How to find a cheap mobile plan in BC – MoneySense

In some cases there are even large price fluctuations with the same wearer. Freedom Mobile, for example, charges $ 10 per month for a 100 MB plan, which yields up to $ 100 per GB, while if you go for $ 59 with the 100 GB plan, it comes to $ 0.59 per GB. That is a price swing of $ 99.41 per GB with the same company.

Determine what kind of telephone plan you need

When evaluating which providers and plans will work for you, considerations are:

• Portability: Can you transfer your existing number to the new courier?
• BYOD (bring your own device): Do you want to use your existing phone, which translates into a lower monthly fee with all carriers, or do you want to upgrade to a new telephone that increases your monthly rate?
• Download speed: Do you want to need 5G, or is 4G or even 3G sufficient for your needs?
• Coverage: Is the plan only for Canada, or does it include the US and also in some cases Mexico? And especially important for BC residents, how extensive is the coverage in your home province?
• Pre-payment: Do you think it is good to record on regular monthly costs to your bank or credit card in exchange for a lower rate?
• New versus old: Is the advertised monthly rate only for new customers, or does it include existing customers – and how long does it take?

Assuming you bring your own phone and keep your existing number, three important questions are to ask:

1. How much data do you need?
2. Do you need 5G or are 4G?
3. How much are you willing to pay every month?

Data options vary from a barrel 100 MB with freedom up to 200 GB available via Bell, Rogers and Telus. If you are used to downloading movies and regularly view them on your phone, which can chew up to 7 GB per hour if you look in 4K, then you might be inclined to deal with a more robust data plan.

Of course you can save the costs of such a plan by limiting your view to times and places where you can use WiFi. Check earlier accounts to see how much you regularly use to give you a clear picture of what you need.

Need for speed: 4g versus 5G

In terms of navigating the differences between 4G, or fourth generation, cellular network technology and 5G (as explained on Koodo Mobile’s website), 4G offers download speeds ranging from 20 to 100 Mbps (megabits per second), or up to 30 times the 3G processor, while 5G speeds can get up to 250 Gbps (gigabytes per second). Recognizing that 1 Gbps is the equivalent of 1,000 Mbps, 5G speeds can be up to 100 times faster than 4G.

So how much speed does You need? In terms of downloading data, Netflix says that only 5 Mbps is needed to stream full HD content – a fraction of what 4G brings to the table. So if you want to download a 2-hour HD film of 2 GB to view later, for example (for example during a flight), according to the handy GigacalculatorWith the help of 4G at 100 Gbps, it takes about three minutes. With 5G by even 150 Gbps it will be done in an instant.

Prices for Mobile Plan in BC

The average Canadian consumer uses slightly less than 10 GB of data per month, which helps to explain why many of the current cell plans that are offered vary between three and 80 GB.

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On the low side, Freedom charges $ 25 per month for 3 GB ($ 8.33 per GB) compared to Virgin ($ 39 per month, 13 GB) on 5 g. Chatr Also offers a 3 GB plan at 4G for $ 25 per month ($ 8.33). So, less than virgin and the same as freedom, but for a slower service.

If you are one of those “average” consumers who needs 10 GB, Freedom will charge $ 34 per month ($ 3.40 per GB) for 5G. So, less than half of the dollars per GB that charges it when you pay $ 9 extra per month, while giving yourself 7 GB of data to use. Public mobile Also offers a 10 GB 5G plan for $ 34 per month.

When comparing most service providers, large and small, most plans are around 80 GB, with both freedom and public $ 49 per month ($ 0.61 per GB). Interesting enough, Fidos 80 GB plan costs more: $ 55 per month ($ 0.69 per GB) on a slower 4G LTE plan.

If your mentality is “bigger, is better”, for 100 GB per month of 5G data, Clock calculates $ 75, or $ 0.75 per GB, compared to Rogers And TelusBoth of which charge $ 69, or $ 0.60 per GB. Both Freedom and Public Mobile also have 100 GB 5G plans for $ 59 per month ($ 0.59 per GB).

Two other carriers with 100-GB-Plus data plans are Chatr Mobile, which charges $ 55 per month for 100 GB ($ 0.55 per GB) and Lucky MobileThat has a plan of 105 GB, also for $ 55 per month ($ 0.52 per GB). But again, as is often the case with these smaller providers, the plans are bound to 4G, not 5G.

Double your data to 200 GB and you look at $ 105 per month with Bell ($ 0.53 per GB) and $ 90 per month with Rogers or Telus ($ 0.45 per GB), the only current providers with 5G data plans of that size.

City or highway?

Coverage in Canada and more specific BC is also something that you have to investigate. According to a study conducted by Whistle”Telus has the best overall coverage in the province, but shares a large part of his network with Bell. Smaller discount carriers (described by insiders in the industry as” flankers “) such as Koodo and public mobile Piggyback on the Telus network.

But even the best network has its limits. People who travel by land in BC should not only struggle the long distances and empty spaces that are found elsewhere in Canada, but also mountains that hinder cell signals. According to the BC government, the province has 15,000 kilometers of primary and secondary roads. From 2024, 32% of these roads miss sufficient coverage.