Internet
What Is a Pocket WiFi? How Does It Work? And How to Use It
In this post, we will deeply explore what Pockets WiFi are, how they work, how much they cost, and what are the alternatives.
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Canada is known for being one of the quietest, safest and friendliest countries in the world. Its policies and reception of foreigners are incredible. Although it is usually freezing most of the year, it has amazing landscapes and tourist activities. So, you will never be bored much less if you keep in touch with mobile internet in Canada!
If this is the first time you’ll visit Canada, you probably have questions about internet connectivity and cellular provider companies. Therefore, in this post, we’ll tell you everything about the internet connection in Canada. The different alternatives, coverage, and rates, so that your trip through the land of the maple leaf is remarkable.
Likewise, we will detail each option to connect to the internet in the country. In other words, its advantages, disadvantages, and plans available with the main operators, plus our recommendation.
Table of Contents
Cellular data in Canada
If this is your first time traveling to Canada, and you’ve already had the chance to look up the country and how it cellular data connection works, you’ve probably noticed that many cellphone companies offer internet services for foreigners, each with different plans and benefits.
Among these services, we have Pocket WiFi for Canada, SIM cards, eSIM, roaming, and free WiFi spots that you can connect to without any problem in Canada. Don’t worry if you think there are many services, and you don’t know which one is the best for you. No worries! Here we will help you find out.
As we mentioned, many phone companies offer various internet services in Canada, especially if you live in the USA or Europe. Companies like T-Mobile, AT&T, and O2 UK offer international roaming services for this country.
However, if we’re talking about the best option, no matter where you are, in Roaming, we recommend the eSIM cards for Canada from the Holafly virtual store. You can easily buy this product before your trip; you just have to go to its official website, complete the purchase and that’s it!
Internet prices in Canada
We already know that there are several alternatives to connect to the internet in Canada. The next step is to know their prices and basic data plans.
| Service | Internet prices in Canada |
| SIM card | 8 GB for 30 days at 55$ |
| eSIM Canada | Unlimited data for 20 days at $54 |
| USA operator roaming (T-mobile) | $15 for every MB |
| USA operator roaming (AT&T) | $2,05/MB |
| European operator roaming (O2 UK) | $5,64/MB |
| Rent Pocket WiFi | Unlimited data for 7 days at $349.99+ shipping costs |
| Public WiFi | Free |
SIM card to have internet in Canada
Traveling with a SIM card with data to Canada is an excellent option, and we recommend it 100%, especially if you buy your card before arriving in Canada since you will have data when you land, and you won’t have to worry about the internet to stay in touch with your loved ones or to know where you are exactly.
So, if you are in Europe or USA, and you’re going to buy a SIM card, we suggest you do it through online stores. These providers have international shipping to get the chip to you before you travel. Another option you can use is to buy a prepaid SIM card with Rogers mobile operator in Canada. You must wait to arrive in the country to do it, but they have offers from 30$ and up to 55$ depending on the amount of data.
eSIM for Canada
As with SIM cards, eSIMs are also an excellent option. These virtual cards offer many benefits and are straightforward to buy and activate. All you have to do is enter the official Holafly website, choose the Canada eSIM, fill out the purchase form, and that’s it. In a moment, they will send a QR code to your email to activate it. Easy, right? And the best thing is that it doesn’t matter where you are in the world.
Certainly, Holafly has several affordable plans in its eSIM for Canada. As in all its services, this card also has customer service 24/7, entirely in English, German, French, or Spanish.
Holafly eSIM prices to travel to Canada
- Unlimited data for 5 days at USD 27
- Unlimited data for 7 days at USD 34
- Unlimited data for 10 days at USD 37
- Unlimited data for 15 days at USD 47
- Unlimited data for 20 days at USD 54
How to get internet in Canada with your cellular provider?
Indeed, there are many ways to connect to the internet on your trip, and roaming in Canada is a very simple way to do it. But Canada is also one of the most expensive places because they usually charge for every MB consumed. In fact, we recommend you, whether you go with roaming or not, be very aware of whether your data is active or not because you don’t want to receive any surprise bills when you get back home.
To explain, below you will be able to see in detail what each of the plans mentioned above consists of.
Internet in Canada with T-mobile
For Canada, T-Mobile offers the roaming service with their different plans. The company’s plans cover around 210 countries, including Canada. Depending on the plan you have with the company, you can have different international roaming services.
For example, if you have one of the Simple Global Plans, you can connect to the operator’s cellular services for no extra charge and just pay $0.25 per minute of talk time. However, if you have a different T-Mobile plan, you must pay $15 for each MB of usage.
Internet in Canada with AT&T
On the other hand, if you are an AT&T user, and you want to use their international roaming service for your trip to Canada. Then, the price will be the following if you choose the pay-per-use option:
- Call price: $1.00/min.
- SMS: $0.50/SMS.
- Picture and video messages: $1.30 each.
- Internet: $2.05 for each MB.
Also, you can purchase the AT&T International Pass, using your phone services, such as calls, messages, and cellular data, for 10 dollars a day.
Internet in Canada with O2 UK
O2 UK provides its O2 Travel Bolt On plan. It is the ideal way to stay connected when exploring places outside of Europe. In a few areas outside of Europe, this package costs $7.2 USD each day. Additionally, you may make calls and send texts while having access to all the info you need. Although there is no maximum data consumption, speeds may differ the more you use up data.
Portable WiFi to have internet in Canada
Surely, Pocket WiFi can be a suitable alternative if you’re not the only one who will need internet on your trip or if you are with fellow travelers, and you don’t mind topping it up at several times. But remember that this option is one of the most expensive, since most providers not only charge you the data plan, but they also usually charge an extra charge for renting the portable router. Likewise, if you don’t buy loss or theft insurance, and you lose it, you can be charged up to $349.99.
Certainly, several companies offer portable internet rental services in Canada. Below we share two options:
My Webspot: This provider offers a 1 GB per day bundle in Canada, and if you exceed the top GB consumption, the speed will be reduced to 512 kbps. The battery of this router lasts up to 8 hours, so you may need to carry an extra battery in your pocket. Its cost is $10.22 per day.
Travelers WiFi: With this provider, you can request for the pocket to arrive directly at where you’re going to stay in Canada and the plan included for this country will cost you around $80 a week.
Public WiFi in Canada
Public WiFi is usually another option that many tourists choose when they arrive in Canada, especially if they’re on a low budget, or for example with a Pocket WiFi since if it runs off the charge, the customer will be left without an internet connection. However, these normally don’t work very well due to the number of people connected to them, and when using them, you must be cautious. They are not so secure because they are a public network.
Canada is an enormous country, but you can find many of these hotspots at the airport, in museums, in stores or malls, and even in your hotel. So, if you plan to travel only using free WiFi spots, it’s better to confirm with your hotel if they offer free WiFi.
There are several web pages or apps that can help you find these WiFi spots depending on the city where you are going to stay, but we recommend that you don’t access your bank account or accounts with important information for you while you’re connected to any of these free networks.
Internet coverage map in Canada
Cable (Fixed internet)
3G or 4G coverage
What we recommend
In short, our main recommendations as users and travelers are Holafly eSIMs. Also, in this virtual store, you can easily buy eSIM cards from home, at a low cost, and with instant shipping. Additionally, you won’t have to worry about learning other languages apart, since their customer service is offered in multilingual options.
FAQs about the internet in Canada
Overall, we wish that your trip to Canada is incredible and that you have chosen the best option to always stay connected. In case you still have doubts about the internet in Canada, we leave you with some useful questions.
What network frequencies work in Canada?
Most networks in Canada run at a frequency of 600, 700, 850, 1700, 1900, 2100, 2500, and 2600.
What are the telephone companies that exist in Canada?
The main and largest telecommunications companies in Canada today are Bell Canada, Rogers, and Telus.
What kind of networks exists in Canada?
Canada has 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G networks throughout the country.
