US Cell Phones in Canada

[Rebel_Millionaire]

Just curious guys, how do you deal with cell phone in MTL?
My US phone stops working , but not a big deal if your dialing from the HDLM (will be missed).
But what if your trying to coordinate an incall and need to be available...?

Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[hungry101]

I use the MERB PM feature or E-Mail the agencies beforehand from the USA and then call from the hotel when I check in. Just watch out because some hotels will charge quite a bit for local calls. If you are a frequent guest of the chain they may wave local calls. If you are a new guest you may call the front desk and inquire about local charges and ask if they may wave these. The hotel I stayed in last week waved all local calls after stating in the register that they were 1.50$/per.

There is a thread in the lounge stating that T-Mobile has a North American rate that includes Montreal. If this is true, my next hobbyphone will be from T-mobile. And yes, I willl pay cash and make up a phony name.

 

[daydreamer41]

Already is a thread for this subject. I used the Go Phone (AT&T) in my last trip. Only .38 a minute in Montreal and .10 a minute in US.

https://merb.cc/vbulletin/showthrea...one-that-works-in-Montreal&highlight=go+phone

 

[EagerBeaver]

Chercherfemmes told me if you have an iPhone or other smartphone and don't adjust the settings your phone will automatically roam for data usage when in Canada. The result will be thousands of dollars of roamer charges to retrieve satellite data. So you have to talk to your phone provider about that, adjust the settings, or else get a Go Phone as suggested by Daydreamer41.

 

[Mod 11]

Not moderator writing.

Eager, your cell phone, no matter how high class and top notch it is, never use satellites for phone communications, it uses ground-based cellular antennas.
Your phone can have a built-in GPS and the data from the GPS can be sent on the cellular network but the phone doesn't transmit nothing towards the satellites and don't use the satellite GPS data for cellular communications. Proof being, older phones, who still work perfectly, don't have a GPS.

There are some satellite phones who actually uses the satellites to transport the phone communication but these are bigger and quite expensive to own and operate. They aren't use by people in range of the regular cell network because it would be simply foolish to do so, considering costs alone.

 

[IamNY]

Just curious guys, how do you deal with cell phone in MTL?
My US phone stops working , but not a big deal if your dialing from the HDLM (will be missed).
But what if your trying to coordinate an incall and need to be available...?

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Check if your local calls are included in your hotels fee. Other than that, do a little research, there is a huge thread on this already. Me personally, I'm quite satisfied with Sprint and their international plan. I used to have T Mobile and they would hit me with hundreds of dollars of fees and with Sprint I pay 2.99 a month and my last trip to Montreal cost me maybe $30.

 

[yootuub]

If you have an Iphone, call AT&T you can "pre purchase" Data AND minute packages just tell them you want the Canada packages for Minutes or Data. AT&T international is 877-707-9208 . You will only be charged about 1/4 of the regular rate if you pre purchase the Minutes or Data package. Have done it for years, packages get cheaper and cheaper every few years. When you come back to the States you can call them to cancel and pro rate the package so you only get charged for what you used.

 

[EagerBeaver]

This is further to the last post (I went to my local AT&T store yesterday regarding phone service options for AT&T customers while in Montreal. Here are the options):

1. Go Phone: cheapest one they had was $14.99. I could buy 1000 minutes for $100, and the 1000 minutes are good for 1 year. Total cost of this option would be $114.99 plus tax. I assume minutes will be burned off at the rates mentioned by DD (0.38 in Montreal and 0.10 in USA), EXCEPT INTERNATIONAL CALLS.

2. I can add 80 minutes to my iPhone, good for 30 days, for $30 plus tax. In order to use this option I would have to do the following on my iPhone:
Settings>General>Cellular>Cellular Data>Off
Settings>General>Cellular>Enable LTE>Off

AT&T said I need not do anything else, and this will shut off roaming and data on my iPhone.

Which option do you guys think I should opt for? Gotta make a decision soon. The AT&T rep was leaning towards recommending option #2. I am kind of on the fence. The one thing I worry about is how fast the minutes will melt on the Go Phone. I think the International Calls are burned off at a much higher rate on the Go Phone than 0.38.

 

[nico71]

Same logic for "Chatr wireless". Its about $25+tx /month (or $20?) for unlimited local talking. It uses Rogers wireless network, and uses GSM phones.
There is also "Public Mobile" for $25/month (or $20?) for unlimited local talk. This one uses CDMA on a weird frequency.

In both cases, for about $5 or $10 more, you get unlimited Canada (USA?) calling.

 

[EagerBeaver]

It is senseless to pay for wireless since I have a smartphone and the hotel I am staying at offers free Wifi. I just turn on the local WiFi setting and I am good to go.

JSB: the one advantage to the plan you mention is the preservation of anonymity. The problem is as soon as I get to Montreal I would have to make my 1st stop Rogers or Fido and take care of my business. We tried doing this one year and we ended up wasting hours and hours of precious vacation time, and lost activity opportunities all for bullshit service. Obviously you have not read my thread, Bell Sucks Hippo Balls! See this:

https://merb.cc/vbulletin/showthrea...!!!!!!!!!!!!&highlight=bell+sucks+hippo+balls

When you are in Montreal for a few days and have many activities planned including on your date of arrival, there simply isn`t hours to waste over this kind of fucking stupidity. One thing I learned is that time is valuable. When you are dealing with locals on an anonymous basis they have the power to waste your time, and you have no power to do shit about it. Not again, ever! The tourist in Montreal has to preserve his bargaining power, not discard it like like a disposable razor.