As an American college student in British Columbia, Canada, having a cell phone is very useful. However, being an American student in a foreign country, many of my cell phone calls are to the United States where my family and friends live. At the same time, I also need a cell phone that works in Canada and can make calls to and from Canada without charging me extra. What do I do?
The biggest problem is that many Canadian cell phone providers (the biggest being Rogers, with its competitors including Fido and Telus Mobile) charge a significantly higher price for their cell phone plans. After talking to Canadians and cell phone representatives, I’ve discovered that this is due to the fact that Canada has less cell phone users using its cell tower infrastructure, meaning that there are less people sharing the costs.
Most Canadian cell phone providers charge huge fees when making calls in the United States while on roaming. For example, Fido charges a whopping $0.95 per minute when calling from within the U.S. (source). This won’t do because I often travel back to the states and need a cell phone that works in both Canada and the U.S. without charging me an extra arm and leg! Even worse, Canadian cell phone plans with the ability to call the United States are expensive, topping $80.00 or more for very few minutes.
After spending literally days searching for the right cell phone plan, I finally found one that does everything I need it to do without charging a lot of money! After doing all this research into U.S./Canada cell phone plans, I realized that many other people are in similar situations and would probably love to know what I decided to do. Whether you’re a Canadian student studying in the the United States (or vice versa), someone who has a lot of relatives on the other side of the border, or a business person, you might find this useful!
My requirements for my new cell phone was simple: I wanted a cell phone plan that would let me travel to either Canada or the United States without charging me roaming. I wanted a cell phone plan that offered great coverage in all the major cities and towns of the United States and Canada, from the east coast to the west coast and back! I also wanted a cell phone that I could use without being charged roaming, with a sufficient amount of calling minutes and no long distance charges. Of course, additional extras like text messages and mobile web was also wanted, but not necessary.
After a lot of calling and talking to different cell phone plans, I found one that met all of these needs. I searched for plans from the following cell phone plan providers:
Canadian Cell Phone Plan Providers:
– Telus
– Rogers
– Fido
United States Cell Phone Plan Providers:
– Verizon
– AT&T;
– T-Mobile
– Sprint
In the end, I discovered that Verizon Wireless offered the plan that gave me all of the features and details that I needed. Verizon offers something that they call “Nationwide Plus Canada.” There is nothing like it from any other cell phone provider, south or north of the border! Why this is, I have no idea because there are many students and travelers who need a cell phone that lets them make calls in Canada and the U.S. without having to worry about huge roaming charges.
Verizon Wireless’ plan gives me 1000 in-network calls that lets me call any other Verizon customer. The caveat is that these minutes only apply while I am in the U.S. However, I also get 450 minutes to use in Canada (you can get more minutes than this, but that was all I needed). You also get 1000 Nights and Weekends, which starts at your local time and it doesn’t matter if you are in the states or in British Columbia or any of the other Canadian provinces.
Verizon has partnered with Telus Mobile in Canada to offer great coverage in all the major areas in Canada, while their network in the US is very broad and extensive. This means that you should have cell phone service wherever you go, with all the features that you need without having to worry about which country you are in at the moment!
This is very valuable information that you should bookmark the next time you or a friend are searching for a cell phone plan that works in Canada and the United States without impeding your calling or limiting you in any way. Whenever I make a call, I don’t have to worry about if I’m roaming or who I’m calling. I can make local or long distance calls to anyone in either country and it costs me the same. It’s great!
