Trans Canada Vacation

[Ealspach]

Hello my name is Ed.
I am planning a RV vacation from Alberta to Nova Scotia. I am looking for information on the best cell phone and air net Internet connections for the trip. This trip may be thru Canada on the way east and thru the States on the way back to Alberta. Anyone with information as to what works and what is economical, I would appreciate hearing from you.
Regards
Ed

[Telekom]

Originally Posted by Ealspach

Hello my name is Ed.
I am planning a RV vacation from Alberta to Nova Scotia. I am looking for information on the best cell phone and air net Internet connections for the trip. This trip may be thru Canada on the way east and thru the States on the way back to Alberta. Anyone with information as to what works and what is economical, I would appreciate hearing from you.
Regards
Ed

Your location says Canada so let's assume that you live there. Do you currently have mobile service through one of the major providers e.g. Telus Mobility, Bell Mobility or ROGERS? All three are national carriers. Unless you are doing a monthly type account (where you're billed) that would be the only way you'd really want to do any serious data since prepaid data (if available) is usually very expensive. If you can provide more details about your service (or lack thereof) that would be helpful as well. Also something to consider is that you may not get reliable coverage if you're in really rural areas rather than around cities. The route you're planning on traveling from AB to NS would probably help someone determine what might work for you.

[Ealspach]

Thanks for the reply: We are driving with a 5th Wheel RV, ROute is Canadian from Alberta to Nova Scotia, and returning through the USA. We will be gone 2 months from June 20 2009. I have a Bell and Telus phone but very expensive in the USA. We would also like to be able to connect to the internet for a short period each day to check emails etc. Bell has a plan for air internet but it is $35 per month for 1 GB which is not much but the long distance charges apply outside of Alberta nad in the USA it is .95 cent per minute plus roaming charge of .50 per minute, (Cost prohibitive)
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Regards

[Telekom]

Originally Posted by Ealspach

Thanks for the reply: We are driving with a 5th Wheel RV, ROute is Canadian from Alberta to Nova Scotia, and returning through the USA. We will be gone 2 months from June 20 2009. I have a Bell and Telus phone but very expensive in the USA. We would also like to be able to connect to the internet for a short period each day to check emails etc. Bell has a plan for air internet but it is $35 per month for 1 GB which is not much but the long distance charges apply outside of Alberta nad in the USA it is .95 cent per minute plus roaming charge of .50 per minute, (Cost prohibitive)
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Regards

Well, as far as in Canada you've got all your usual choices. While you're in the USA you could get a prepaid account with any number of carriers. You can get a cheap T-Mobile account for $10 (plus the cost of a GSM phone if you don't already have one.) For data in the US you're probably better off just finding a coffee shop that has free WiFi (or an allowance for making a purchase) while you're in the US. Starbucks has a programme that gives you 2 hours of time for a purchase and other coffee places have either an hourly limit or unlimited for the price of a purchase. Anything else such as through your cellphone in the US is expensive for prepaid though it is available through AT&T GoPhone accounts.