The fact, for starters, is that Northern Canada is in a state of communications development only slightly ahead of Mali (I think…. I’ve never been to Mali, but I have been north of 60, and I know what it sounds like talking to you on a “normal” fon. I can only hope a mobile would be an improvement over that).

Therefore, for starters, any provider who does not have service in the North can be ruled out right up front, and this cuts the field down to almost none. So whatever wonderful plans the rest of the country may enjoy, forget them.

The major providers have “net coverage maps” in the internet which show where they have coverage. Depending on whether or not Michael would want to take a mobile on trips, some research might be advisable into those maps. Even the best (in terms of coverage) from my research, will only cover the major metropolises of the North – meaning anything less than Fort Liard in size might as well be on the far side of Pluto – only use for a cell phone there would be to smack it at a swarm of blackflies.

Even if Michael does NOT plan to take it on out-of-town trips, it might not be a bad idea to have it available for hikes or dogsled rides around Whitehorse, so the coverage area around Whitehorse itself is also a fact to consider. Because, as you know, even a few km out of Whitehorse you can break a leg and freeze to death pretty quickly on a balmy -40 late summer afternoon. While a cell phone is no replacement for a brain, it can nonetheless provide a margin of safety and peace of mind.

As to text messages, in the 99% of the world NOT populated by Canadians, I doubt you can get a cell phone that can NOT send or receive text messages. I personally don’t use them a whole lot, but if I am driving and I need a phone number or an address, I can just tell the office “SMS it to me” and when I am ready for my next pee stop I can check it out. In areas of spotty coverage, an SMS can get information through where voice fails.

As to contracts / no contracts – all the hatred of mobile phone companies won’t do you any good if you want to use mobile phones. That’s just a fact. In the end, all of the majors are probably kissing cousins of one another anyway – owning each other’s stock and grinning from ear to ear when someone switches from one to the next, because they own stock in all of them. That applies to airlines as well, by the way. Sure, “no contract” as a general principle is attractive, but then again, the 96% of the world not populated by Canadians or Americans has never experienced anything like having to pay for INCOMING calls. If I had to live with such an obscene billing system, I’d probably go for a plan which gives me enough time that I don’t have to worry about my friends calling me on the cell phone, because I would hate my friends having to feel guilty like they are robbing my bank account because they are calling me. This might not be the cheapest overall solution, but owing a car ain’t the cheapest form of transportation either. It just has a certain convenience.

Love Dad

These days, you can probably get a phone for next to nothing (or even for $0), BUT the caveat is that you need to buy into a contract.

Now, a word about contracts. THEY ARE EVIL. I hate them to death, and have avoided them like the plague for the last 9 years until about a month ago, when I got a Blackberry and had to switch to Rogers (EVIL EVIL people) from my beloved Fido to get a decent data plan. But I digress.,,

If they offer service in your area, I strongly suggest that you go with Fido. They are now owned by the Evil Rogers Empire, but they more or less operate separately from Rogers. They actually DECENT month-to-month plans (i.e. NO CONTRACTS) and they have something that the others don’t provide anymore: PER-SECOND BILLING. Everyone else bills by the minute. I’ve been with Telus, Fido, and Rogers, and Fido has been my favorite by far.

I hate Telus because when they bought ClearNET, they took away all of the good plans and features (and per-second billing). And they LOVE trying to force you into a contract. Plus their CSRs are patronizing. Fido CSRs are nice and helpful. Rogers CSRs are idiots and think they know everything. I haven’t even tried Bell, but I hate them so much for their phone and internet services that I refuse to give them one more penny of my money. Their CSRs are dumb-asses too. Besides, their cell network sucks.

If there is no Fido service up in Whitehorse or if their coverage area sucks (which it might – seems to be south-eastern-Canada-friendly), you can try to avoid the contract with a pay-as-you-go plan. The only crappy thing about these is that their per-minute rates are RIDICULOUS. The lower the monthly pay-as-you-go rate, the more you pay per-minute. See if you can get a plan that lets you roll over any unused minutes from one month to the next. I don’t know if the concept even exists in Canada, but it’s worth looking into. Virgin Mobile may have such a plan.

Hope this helps!

If Canada is anything like down here, then and only then, this information may be useful:

1. Contracts suck – it’s just a way to lock you into their system for too long at too high a rate. Read into this statement the term “leverage” once you’re on a contract you have none.

2. Technology – they don’t make good phones anymore, they only make gadgets for kids. Blackberry holds a deathgrip on the corporate market because they are robust and functional, I don’ think there is an equivalent anymore on the regular phone front. Nokia is globally dominant becauce they know engineering hard. If it flips, flops or snaps, it’s gonna break more easily than the phones that don’t. But you’ll have to sell out your designer intentions for that pink phone that would go so great with your little shoes with a bow to take this advise.

3. Texting – seems irrelavant, but can be addicting – “ln” for “leaving now” (from work) is one of my most favoured. Because it’s coded with the time and the commute is fairly standard, it saves an unnecessary conversation. Your spouce will get all the info they need in two letters. A regular phone isn’t great for texting, but I don’t get the feeling you’ll be a huge user.

4. Norris – should know all about this stuff, use your local Geek as a resource.

CHEERS!!!

Let me know if you want any other info about it!

Jamie

Sorry, but as you can see, I am of no help! Good luck though, the info out there is overwhelming!