July 19th, 2009 
Patrick Hebert *** Update *** December 31, 2009
The new Bell/Telus GSM network is online and you can use an unlocked GSM (Rogers, Fido, AT&T, T-Mobile) cell phone with them provided that it is compatible. Read more here.
To unlock your Rogers, Fido, or other compatible GSM phone, click here.
*** Original Article Follows ***
Remember the VHS vs. Betamax wars? Way back in the 80s there were competing technologies for the home video market. Betamax was arguably better and won the battle for adoption by broadcasters due to higher quality, while VHS won the war because of wider market acceptance and lower price. Recently we had the HD-DVD and BluRay war that waged over the course of a few years with BluRay coming out on top.
Now it would appear that the three way battle for cellular technology is over and the clear winner is GSM in Canada. There are three predominant technologies out there when it comes to cell phones:
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CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) – If you have a Bell, Telus, PC Mobile, Petro Canada, Virgin Mobile, or virtually any other private label pay-as-you-go brand phone in Canada, this is likely the technology that you’ve been using.
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TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) – If you had a Rogers/Cantel phone back in the 90s, you likely used TDMA technology. Phones on the Mike network in the early 2000s were also TDMA.
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GSM (Global Standard for Mobiles) – If you use a Rogers or Fido phone today, this is the technology that you use. If your cell phone has a SIM card in it, this is the technology you use. Current Mike subscribers use a type of GSM.
Here’s what you need to know
If you’re currently in a contract with Bell or Telus and it’s coming to an end shortly, or if you’re looking for a pre-paid cell phone to use in Canada over the next year, think carefully before buying. While handsets have come way down in price, cellular carriers generally subsidize the price of your phone (quite heavily) by banking on the fact that you will spend more over the length of your contract on air-time than the actual value of the phone.
Signing a new contract at this point with either Bell or Telus will lock you in with whatever handset you get or currently have. Bell and Telus are engaging in a switchover to GSM service which is supposed to begin this fall and while the general speculation is that they will operate both GSM and CDMA networks for a while, CDMA service will eventually be switched off.
You may want to continue without a contract for the next few months until the new networks are launched, which will then give you the opportunity to get a phone that can be supported by Bell, Telus and Rogers.
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I have a Telus Mike Blackberry – and I do have a SIM card — does this mean it’s still CDMA. I assumed it was already GSM??
Hi Nicole, thanks for your question – I will clarify.
I used to work for Clearnet before they were taken over by Telus (I’m one of the lucky ones who lost their jobs in the transition). Clearnet owned Mike and at the time, Mike was a TDMA network. Today I believe Mike is GSM which is why you have a SIM card.
Telus Mike uses iDEN which is essentially based on TDMA technology as is GSM.
Bell and Telus PCS use CDMA.
Rogers and Fido use GSM.
Thanks for the confirmation & clarification Mikey
Hello,
so my mom just went to india and my grandparents live there.. they agreed to get me any phone i wanted.. i want the blackberry curve the NEW one 8900 i believe. Since bell and telus are switching to GSM in like november i think there gonna get the iphone i was wondering if i could get a the blackberry from there on gsm and use it on the bell gsm network? or if i could get a cdma phone from there and use it on the bell network? thanks .
Hi,
As far as I know, CDMA phones are locked to the service provider – perhaps someone else can verify. As far as GSM goes, I believe we should be able to change between providers but again I don’t know for sure as even within GSM there are different radio frequencies used for different providers. Sorry I can’t be more helpful but perhaps someone else reading this can answer…
Pat
As far as I know, GSM phones can be locked (and are).
But an unlocked GSM phone can be used on any network. You just need the right SIM card.
@ Shianne
If they get you an unlocked GSM handset (you can also get these on ebay, craigslist etc), they could bring it back and you would just have to sign up with Rogers or Bell (when they have GSM) to get your SIM card. Pop the card in, and it should work perfectly.
Thanks for answering Justin… apparently Bell has launched their HSPA network so perhaps making the switch will be even easier now.
GSM phones normally come locked, it is possible to unlock almost any phone out there. I aggree with Justin just buy an unlocked phone.
I got my sonyericsson unlocked from an asian online store.
It came with eveything that a store bought one would have.
I did have some trouble getting integrated with Rogers Since my phone didn’t have “rogers software” on it I had to manually set my internet settings up.
As for which carrier to use – It depends greatly on which country you live in.
If you can get rogers where you are do so, all you have to do is call and threaten to cancel and complain for about 40 minutes and you will save upwards of 35 $ a month. I did it I have a 75 dollar plan and I’m paying 47$.
If you want to go to bell however sign up, say your switching to telus. Tell Bell that you’ve been offerd a better plan from telus with “whatever options you want” (just list them). Belive it or not Telus does try and steal customers away from Bell so they will likely fold and give in to your demands. – Also most Bell phones will work with telus – especially if you purchase it unlocked.
Short version (because I know that was long)
Buy an unlocked phone and don’t agree to any contracts, and then don’t pay more than you have to.
Excellent points Keith
Here is a list of bell compatible phones for all of ya…
http://unlockingabc.blogspot.com/2009/12/bell-canada-gsm-compatible-hspa-phone.html
Thank you very much James for this excellent list! This is extremely helpful for everyone looking to save themselves from unneccessary contracts!
I really think that this blog can help people. Well done
I just wanted to thank you for writing this. It really made my day
I just purchased a Bell phone from a yard sale, but I am a Telus customer ..(since 1994). I heard there are ways to unlock this Bell phone so I can activate it under my Telus account…
Is anyone aware if such a place or people exists? I was told there was one in West Edmonton Mall (Edmonton, Alberta)
Thanks in advance for anyone who can help
Hi Lou
I’m not sure about that as CDMA phones are typically locked to the carrier.
I’m interested in following this thread though, look forward to learning more.
Thanks for writing!
Patrick
Thanks for the info on cell phone unlocking. I like cell phones and work at a little cell phone shop where we unlock phones and mod them for people. Add http://free-cell-phone-unlock.com to your list of free cell phone unlock sites, I use the downloads there a lot to help me unlock phones for customers, don’t be mad but hey I have to make a living some kinda way!! lol.
Anyways, I figured you could use that in your bag of tricks too
Thanks for the link Estela, this will definitely be a great resource for our readers!