Because I almost never need or use a cell phone, I use one of the Virgin Mobile prepaid phones/plans ($20 phone. I’m required to buy $20 worth of minutes every three months) which is great when I’m in the US, but stops working the second I cross the border.
I’m looking for some kind of pay-as-you-go/prepaid phone for use in Canada. It would be convenient to be able to be reached or to call in case of an emergency. Any recommendations?
Most 7-11’s sell cheap Virgin prepaid phones, with the benefit of always being able to find a location to top off the account, lol. That’s probably the best choice. Otherwise, walk into any fair-sized mall and pick from Fido or Koodo booths. Those are the budget brands of the main telcos.
North American mobile companies are in the dark ages compared to…well…the rest of the world.
It looks like Virgin doesn’t allow International roaming.
I suppose the cheapest would be to get a phone from AT&T or T-Mobile and pay $.59/minute when you are in Canada.
Another thing that you could do would be to get a new phone from AT&T or T-Mobile that is set up for the 3G+ or 4G using HSPA. They have a SIM card in them that has the actual phone number. You can get the phones unlocked online for a few dollars. With the handset unlocked, you can then freely get a SIM where ever you go.
I recently got a LG Optimus One from Koodo in Canada and got it unlocked. I took the phone to England and got a SIM with 100 minutes and unlimited high-speed internet (unheard of in NA) for $25. I also got a SIM from AT&T when travelling in the US. I paid $25 for 10c/minute. I only needed it for occasional calling so that was sufficient.
Note that most pre-paid carriers have some sort of option to pay $100 and the minutes will be active for 1 year. This means that if you are going back and forth, then you just have to swap SIMs when you cross the border.
Check out the Jitterbug and see if one of their plans works for you. No roaming charges in North America (and they don’t work outside US and Canada–not sure about Mexico). There are many plans. I pay nearly $20 a month (including all fees and taxes) for 50 minutes.