Best Cell Phone Plan in Canada

Finding the Best Cell Phone Plan in Canada

Getting your hands on cheap cellular phones is one thing, but saving a few dollars on a handset pales in comparison to how much you can save over the course of a three-year contract with Telus Mobility or Rogers Wireless. That's a long commitment to a single service provider, so you'll want to compare cell phone plans to find the best one available.

What Are Your Cell Phone Needs?

This is the first question that you'll need to ask when determining what is the best cell phone plan in Canada. What may be a fantastic plan for one person may not be particularly appropriate for another. In determining your cell phone needs, you may want to consider some of the following questions:

• Do you use your minutes mostly during the day or on the weekend?
• Are text messages important?
• How many minutes do you use on average over the course of a day? A week? A month?
• Do you need wireless data?
• Do you have a BlackBerry PDA phone for work?
• What additional features are useful to you?
• Is long distance a factor?

There's no point in signing up for a plan with 1,000 daytime minutes if you only use 50 minutes over the course of a month. By the same accord, getting a great deal on a 400-minute plan is useless if you go over your allotted minutes every month. The key is understanding your own cell phone usage patterns and then finding the cellular phone plan that matches these needs.

Prepaid Mobile Phones

Also known as pay-as-you-go, prepaid cell phones are best suited for people with minimal needs or poor credit. This is because the per-minute cost for prepaid phones are typically higher than regular monthly plans. By the same accord, you do not need a credit card or a contract to use a prepaid phone.

Just about every main mobile operator in Canada offers cheap prepaid cell phones, so be sure to shop around for the best rates. There may be different rates for daytime, evening, and weekend minutes, so check your usage appropriately.

To get the best prepaid cell phone plan in Canada, it may be best to consider alternative providers like Solo Mobile, PC Mobile, Virgin Mobile and other mobile virtual network operators. MVNOs, as they are known, cater more to the prepaid market than conventional providers.

Good Features For the Best Plan

There are many "styles" of cell phone plans for Canadians, and you'll find that most operators start to mimic one another in their offerings. Be sure to check for the latest and greatest, because competition can bring about some great holiday specials and other limited time offers.

Some features that you may want to consider include:

• MyFaves/My5: These allow for unlimited talk and text with any five numbers. A great feature for people who call the same few numbers the most often.
• Couples/families: It is possible to combine minutes through a couples plan or family cell phone plans.
• Long distance: Minutes across Canada and North America are usually quite a bit more expensive than regular airtime, so if you call out a lot, it might be worthwhile to have a "package" deal.
• Wireless data: From BlackBerry devices to mobile web, users are demanding more and more wireless data. Typically, CDMA operators have cheaper data than GSM operators, but this isn't always true. Even so, wireless data in Canada can get pretty pricey.

Retention Plans

Realistically, the best cell phone plan in Canada is the one that you negotiate with the retentions department. Retention plans are usually a lot better than the plans that are offered to new subscribers. This is because the wireless provider is motivated to keep customers; it's less expensive to retain a customer than it is to sign up a new one.

This is true of all providers wherein users typically sign a lengthy contract. As you get close to the end of your contract, you can try negotiating with the retentions department for a better plan, telling them that you may be able to find something better elsewhere. People have been known to save as much as $30 a month through a retentions plan.