North America Plans

I'm sure Cingular still offers a NA plan. Call customer service. I'm thinking you must have spoken to a dolt working in an independent retailer and he didn't know what he was talking about.

 

T-Mobile has an add-on option for calls to Canada. Keep in mind this is not for using your phone while in Canada - you pay roaming etc. there:

$4.99 per line Discounted long distance to Canada
You're already calling your friends and associates in Canada--now you can make all the calls you want and save. For $4.99 per month, you can make unlimited calls to Canada for just $0.09 per minute. And at $0.09 per minute, you can call whenever!

 

All of these wireless companies seem to think Canada is a foreign country :biggrin:

I have family up there and I have seen nothing like the grandfathered plan my younger sister has with Verizon. Canada is considered normal long distance for her and comes out of her regular minutes or unlimited nights and weekends; all for $34.99/month. No additional charges for Canada. Only problem is she is off contract if she tries to modify her plan in any way or get a new phone, they will terminate this deal.

I have TMO and I have seen their Canada plan BUT you still have to pay $.09/minute and you use up your minutes (and pay $4.99/month for the privilege). Best idea would probably be to get a phone card that gives you a cheap rate to Canada.

 

Cingular still has the North American plans, as does Verizon, they just dont have them on the websites. One difference between these plans and normal plans (for Verizon anyway), they dont include unlimited night and weekend or mobile to mobile, you only get 1000 of each.

I had to put one of our guys here on the NA plan because he travels to Mexico once a month to a plant down there, he racked up a couple of 800 a month bills before I knew what was going on.

 

I agree or get VOIP from CABLE TV and call as much you want.

 

There are a number of companies out there that offer cheap long distance from your cell phone. The way they work is you dial a given number and from there you connect to the number you want in Canada. Some of them ask you to buy prepaid minutes. Others can bill you monthly for post paid usage.

 

If you have plain old telephone service, AT&T charges 6 cents a minute to a phone. Costs $1.00 a month.

You are not tied to a computer, as you are with Vonnage or Skype, if at home.

Mobile telephony, used directly, ain't cheap.

Mobile access, however, is convenient.

You pays for convenience. You want convenience?

 

I think Sprint has an add-on to their plan to include Canada as part of your calling range, but not entirely sure.

Suliman

 

If you are still looking, I have free long distance to Canada with Road Runner from Time Warner if it is available in your area. 99 dollars a month for hi speed internet, digital cable and phone service. Free long distance to all continental us states + canada and only 9 cents a minute to Mexico.
works for me !

 

Verizon has plans that include Canada and Mexico. It includes calls to, and while in Canada. It is the North America's Choice plan. They also have family plans. They are slightly more expensive, and usually only include 1000 mobile to mobile as well as 1000 night and weekend.

 

Keep in mind that with the older plans (before May 2004, I think) that calls to Canada were included. With the newer plans, calls to Canda are NOT included with VZW's plans. If you call Canada alot, keep that in mind before you change you callilng and go with a new promo.:browani:

 

Ummmm, Canada is a foreign country. :wink:

 

* ZaphodB watches the pitch go right past TrapperKeeper.

I have to say, having just come back from downtown Canada, the coverage up there on Bell Mobilité is INCREDIBLE... now, the only thing left is the painful bit, where I get the bill from Verizon.

 

When I had a layover at the Toronto airport, my TELUS(I think I roamed on them) coverage was horrible. I never got more than 2 bars and in some parts my phone switched between no service and a weak one bar. All that while the GSM networks had full service everywhere.

 

At the border crossing, Verizon roams on Bell Mobility. Once closer to Montreal, it roams on Telus.

I'm happy to say that in November (when I re-activated an old Verizon prepay phone and before I switched to Verizon postpay) on a bus trip, I had non-stop coverage from home, right through to downtown Montreal. Native Verizon coverage all the way through MA, NH, and VT (no gaps) and it roamed at the border. Excellent.

And yes, the Verizon prepay phone worked in Canada, it would not text message up there, the phone displayed it had to be in a digital service area, it was - as 1X was displayed, but required double-dialing to place a call. It could receive calls as well.

 

Oddly, my phone preferred Bell to Telus even in Montréal... maybe a difference in PRL.

 

If you have a Sprint PCS plan, you can add the Sprint PCS Canada plan for $7.00/month. Calls to anywhere in Canada will be billed at .09/minute.

Suliman

 

It was this non-stop coverage that cemented my decision to switch to Verizon postpay.

I know the prepay PRL is different than AC2's PRL. I guess Telus was higher up in priority in the PRL than Bell. The signal was excellent, I had mostly full signal (7 bars, Nokia 3589i) just about everywhere.

 

OneSuite is a good option. You will use your minutes to call a local number (or pay a higher per minute rate and call the toll free number). There is a surcharge for calling from a payphone using the 800 number.
Here is a referral link if you like:
https://www.onesuite.com/023U08779/suitetreat
Calling Canada using their local number access is only 1.9 cents a minute. Prepaying 10 dollars gets you a lot of minutes!

Another service is talkloop. I don't know anyone who uses them, but they have good rates as well.

fb