Cell Phone Use In Canada On Trip To Alaska

[jcl]

Originally Posted by interstateflyer

I keep hearing stories of people traveling through BC and Yukon getting outrageous roaming bills.

Why does this happen and how does one avoid this?

It is a function of your cell phone service contract. Talk to your provider, and understand what they will charge you for the areas you will be travelling in.

[TG Twinkie]

Look into Rogers Communication in Canada. They might have "throw away" phones that might be a less expensive alternative.

[Len n Jeanne]

Telus is generally the major provider in western Canada. However, your own cell phone service provider should have a travel pac that is cheaper than just their regular rates for longer stays in Canada. Otherwise, you can disable your data roaming, and just use your phone & texting very conservatively.

There are a lot of dead zones in the mountains with no coverage.

[wbrisett]

My experience is limited only to larger Canadian and UK cities. Because I'm on T-Mobile, and they have very generous agreements with other carriers, my bills are a non-issue because they offer low call rates and free data.

Definitely worth looking at if you travel across borders quite a bit.

[tsunami]

I talked to an AT&T specialist and she told me about special package that are available for out of USA phone use. Cheapest one was $30.00. I told her I needed to think about it. Well the next day she called me and profusely apologized for not know that AT&T now has a new feature available where you can use your cell phone (some/not all/newer phones) to make phone call via WiFi with no charges against your cell minutes or data plan. Just find a WiFi spot and you can dial a number into the USA. You cannot make call to numbers in Canada or Mexico, just out of Canada or Mexico into the USA. For details about AT&T WiFi call, give them a call to clarify. Hope this is helpful.

[polarlyse]

I have Verizon as a carrier. They offer a plan, at no extra cost, that allows international calls. The first time it's used across the border the plan kicks in at $2 (US) / day for Canada & Mexico. If outside of N. America it's a $10/day plan. But don't believe me and my memory. Check with your carrier for details. There may be more cost effective ways to go but it's nice to know that it will work when you need it.

[dannydimitt]

Originally Posted by interstateflyer

I keep hearing stories of people traveling through BC and Yukon getting outrageous roaming bills.

Why does this happen and how does one avoid this?

We avoided being taken to the cleaners by removing the batteries from both our phones a few miles from the Canadian border and leaving them out until we got to Alaska , then repeating the procedure on the return trip .
We purchased an inexpensive calling card in Watson Lake in order to make reservations at a RV park in Dawson via a pay phone . Kept it in the glove box in case we needed it again while in Canada.

Both the cell phones and batteries were kept in a handy location in the unlikely event an emergency came up where there was cell phone service .

[mixedpuppy]

AT&T just added Canada roaming, but it seems TMobile is still better.

https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/att...-with-a-catch/

[crisen]

This change still looks pretty useless for travel to AK, except for a few. We make the drive from AK to the lower 48 and back every year with ATT. Shut off your data on your phone before entering CA. Data is ridiculously expensive and use only wifi where available. Keep calls short as they are $1/minute and text are 50 cents each. We might add $20 to our monthly bill for the time in CA. If you need to live on your phone don't use ATT.

[tsunami]

Off topic, but wanted to share this photo I took this morning in downtown (about a block or do from Alaska Highway memorial) Dawson Creek BC Canada. Took about 1 hour to find route out of town.


Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

[interstateflyer]

Originally Posted by tsunami

Off topic, but wanted to share this photo I took this morning in downtown (about a block or do from Alaska Highway memorial) Dawson Creek BC Canada. Took about 1 hour to find route out of town. Attachment 264589


Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

We went through that area ten days ago. Read the news accounts. Difficult to imagine.

Weather has been unseasonably wet in BC and Yukon according to locals. We're in Big Delta, AK. 74 and partly cloudy.

We're using Verizon's travel pass and a cell booster in the trailer. Service through BC and Yukon on the Alaska Highwsy was reasonably good on Telus....Verizon plan covers. A bit spotty but ok.

When does the Wally caravan pass through Dawson Creek?

[Len n Jeanne]

Interstateflyer, I just want to verify that your Verizon plan picked up Telus in BC. We were hoping that switching to Telus (here in Canada) would allow us to pick up Verizon in the western states, but Verizon doesn't seem to allow users with any Canadian cell phone service provider. We can pick up AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, you-name-it in the US, except Verizon. Which is the one to have for the more remote areas.

We spend enough time in the US that we have considered buying a cell phone there with Verizon service.

So far as we can determine, Telus is the Canadian provider with the best service in rural/remote BC, although we have a lot of entirely dead zones in the mountains.

[dhroberts]

Originally Posted by interstateflyer

I'd like to find an affordable data plan for my Verizon WiFi Ranger or maybe another data plan. I'd rather not use public Wifi.....for security reasons.

I just read interstateflyer's comment: "I'd rather not use public Wifi.....for security reasons."

I understand his security concerns with less than well known wifi sources. That said, why not use a VPN (virtual private network) and get well protected? I subscribe to PIA (Private Internet Access) - $39 per year for 5 devices (phone, tablet, laptop) - a PC Magazine Editor's Choice. https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/

I suspect that a VPN program - PIA or a competing program - would put interstateflyer's wifi concerns to rest. Check it out!

[Thiss]

We have Sprint. We called Sprint and they set us up with unlimited calling and text with 1G of data for no additional charge. They sent us a couple of codes and steps to activate the access.

[interstateflyer]

Originally Posted by dhroberts

I just read interstateflyer's comment: "I'd rather not use public Wifi.....for security reasons."

I understand his security concerns with less than well known wifi sources. That said, why not use a VPN (virtual private network) and get well protected? I subscribe to PIA (Private Internet Access) - $39 per year for 5 devices (phone, tablet, laptop) - a PC Magazine Editor's Choice. https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/

I suspect that a VPN program - PIA or a competing program - would put interstateflyer's wifi concerns to rest. Check it out!

I use ExpressVPN. Flawless.

Try to connect to a US VPN server when in Canada and doing banking, otherwise flags go up at the bank's end if you use a Canadian server. You may get blocked.

You can use your normal Verizon plan, including data for $2 a day in Canada. However that does not apply to your Verizon Jetpack data, only your cell phone or tablet.

With a WeBoost 4GX cell booster we got enhanced service wherever there was a cell signal. We never knew who we were roaming with in BC.