyway Canada is still in the Bronze Age in terms of Mobil data. I have a plan from an independent company which gave me 6gb of 3g data for a good price. That company has since been bought by one of the monopoly players and their price increased, with a decrease in data cap. Luckily I get to keep my old plan.

Freedom is your only real choice now, don’t know how long before they also get taken over to maintain the monopoly.

 

[Jjayf]

We are getting ripped off hard. Canada is one of the most expensive for cellular and data in the world. I’m lucky as I grandfathered in unlimited nation wide data, they actually call it flat rate because it’s not really unlimited. They slow you down after 16 gigs. Still, I had to buy my iPhone X outright because if I had contracted I would have lot my unlimited data.

In Canada WiFi is your friend. Downloading music instead of streaming when not on wifi helps. Same goes for video and video intensive social media like FB.

 

[bodonnell202]

We are getting ripped off hard. Canada is one of the most expensive for cellular and data in the world. I’m lucky as I grandfathered in unlimited nation wide data, they actually call it flat rate because it’s not really unlimited. They slow you down after 16 gigs. Still, I had to buy my iPhone X outright because if I had contracted I would have lot my unlimited data.

In Canada WiFi is your friend. Downloading music instead of streaming when not on wifi helps. Same goes for video and video intensive social media like FB.

Yes agree, spending a little up front on a phone with extra storage helps. Download playlists to your device when connected to wifi to use on the go. Apps like Netflix also have the ability to download videos for offline use. Make sure to set things such as app updates to wifi only. Wifi is actually fairly ubiquitous in public areas here so it's not as bad as it sounds...

 

[mcdj]

Canada. Bad data caps. Good wool caps.

 

[DiveKitty]

I cannot even comprehend needing 70 GB of data a month, ha ha.

WiFi is how we get by. It is actually quite available now even in public areas. Telus and Bell (not sure about Rogers, they are my least favourite of the Robellus Cartel though I admit I have not been with them for a loooong time) have lots of public hot spots around so if you have an internet account with them you can login to them automatically. If you join a gym, etc, they usually have free WiFi too for members.

I pay $105 (before taxes) a month to one of the Robellus Cartel, and that includes 4GB of shareable data. I use WiFi wherever I can. I download a few Spotify playlists onto my iPhone for when I can't get WiFi. I now have a 256 GB X and a big reason I did jump up to the higher storage was so I could download some more of my Spotify playlists and not use data when I am not on WiFi (it is nice having all this room after a 16 GB 5s!) I actually have rarely even needed the entire 4GB of data even though I share it with my spouse, and I would say I am a rather heavy user of my phone (just it mostly ends up being over WiFi).

Have fun in Whistler! (I am sure you will).