Cells

For a long time, a higher percentage of the population of Canada been connected to the internet than most other countries in the world, and by the world I don't just mean North America. This isn't however, the same with mobile or cell phones, surprising since I'm continually getting almost killed by idiots using them whilst attempting to drive.

Ever since the explosion of pay-as-you-go phones in Britain, it seems like every kid has one, which is why there are always studies coming out warning of the effects of exposure to cell phones on the immature brain. Kids whose parents couldn't afford decent shoes or new shirts for their kids would buy them phones. Not only that, they would phone them during lessons. The beauty of the pay-as-you-go phone was that some, if not all of the kids would never have any credit so at least they couldn't phone out.

Of course phones could then be stolen, lost, confiscated - which would result in more angry phone calls from parents that anything and in general cause mayhem.
On the plus side, if you took school trips out and especially abroad, you no longer had to organise a complicated telephone tree for letting parents know if you were going to be late back or whatever.

Pay-as-you-go phones here however have not been as widespread as in Europe although that is changing. But there are limitations on both contract and p-a-y-g. Many contracts here make you pay for or take away some of your free minutes, for incoming calls. I may be suffering from false memory here, but I have some distant memory of this happening when mobile phones first came out in Britain. Perhaps someone can remember better than me.

When I left Britain, I was able to switch my contract phone to p-a-y-g by simply buying a new SIM card, er, I say that like I knew what I was doing, but in fact, Ben had to tell me what to do and how to put credit on it.

I have been thinking about getting a p-a-y-g phone for myself and as discussed yesterday, in encouraging Laurence to get one. At the moment, Kevin and I have a contract phone which we share, although it is mostly me who has it.
But after discussing p-a-y-g with a colleague of Kevin's last night, I realise there is a flaw in my plan.

When I was in England I put some credit on my phone. Next time I go back, that will still be there for me to use. But the system here as described to me is that when you buy credit here it last for a month or two months, and then, if you haven't used it, it disappears. So I'm wondering what the benefit of having pay-as-you-go is and maybe that's why it isn't so popular here.

Something I will have to look into more before making any decision.