Cell phone for snow bird

On Sun, 14 Sep 2003 20:43:52 GMT, Paul
wrote:

Getting to be that time of year when an old man's thoughts turn to
warmer pastures in the south. In previous years we've taken our Telus
Mobility (B.C.)

Have you looked at deals from companies like Primus(Canada) that give
you local American numbers to call from your cell phone and then the
long distance charge is billed at 5 cents (or so) a minute to your
home land phone?

We have that service and will be going to the States in a couple of
weeks - so I haven't tried it yet.

Anyone else know if it is convenient etc.?


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Paul asked....
What I'm after is a plan that would not require a long-term contract,
nor do I require a "free" phone. I'm not all that concerned with the
amount of minutes/month as much as being able to be reached. A
reasonable long-distance rate plan would also be a plus, but I'd be
willing to use phone cards if necessary.

You might want to try another brand of pre-paid cell phone called
Virgin Mobil: http://www.virginmobileusa.com/. No subscription
required. Just add minutes via phone and credit card or buy a top-up
card and follow the instructions on it. There are 4 models currently
available and you can purchase these phones and their "top-up" cards
at most discount electronic retailers ( BestBuy, Target, Wal-Mart,ect)
nationwide. The first 10 mins per day are .25 cents ea. and after that
..10 cents per min. They work on the Sprint PCS network and are
usually available along the Interstates and metropolitan areas in the
US. I live in N.Central Ohio and have used them when traveling from
here to southwestern MI with not much of a problem, plus when I
visited family in the Sacramento, CA area it worked fine out there.
My reason for not going with a subscription service is that we live in
a rural area that is hilly and can not receive a good signal here at
our house, however these work fine calling back here; provided you
have good reception.

Fran

Paul staggered to the nearest keyboard and
wrote:

Getting to be that time of year when an old man's thoughts turn to
warmer pastures in the south. In previous years we've taken our Telus
Mobility (B.C.) phone with us and have paid dearly in some cases for
roaming charges, in some cases as high as $6.00 per day. Now I'm
thinking of getting one of the U.S. cell phone providers for the time
we're south of the border, preferably one that would allow roaming in
the western U.S. (CA, NV, AZ, NM, etc.) without exorbitant additional
charges. A U.S. mailing address would be no problem.

What I'm after is a plan that would not require a long-term contract,
nor do I require a "free" phone. I'm not all that concerned with the
amount of minutes/month as much as being able to be reached. A
reasonable long-distance rate plan would also be a plus, but I'd be
willing to use phone cards if necessary.

Most prepaid (pay-as-you-go) phones in the U.S. allow roaming and in
several cases there is no extra charge for roaming. Usually there is
no extra charge for domestic (U.S.) long distance. Each carrier has
their advantages and disadvantages so your choice will depend on where
and how you plan to use the phone. Some comments:

Virgin Mobile - Reasonable rates and no roaming charges. Coverage can
be spotty or nonexistent away from cities or Interstate highways.
Idiotic advertising (yes, I know it doesn't affect service but I had
to say it). VM isn't an actual carrier but instead rides on the
Sprint network.

Tracfone - Good coverage but rates are high; roaming is charged at 2x
normal rates. Poor reputation for customer service. Again, a
reseller instead of an actual carrier.

CallPlus - No personal experience but I have heard good things about
them. No roaming charges. Another reseller - they use the AT&T
(TDMA) network so coverage should be very good.
http://www.ecallplus.com/

AT&T Free2Go - Very good coverage (uses their TDMA network). High
rates for small-value top-up cards but reasonable rates for the
higher-value cards. No roaming charges if you choose their "National
Plan" -- it seems odd to choose a plan for a prepaid phone, but that's
how they do it.

Verizon - Good coverage. Reasonable rates on the Verizon network but
US$0.99/minute for "off-network" calls.


Hope this helps your decision. If I were in your position I'd go for
the phone with the widest coverage but use it only for emergencies,
making most calls with a cheap prepaid landline card.


--

Thanks to all who responded to my query regarding the above. Got some
very good and useful information and hints. Much appreciated.

Paul

If you don't absolutely need a wireless (or to supplement one) go to a
Costco or BJ's and buy a phone card. Right now you can get an MCI card that
gives you 670 hrs for $20. It boils down to slightly less than 3 cents a
min. If you're not a member you can easily find someone that will buy one
for you.
MLD
"Brian Elfert" wrote in message
.. .
Paul writes:

thinking of getting one of the U.S. cell phone providers for the time
we're south of the border, preferably one that would allow roaming in
the western U.S. (CA, NV, AZ, NM, etc.) without exorbitant additional
charges. A U.S. mailing address would be no problem.

If you are going to be off the beaten track much, you'll need a plan that
offers free roaming on both digital and analog. Verizon Wireless has the
National Singlerate plan. AT&T Wireless has a similiar plan. Do not get
the America's Choice plan from Verizon Wireless as most areas with analog
service are not covered, and this is a lot out west. Cingular might have
a similar plan.

Don't get a phone from T-Mobile as they often don't work at all outside of
larger cities or off of major highways.

What I'm after is a plan that would not require a long-term contract,
nor do I require a "free" phone. I'm not all that concerned with the
amount of minutes/month as much as being able to be reached. A

If you want to pay full price for a phone, any of the providers should be
able to accomodate your need for no contract.

Many plans include long distance these days. The plans mentioned above
do.

Brian Elfert