Best Cell Phone Coverage in Northern Alberta

[TacoRocco]

G'day guys,

I'm moving up to N. Alberta shortly and was looking at getting a cell phone plan.

Seeing that I will be frequently travelling in the north, I was wondering if anyone could help me find the best company that has the most reliable / widest range of cell coverage in N. Alberta.


Thanks.

[roughneckin]

Telus, hands down. Get a booster and you should have no problems at all anywhere near service. If Telus and a booster does not give you service then you will need a sat phone in the area.

I have been working out in the far east of Ft. McMurray, near the Sask. border for the past 3 yrs and have never had any big issues with getting out.

[Matt L.]

Yup Telus has the best coverage out there. Just be prepared to pull your hair out and cuss the day of their birth if you ever have to talk to "service".

Bell Mobility piggybacks on Telus towers, so they get the same coverage.
I find the service with Bell to be pretty decent.

[WTHunter]

My hunting buddy is on Telus.....I am on Bell. Bell has great coverage. I have never had to borrow his phone! He's borrowed mine a few times! I used to be with Telus...but now wouldn't switch from Bell. Lots easier to get good customer service as well! Only my experience!

[Jester]

I only ever had Telus so that's my vote but I've heard nasty things about Rogers..*shrugs*

[Dick284]

Telus and Bell use the same tower system.

Give each of them a call and see if they have a plan suited for you.

[TacoRocco]

Wow,

Thanks for the quick replies.

I was looking at getting the iPhone so I was leaning towards Rogers.

[Big Bull]

The iPhone requires 3G service, for all features to work, which is limited outside of the major cities. So make sure it will work where you plan to use it before you sign that 3 year contract.

[redneck posse]

stay away from rogers. there not bad in the city but as soon as you get outside edmonton or calgary the service is the sh*ts. i swichted to telus and get coverage in places i never thought i would.

[Waxy]

Originally Posted by redneck posse

stay away from rogers. there not bad in the city but as soon as you get outside edmonton or calgary the service is the sh*ts. i swichted to telus and get coverage in places i never thought i would.

I'm on Rogers and I have nothing but good things to say about it.

I have had excellent coverage everywhere in southern AB and southern SK, including some pretty remote spots on my hunting and fishing trips. I also had great coverage when travelling throughout the northern USA (Telus phone won't work in USA, at least not in my experience).

On top of that, the customer service has been amazing, but I guess compared to Bell/Telus, that's not saying much lol.

Waxy

[Jester]

Rogers seems to suck up in the fort mac area...so I heard.

[209x50]

My boys have Rogers and their phones are pretty usless here in the north. I use Bell. Bell and Telus are the only two real choices for the north.

[gunned]

pm sent

[spudislander]

I don't have much luck with Rogers, but was stuck in my plan when I moved here. The signal is very poor in Cold Lake and there is limited coverage on the road between here and Edmonton.

[Kanonfodder]

I tavel from Edm to Slave lake, Peace River GP and Ft Mac....very little probs with Telus....

[roughneckin]

Spend a rediculous amount of money and have 4 phones all under Telus and you get great customer service I have been a "platinum customer" for a few years now and get through in 2 mins or less anytime anyday.

[Reeves1]

Rogers will not work in Grande Cashe at all. I have Rogers and it seldom works outside of towns.
Contract is up this month....glad I read this topic as a change WILL happen !

[hal53]

Originally Posted by roughneckin

Spend a rediculous amount of money and have 4 phones all under Telus and you get great customer service I have been a "platinum customer" for a few years now and get through in 2 mins or less anytime anyday.

Exactly...not a problem w/Telus.....don't even get me going on Rogers....try them at Bindloss sometime...pulled up behind a little orange van, the guy was on his phone...I said you can't get service either eh:::???...he looked at me and quietly said no....as far as Bell piggy backing on towers...remember that Telus has priority for traffic...when there's room u can get thru' on Bell, if not you wait....I agree. get a 3G portable booster, you're good from one end to the other,,,,as well as from here to Phoenix and back

[simmered]

I have used Telus and then switched to Bell. I personally have got better cell phone service with Bell. They do piggy back on Telus towers and I have been told they have a few of there own towers (not to sure if thats true or a sales pitch). It will also depend on the phone you get. Some phones will have stranger atenas thus will get better signal. My fiance;s blackberry doesnt get the service my razor got and they were side by side and we have a family plan. Something to think about, hope this helps

[troutfly]

Telus!
I had Rogers, couldn't make or receive a call in some parts of the town I live in. I'm just outside the "Hat". I was up the 41 by Hilda, stopped at an entrance gate to some property I wanted to hunt that fall looking for phone numbers. My son was with me at the time. I tried to call the number on the gate to see if we could go in and do a bit of a recce, no service avail w/Rogers. My son whips out his Telus phone and in we go with the owners blessing stalking a coyote.

WRT Telus working in the USA, I have used my phone from SE Alberta all the way to Branson Missouri, no issues. The plan I have is good N America wide with no roaming charges. I talked to Bell year or so ago, they didn't even offer a plan like that.

[prospector]

Originally Posted by gunned

pm sent

I've used the booster/cradle/phone setup that gunned has for sale, all over Alberta and it worked very well. It's an easy to use simple system.

[Justagirl]

From my understanding they all just rent towers from Telus. And pick and choose which ones they want, and are worth paying the rent on and how many customers in that area. So Telus has the most coverage. I don't know about up north but I know here in the Sundre area Bell sucked. I ended up switching to telus about 6 months after i moved here and haven't had any problems. I think it also matters what kind of phone you have too. The Telus dealer here when i got my new phone the other day said she personally thinks the Motorola's have the best signals. Whether or not that's true.. i don't know, maybe she was just trying to get me to pick that phone? I got a KRZR so far it seems good.

[honda450]

Dang I used to have an old JJ#. At least I could listen to other conversations. JJ77692.

[378 Wthrby]

Telus is the best service in Northern Alberta. I have traveled alot around Northern Ab BC & Sask. Used Bell & Telus and Telus was the best. Their customer srevice has been great as well. Used a booster for travelling to remote areas and worked great.
Just my 2 cents. I still use Telus, can't se any reason to change yet.

[Albertabowhunter]

I used to be a telus Customer... things were good for a while. Then I started getting tons of dropped calls. Plus Telus customer sevice sucks. I used to have Rogers, That didnt last long. I'm now with Bell, I have had great reception most everywhere I go, and customer service is top notch. Best of luck.

[6gunner]

Telus and a Wilson wireless booster have always worked the best for me, but don't go cheap get the trucker antenna and try and find a phone with a plug in for an external antenna. I have used this setup all over Alberta and BC without any problems.