We already have a cell phone (on a monthly plan) and a landline phone, but with both of us working, we really feel the need for another cell phone. The new phone would only be used for short calls and for emergency purposes.
Our cell phone usage tends to be very patchy. We tend to make very few calls most months and exceed our minutes in others. I keep a detailed log of our usage and found that a pre-paid plan would be ideal for our situation.
Before shopping for a cell phone, I researched the phone plans offered by the major wireless operators. Here is a summary of their pre-paid plans:
Bell Mobility: 30 ¢/min for the first 2 min of a call and 5 ¢/min thereafter; $10 top-up valid for 30 days and $25/$50 top-up valid for 60 days.
Rogers Wireless: 33 ¢/min; $10 top-up valid for 30 days (I think); Free Call Display.
Telus Mobility: $50 card – 25 ¢/min, valid for 60 days; $25 card – 33 ¢/min, valid for 60 days; $10 card – 40 ¢/min, valid for 30 days; Free Voicemail and Call Display.
Virgin Mobile: 25 ¢/min first five minutes of a day, 15 ¢/min thereafter; $15 top-up valid for 120 days; Free Voicemail and Call Display.
Based on the plans, we decided to go with newly launched Virgin Mobile. They offer the most services for the lowest price for our usage patterns and they also use the Bell Mobility network.
