Hi Paul,

Excellent advice.

Some plans are brutal with roaming charges, but there are alternatives. My
employer has me on a plan that would cost $35 every time I pick up the phone
outside the Canadian border.

In June last year I travelled to the US on business and my employer gave me a
loaner phone from another cell co.. I forwarded my number to that one.
Later in
the year I travelled again to the US and our original carrier simply
transferred
me to a different plan for a week.

When I travel to the US on vacation we take my wife's phone, which has a
reasonable long distance rates and no roaming fees.

My Dad is on a plan that gives him 300 minutes a month of free long distance,
and US roaming fees are waived. He has seen some billing issues with charges
for roaming that were passed along to him by US carriers but AFAIK he was able
to have those charges reversed by his carrier.

Happy trails,

Greg Potts

Quoting Paul Guzyk <paullist@GUZYK.COM>:

> Make sure you call your US cell carrier before you use your cellphone
> in Canada and confirm rates.
>
> Your phone will work fine, but don't be chatty.  Rates are often
> $1.00 to $1.50 per minute when "roaming" in Canada.
>
> ---
>
> And BTW, Canadians get hit the same way when they use their
> cellphones in the US.
>