The Unofficial 7-Eleven Speak Out Wireless Canada Consumer Page 
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4:25 pm
I'm looking to buy a prepaid phone. I've got it narrowed down to Virigin or 7-11.
Virgin seems to have more of a selection of phones and plans, but the 7-11 deal looks pretty good as well.
Other than the $0.99 9-1-1 fee, are there any other charges?
I'd appriciate any advice/opinions on either option.
4:31 pm
Virgin seems to have more of a selection of phones and plans
With Virgin your choice of phones is restricted to what they sell and whatever phone you buy from them is locked to them.
With SpeakOut you can use any unlocked 850/1900 GSM phone. If you don't like the models they offer then get the 1600 for free under the current promo, then sell it here or on eBay, etc.
If you later decide you don't want to stay with SpeakOut you can even use your phone with Rogers or Fido. (Just buy a SIM and airtime on eBay.)
Other than the $0.99 9-1-1 fee, are there any other charges?
Just airtime at the rates shown in their brochure.
5:51 pm
March 31, 2007
Offline
The big differentiator with 7-Eleven for me is that I can buy airtime denominations as small as $25 that last for 365 days.
Virgin is not as bad as other places. $15 lasts 45 days and $25 lasts 90 days.
11:32 pm
By the way, Peter - nice little site you've created - just wanted to pay my compliments - thnx
9:11 am
If you use more then 95 minutes of airtime per month Virgin Mobile may be better choice -- VM has monthly package for $20 (voice mail & call display included, there is no service access fee to pay) + tax, comes with 200 minutes... if I am not mistaken.
The big downside for me is that Virgin Mobile is NOT GSM 🙁
10:57 am
If you use more then 95 minutes of airtime per month Virgin Mobile may be better choice...
There are other situations where Virgin may be a better choice than SpeakOut. For instance, because VM uses Bell's (and partners') network you'd have coverage in the far north (e.g. Iqaluit) where Rogers/SpeakOut has no coverage.
VM's long distance is a nickel a minute less than SpeakOut so if you do a lot of LD..., etc.
1:09 pm
Thanks for all the great feedback.
Looks like the 7-11 option is better for me since I use around 60 mins/month and live in the GTA.
2:36 pm
A correction to the above post re long distance.
SpeakOut and PetroCanada both charge a total of 30 cents for long distance in Canada/US (ie 10 cents more than the local rate.)
Virgin Mobile charges 55 cents for long distance. (local call rate 30 cents plus 25 cents long distance.)
If you will making long distance calls you are way ahead using SpeakOut.
