Hello again Canadian flight specialists:

Which company would be best for a (2) month prepaid voice plan for the rural West Pacific Canada region?

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadian_mobile_phone_companies

Thank you.

Note: T-mobile is what I use in lower 48, no coverage up there

I used a US Verizon iPhone around Vancouver with international roaming for voice and data; it connected to Rogers. Worked in the interior around Quesnel, too. Not sure what arrangements T-Mobil has for international roaming.

blackrock wrote:I used a US Verizon iPhone around Vancouver with international roaming for voice and data; it connected to Rogers. Worked in the interior around Quesnel, too. Not sure what arrangements T-Mobil has for international roaming.

T-mobile lists a mysterious "Partner Carrier" for very limited coverage on their map of Canada. That may be good enough for me. Do not really plan on calling much. Will have SatPhone too.

Thank you Black Rock. I appreciated your input.

Thank you Black Rock. I appreciated your input.

You're welcome. Looks like a great trip! I think everyone on this site is wishing they were going with you.

Enjoy!

blackrock wrote:

Thank you Black Rock. I appreciated your input.

You're welcome. Looks like a great trip! I think everyone on this site is wishing they were going with you.

Enjoy!

Certainly takes some major planning for me. The kind words are good to read. Thx!

Fly strong!

I've had a fair bit of remote experience with all three of the major carriers. As you know, they all have very different coverage maps so the best will really depend on where you are but I've had the most luck with Bell. Second place is Rogers, then Telus. Pretty much everything sucks abourt Telus, actually, I think you'd do better with pigeons.

That said, coverage is spotty at the best of times, especially up the west coast. Coverage zones tend to follow the highways, with concentration around population centers, neither of which you'll see much of on the coast.

albravo wrote:I've had a fair bit of remote experience with all three of the major carriers. As you know, they all have very different coverage maps so the best will really depend on where you are but I've had the most luck with Bell. Second place is Rogers, then Telus. Pretty much everything sucks abourt Telus, actually, I think you'd do better with pigeons.

That said, coverage is spotty at the best of times, especially up the west coast. Coverage zones tend to follow the highways, with concentration around population centers, neither of which you'll see much of on the coast.

Got it; (1) Bell, (2) Rodgers, (3) Telus (ugh)

Thank you "AlBravo" for the discussions. Much appreciated.

There are essentially two networks of mobile towers worth mentioning in BC. One is owned by Telus, the other by Rogers. Through common carrier agreements Bell, Virgin, and Koodo all use Telus towers and their coverage is identical (some will swear otherwise, but this likely comes down to the individual handset they are using). Fido shares Rogers towers, as Fido is a subsidiary of Rogers. The Telus network of towers is much better than Rogers as soon as you get away from large population centres. There are many small towns that have LTE service from Telus towers that are not served at all by Rogers.

All of the above carriers are fairly equal as far as the plans go, but you'll have to browse around to find the one that will suit your needs best.

Only Telus works at our place on Texada. Be prepared that Canadian cell phone costs are high.

BCPilotguy wrote:There are essentially two networks of mobile towers worth mentioning in BC. One is owned by Telus, the other by Rogers. Through common carrier agreements Bell, Virgin, and Koodo all use Telus towers and their coverage is identical (some will swear otherwise, but this likely comes down to the individual handset they are using). Fido shares Rogers towers, as Fido is a subsidiary of Rogers. The Telus network of towers is much better than Rogers as soon as you get away from large population centres. There are many small towns that have LTE service from Telus towers that are not served at all by Rogers.

All of the above carriers are fairly equal as far as the plans go, but you'll have to browse around to find the one that will suit your needs best.

I gather the competition is on a level playing field and most likely my needs would certainly be covered. If I lose cellular coverage, I can always get a satellite connection (outside) with Iridium. Looks like the ball is in my court and I need to shop around now.

Thank you "BCPilot Guy".

daedaluscan wrote:Only Telus works at our place on Texada. Be prepared that Canadian cell phone costs are high.

Looks like a nice place: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texada_Island .

I just, plan on, using cellular telephone for logistics and flight planning. But, cost is a factor for sure.

Good bit of information on coverage area! Thx!

BCPilotguy wrote:There are essentially two networks of mobile towers worth mentioning in BC. One is owned by Telus, the other by Rogers. Through common carrier agreements Bell, Virgin, and Koodo all use Telus towers and their coverage is identical (some will swear otherwise, but this likely comes down to the individual handset they are using). Fido shares Rogers towers, as Fido is a subsidiary of Rogers. The Telus network of towers is much better than Rogers as soon as you get away from large population centres. There are many small towns that have LTE service from Telus towers that are not served at all by Rogers.

All of the above carriers are fairly equal as far as the plans go, but you'll have to browse around to find the one that will suit your needs best.

Same in Alberta. if your away from town Rogers stinks, heck even in some towns it stinks. I'd say stock with Telus or Bell for the western provinces.

I work up and down the west coast and have found Telus to work better in remote locations than the other provider. Just my observations!