Using cell phone when travelling in the US

[CivicBoy]

Hi, I just moved to Vancouver from the states, and I would like to have a local mobile phone service keeping my current Nokia phone. I need voice mail, and caller ID is nice. If anybody can give me any suggestions on the plans from major providers such as Telus, Rogers etc, that would be very much appreciated.

In addition, I will be traveling some to the US, but I don't want to pay a large monthly fee for an occasional need to call there. I do want to be able to use the phone in the states, but there are calling cards and 10-10 numbers one can use to cover the long-distance costs, I think. Can someone tell me what's the best solution for making long-distance calls using my cell phone when it's roaming in the US please?

Thank you very much!

[Pavel]

You may be better off with "Pay as you Go" type plans that you buy minutes and buy the phone. I dont know if now you have to wait a certain number of months before you can get to use long distance. Below is a link to get you started. However, it's best to go to a kiosk in a [chinese] mall or some place, to get some package deals like free headsets etc.

Be warned all cellular carriers rape you when you make long distance to the US unless you sign up for their cellular long distance plan.

http://www.geckobeach.com/cellular/intro/pcs.php

[CivicBoy]

Thank you very much!

You may be better off with "Pay as you Go" type plans that you buy minutes and buy the phone. I dont know if now you have to wait a certain number of months before you can get to use long distance. Below is a link to get you started. However, it's best to go to a kiosk in a [chinese] mall or some place, to get some package deals like free headsets etc.

Be warned all cellular carriers rape you when you make long distance to the US unless you sign up for their cellular long distance plan.

http://www.geckobeach.com/cellular/intro/pcs.php

[GemInite]

you CAN NOT make LD calls in the U.S. on a Canadian pre paid service.

At least on Fido and Rogers thats for sure.

[lonelydriver]

do you have a gsm phone? if so you can have a canadian plan and just swap the sim cards when you're in the US and use a prepaid service while there. of course you'll have 2 different numbers

[Skylite2020]

you CAN NOT make LD calls in the U.S. on a Canadian pre paid service.

At least on Fido and Rogers thats for sure. ....not true for Bell Mobility

I have bell mobility pre-paid cellular phone with call display and voice mail and I can use my phone in the states because i signed up for automatic topup should my balance fall below a certain limit, and i signed off on letter for continous service in the states normally you can just call them up and ask for the service to be added for say 2 weeks if you go down, so just push them a little and you can do it...if your doing prepaid you can buy the 25.00 cards and add them yourself and the balance will be good for 2 months, and if you add another card before the 2 months balance expires (if you have left over, I always do) then the minutes carry over (this does not apply to automatic top up though)...I have a balance of 250.00, so my voice mail 5.00 is just deducted from my balance and I get free voicemail with prepaid on Bell Mobility....

[rain]

try text messaging

[Pavel]

LOL. Text messaging a parent or grand parent that can barely dial the number on a mobile is too funny. But, SMSing is practical economical option between email and cellphone users.