Cell phone coverage in BC telus vs virgin mobile and Koodoo

[Billyisgr8]

We use telus, and its great for where we travel, ( 100 mile, bridge lake, to revelstoke) area compared to the rogers plan we used to have, (no coverage in many places we traveled or very spotty) . Anybody have Virgin mobile or Koodoo and get coverage in these parts of BC?

Our telus term is up soon and Virgin has a great $57.00 plan for unlimited talk and text canada and 1gig data. It looks enticing when the telus plan is $$$ more, BUT!!! we get coverage where we travel in BC with Telus.

Any Virgin or Koodoo users that travel around 100 mile area?

[dd3boss]

Koodo is Telus. Just the no frills version. Same towers. You will have the same coverage. I don't know anything about Virgin.

[Keta1969]

Koodo is Telus. Just the no frills version. Same towers. You will have the same coverage. I don't know anything about Virgin.

Bell Telus Koodo all share towers, really the only option outside the main centers.

[reach]

Virgin is Bell's discount brand. Same as Koodo is Telus's, and Fido is Rogers's. Here in BC, Telus (Koodo) and Bell (Virgin) all use the same towers so reception should be the same...

[Legi0n]

So what Reach is saying is: go with Virgin since the coverage is the same but the price is lower.
Or that's how I read it.

[Foxtail]

Or go with wind. Penta band phones and they have the cheapest roaming of anyone. I pay $75 a month for 2 phones with unlimited calling and texting nationwide and unlimited data. Roaming fees outside of coverageanywhere in north aAmerica is $0.15 a min and $0.20 a text. I switched a year and a half ago from telus and have never been happier. The big 3 are one big giant monopoly.

[Rich_D]

I got on Virgins $57 plan when they had the 2gb data special.

If you do go with that plan, check their site around Xmas time and if they offer the same 2gb data you can upgrade it.


Foxtail: No Wind in the interior, LM only. Pretty sure with Wind also, as soon as you are out of their calling area you are roaming and getting charged per minute. With the Virgin plan you can be anywhere in Canada and call anywhere in Canada free.

[.330 Dakota]

I have Telus,,great coverage from Kamloops to Ft St John,,as best as can be expected from a cell phone, and Telus has the same package and actually some a little better,,,I pay $45.00 per month, unlimited nationwide calling, no long distance charges, unlimited texting nationwide, 1 gig data,,call display, voicemail, same bill every month.

[Billyisgr8]

The part I left out was that we were in a telus store, and the employee said that Koodoo does use telus towers, BUT they don't use all of the telus towers so you will get dead spots in some area's. Interesting, so this is why I am asking here if anyone has been off the beaten path with these other carriers.

[SingleShot]

I have Telus,,great coverage from Kamloops to Ft St John,,as best as can be expected from a cell phone, and Telus has the same package and actually some a little better,,,I pay $45.00 per month, unlimited nationwide calling, no long distance charges, unlimited texting nationwide, 1 gig data,,call display, voicemail, same bill every month.

My plan with Telus is now running month to month as the 3 years is up. I could change plans anytime now. Your plan sounds reasonable and manageable. Does it have a plan name or number attached to it. I'm thinking you may have had it for years and have grandfathered it in? Can you provide anymore info? Even through pm if you like.

[Rich_D]

I have Telus,,great coverage from Kamloops to Ft St John,,as best as can be expected from a cell phone, and Telus has the same package and actually some a little better,,,I pay $45.00 per month, unlimited nationwide calling, no long distance charges, unlimited texting nationwide, 1 gig data,,call display, voicemail, same bill every month.

Sounds like a retention plan. Did you threaten to leave at some point in time and they offered this deal up?

[Pioneerman]

Don' they offer you a map showing coverage they have ? Just put them all side by side to compare. I am with Telus because and only because they have the best coverage, they are all evil and we get soaked compared to down south or anywhere else. I have north american free long distance and 1500 min day time and free evening and weekends, with all calling features plus 6 gig for $75 a month

[digger dogger]

The part I left out was that we were in a telus store, and the employee said that Koodoo does use telus towers, BUT they don't use all of the telus towers so you will get dead spots in some area's. Interesting, so this is why I am asking here if anyone has been off the beaten path with these other carriers.

Waiting to here the answer for this aswell.

I will add, my woman and my sons have fido.
2 plans are $55 per mo
Unlimited canada wide calls, unlimited pic/vid/txt
3gigs data

1 plan is the same as above, but is $50 per mo

[MB_Boy]

Look at TELUS and Koodo coverage maps....they are on each site.

[Glenny]

If you think of Virgin better google and read customer service comments. I was gonna go with them untll I read up on them. I called telus as my contract was over. I asked them to cancel my contract as I was thinking of going to virgin. They bent over backwards to keep me and gave me a sweet deal.

[.330 Dakota]

My plan with Telus is now running month to month as the 3 years is up. I could change plans anytime now. Your plan sounds reasonable and manageable. Does it have a plan name or number attached to it. I'm thinking you may have had it for years and have grandfathered it in? Can you provide anymore info? Even through pm if you like.

Ive had it about 1 1/2 yrs now,,my wife set it up,,,,I told her I didnt want a cell if the bill was going to change every month or if it had any surprises...flat rate with anytime unlimited nationwide calling and text or forget it....I dont know the name of it but if you tell them what you want you will get it...
My plan included a I-phone 4S which I paid $30.00 for on the 3 yr contract. I believe 3 year contracts are illegal now so it will be a 2 year,,,the phone should be free or next to it.

[Foxtail]

I didn't realize you were not in the lower mainland. Telus and all the other big 3 still charge all kinds of weird hidden fees. My plan with telus was the 55plus plan which was supposed to be $55 but after all the different fees and taxes it was $70... But it was never even close to that. Every month it was over $100. I would call every couple months to say wtf? And they would knock a couple bucks off. The final straw was when I went hunting in quesnel for 4 days and used my phone for 21 mins. Telus figured that was worth $58. I called and complained but they wouldn't do anything. I told them what wind was offering for $40 a month. They told me, that's not possible and wind is a small company that has bad service and will go out ofbusiness in a few months. I walked in to wind and they gave me a free phone, no ccontract and I have better service than I ever had with telus. I was a very loyal customer. Had the same number since 96'. I did my research before switching. My phone works everywhere now where I used to get a dropped call about once a week where as now I have only had one... In a year. If you check all the customer reviews of all the big three they are terrible. Mostly because people only write a review because they are choked.

[Billyisgr8]

I just spoke to a telus rep, and in his explanation also said Virgin and Koodoo do not use all of the telus towers, so reception will be less in some areas. He said this without any prompting from me regarding this. I did threaten to leave cause of the cost savings , expecting him to come up with some awsome deal, but nothing was offered, he just said I would not be happy with the lesser quality of coverage, but if I choose to leave then thankyou for being a telus customer. Hmmm maybe in the mail something will arrive from telus. Will hold out for abit, our contract expires in a few months anyway so there is some time still for telus to redeem themselves. They always seem to have some deal offered to us at the end of the contract. But Virgin still offers a great deal that is hard to not switch over too.

[BiG Boar]

I just spoke to a telus rep, and in his explanation also said Virgin and Koodoo do not use all of the telus towers, so reception will be less in some areas. He said this without any prompting from me regarding this. I did threaten to leave cause of the cost savings , expecting him to come up with some awsome deal, but nothing was offered, he just said I would not be happy with the lesser quality of coverage, but if I choose to leave then thankyou for being a telus customer. Hmmm maybe in the mail something will arrive from telus. Will hold out for abit, our contract expires in a few months anyway so there is some time still for telus to redeem themselves. They always seem to have some deal offered to us at the end of the contract. But Virgin still offers a great deal that is hard to not switch over too.

You can't just say I'm thinking of leaving. You have to say I want to end my service. That's when they sweeten the deal. Don't take their first offer.

[MB_Boy]

You can't just say I'm thinking of leaving. You have to say I want to end my service. That's when they sweeten the deal. Don't take their first offer.

Agreed. As to speak with a customer retention manager, that may help.

[Foxtail]

A member of a different forum pm'd me this when I was having my problems... I didn't call because I had already made up my mind... Cheers

I used to work there, up until a few months ago, and even though I havent been a customer of theirs since 2004, I can still help you out here.

1) Call 604-697-8044 and ask for the Escalations Dept (its for people who are pissed off) They have more authority to do things that will make you happy. Im serious, give them a try. Use angry words but dont use any tone.

2) explain the issue from beginning to end and tell them exactly what you want done.

3) If they ask, dont tell them how you got the phone number ;)

[.330 Dakota]

Sounds like a retention plan. Did you threaten to leave at some point in time and they offered this deal up?
Nope,,,wifey saw tha plan, told me about it then got it for me,,no hassle at all

[rbest]

I guess it's off season.....

[reach]

The part I left out was that we were in a telus store, and the employee said that Koodoo does use telus towers, BUT they don't use all of the telus towers so you will get dead spots in some area's. Interesting, so this is why I am asking here if anyone has been off the beaten path with these other carriers.
Sounds like typical salespeople complete BS to me. Maybe they were referring to the fact that Koodo doesn't offer CDMA phones here in BC any more so they obviously wouldn't use any CDMA towers. But as far as I know any Koodo phone should have the exact same reception as a Telus phone.

[Iron Glove]

Sounds like typical salespeople complete BS to me. Maybe they were referring to the fact that Koodo doesn't offer CDMA phones here in BC any more so they obviously wouldn't use any CDMA towers. But as far as I know any Koodo phone should have the exact same reception as a Telus phone.

I was with Rogers for years with my "work" phone, Wife has a cheap Koodoo plan.
I got fed up with Roger's high bills and poor service in the "boonies" so I switched over to KooDoo with a full meal deal, new phone, Yada, Yada and reduced my monthly bill b at least 25%.
Also notice that when driving the Hope Princeton we get much, much better service than when I had Rogers.

[Billyisgr8]

Yikes if I would have pulled the trigger I could have saved $12.00 a month. All the carrieers went up alot per month for unlimited and 1 gig on Tuesday