Northern Ontario Coverage Phone Recommendation

**SheeB** · 07-10-2011, 05:48 PM

My parents who are avid RV'ers are going to do more traveling in the Northern parts of Ontario so I want to ensure they have the best handset for their travels. Specifically they are doing the corridor from Sault Ste Marie to Kenora which I see has 4G coverage for a fair amount of the travel. I need a basic handset, nothing fancy, no data, they make voice calls and text messaging and that's it. They have an older Nokia 6101 (Rogers post-paid) or something like that and quite often their phone is in no service mode, while my BB 9780 has decent signal so I am thinking their phone is way out of date

**CGY Guy** · 07-10-2011, 06:01 PM

Get an inexpensive quad-band pre-paid from Walmart, throw the sim into it and go. They work on post paid accounts as well.

**SheeB** · 07-10-2011, 07:07 PM

So I dont need a phone with 3G capabilities to use the coverage as indicated by the coverage map or is 3G for data only?

**CGY Guy** · 07-10-2011, 07:19 PM

No, you don't need a 3G device at all, just a quad-band phone. Although I may be wrong, I don't think that area is UMTS only.

**CGY Guy** · 07-10-2011, 07:43 PM

Note - If I am wrong, check out the Nokia E5 pre-paid for $160. It has HSPA as well. http://www.rogers.com/web/link/wirel...+11+4294948623

**SheeB** · 07-10-2011, 07:53 PM

Ok, the phone currently in-use is a Nokia 6061 which is only dual band 850/1900. But does she need a quad band if those frequencies are not even used by Rogers? I cannot understand why my BB works fine in many rural areas and her's does not and then I can get her a new phone with those specs.

Ok, I think she needs a dual-band EGSM 850/1900 that also has Dual-band WCDMA/HSDPA 850/1900 for optimal coverage?

**SheeB** · 07-10-2011, 07:53 PM

That Nokia E5 is uber overkill for my 55 year old Mom!

**CGY Guy** · 07-10-2011, 07:58 PM

Well, after I posted I looked at the coverage area for northern Ontario, and Rogers has it listed as HSPA only for many areas between Kenora, and the Soo. That's why I corrected myself. Perhaps someone else can chime in here to verify 3G in that stretch.

**SheeB** · 07-10-2011, 08:00 PM

Ahh, thanks for the catch CGY Guy! So I am now hunting for a cheap prepaid (that may need unlocking) that has 850/1900 and HSPA as well. Ideally Nokia is what they are used too, but I have heard times have changed these days for Nokia, so any recommendations would be great from anyone.

**CGY Guy** · 07-10-2011, 08:13 PM

I think the E5 is as cheap as you'll get for an HSPA device, to be honest. No unlocking required, either.

**SheeB** · 07-10-2011, 08:22 PM

Well I guess it won't be a Nokia for the next phone, maybe a Samsung? They need a simple communication device with the best coverage possible. I see Rogers has the Samsung SGH-C414 which I think is the cheapest quad band hspa handset they sell. I saw nothing on Fido or Speakout that was hspa and wasn't a smartphone.

**CGY Guy** · 07-10-2011, 08:30 PM

The Samsung is only a dual band HSPA, while the Nokia is a tri-band with the 2100 freq as well. It's a better bet.

**SheeB** · 07-10-2011, 08:42 PM

Does Rogers use voice on 2100Mhz or do you think 2100Mhz is for data only?

**CGY Guy** · 07-10-2011, 08:55 PM

A good question. 2100 is used for both on some networks, but not 100% sure about Rogers. But, they do own 2100 spectrum. That may be a telling thing, right?

**Namueab** · 07-10-2011, 08:59 PM

Yes 3g only for most of the stretch especially west of Thunder Bay. Most of the area is now covered by TBay Tel (partnered with Rogers) which is 3g only. **What they are currently marketing as 4g is really 3g**. They do not have edge 2g back up. However, DMTS does have edge service in some of the area, but I find their service not reliable at all.
Hope this helps.