CELLULAR ROAMING IN CANADA
Resources for both the frequent Canada traveler and the casual tourist. Compare the roaming abilities of your current phone with those of other carriers. Updated Feb. 18, 2012.

			Use Your Regular Wireless Phone
			Our Recommendations
			Tips & Considerations
			Will Your Current Phone Work?
			Roaming FAQ
			International Roaming

• Your regular cellular phone
  See if it will work where you are traveling, or consider switching to a US carrier that roams readily. Just pay the roaming charges, which can be substantial, or, your carrier may offer a package that includes Canada roaming.
• An "International" phone or SIM
  A phone or chip that allows usage in many countries. Per-minute charges apply and vary from Free for incoming calls, to pricey.
• A "Local" Prepaid phone or SIM purchased in your destination country. This can be one the most economical choices, especially for calls within Canada, but may require some user education.
• Satellite Phones
  They work where other phones don't, but at a high price. You can buy or rent and use it in really remote locations like that gold mine in the Yukon.
• Wi-fi Phones
  Use them directly in hot spots, or connect through a computer. It can be very cheap but with limited mobility.
• Cruise Ships
  You can use certain US wireless phones on most major cruise lines. Roaming charges can be substantial but they are much less than what you'd pay for calls from your room on the ship. Your wireless company will charge you for your cellular usage onboard. Wi-fi service is often available, which would be billed by the cruise line. Get more Cruise Ship Tips.

• AT&T:
  AT&T charges .79/minute for calls Made/Received in Canada, .59/Minute with the $5 "World Traveler" add-on, and Canada Roaming calls are included in the "AT&T Nation with Canada" plans at about a $20 per month premium over regular AT&T plans. Canada data roaming charges are .015/kB.
  
  A great alternative for AT&T customers is to purchase an AT&T GoPhone SIM. Slip this SIM into your AT&T phone and you can roam in Canada at .39/minute with no additional roaming charges and no daily access fee. Text Messaging fees are .25/sent, .20/received and data charges are .0195/kB.
  
  
• Cricket Wireless:
  Cricket offers roaming in Canada, with the same rates as roaming off their network in the US, which are normally .25/minute. Text Messaging rates are the same as your home plan. Cricket Wireless customers must enable roaming capability to their phone and must use their Flex Bucket or subscribe to a service plan that includes a monthly allotment of roaming minutes. Cricket PAYGo customers must have sufficient account balance for roaming charges. No data roaming is available.
  
  
• MetroPCS phones do not roam outside the US.
  
  
• Nextel:
  You can use your regular Nextel iDEN phone in Canada and Roaming rates are .59/minute for calls sent or received. You can get a Canada Roaming add-on for $3/month and all calls placed from Canada are only 20¢/minute, including any Long Distance charges. Direct Connect and Text Messaging works in Canada. At last report data usage rates were Free! Nextel customers with a CDMA phone have the same Roaming capabilities as Sprint.
  
  
• Page Plus:
  Page Plus Cellular phones will roam in Canada with a rate of .60/minute, which includes calls to and from Canada and US numbers. Text Messaging in Canada is .50/sent, $.25 received.
  
  
• Sprint:
  Sprint phones work over most of Canada, the regular Voice roaming rate is .59/minute. With an International Roaming Package the rate is .20/minute. Text Messaging is at the same rate as your home plan and data is charged at .002/kB.
  
  
• T-Mobile:
  T-Mobile phones work in Canada with a Voice Roaming rate of .59/minute, calls to the US from Canada are an additional charge of .20/minute. Text Messages are .20/each but messages received are Free if you have a Text Messaging bundle with your home plan. Data rates are $10/MB. Canada roaming is available both postpaid and prepaid customers.
  
  
• TracFone:
  TracFone does not offer roaming outside the US, but they have favorable long distance rates to and from Mexico (and Canada). With their "International Neighbors" plan you get a local number in Mexico or Canada that allows calls to be made back to a TracFone in the US, charged only as a Local call in those countries. The cost to the TracFone phone user is the same as any incoming call. Outgoing calls to these countries with a TracFone are Free through their International Long Distance (ILD) service, which involves calling a toll-free number, then entering your Mexico number (or to 60 other countries). Since your TracFone will not work in Mexico (or any other foreign country) this option would make a Mexico prepaid phone economical to call a TracFone in the US. NET10 prepaid phones offer the same services.
  
  
• US Cellular
  Roaming in Canada is available. They will not provide roaming costs to non-customers. We fear that's because roaming is very expensive including a daily charge, per-minute rates of more than $1, and data roaming is not available.
  
  
• Verizon:
  Your Verizon Wireless phone will work in most of Canada, some at 3G speeds, at a Voice Roaming rate of .69/minute. Text Messaging rates are the same as your home package, either per-Text or as part of your package. Canada data rates are .002/kB. The Nationwide Plus Canada plan includes Voice calls from the US and Canada for about $20/month more than regular plans, Text and Data are extra.
  Click Here to Get Online Deals on Verizon Phones & Plans

• INTERNATIONAL CELLULAR PHONES:
  • MOBAL WORLD PHONES supplies Pay As You Go international GSM phones and SIM's that work in 150 countries. They also offer satellite phones, US and international rental phones, and wireless phones specifically for Japan and South Korea.
• UNLOCKED GSM PHONES are available from several sources including eBay and Moose Wireless. With an unlocked GSM phone you can insert a SIM from a US or Local carrier. That includes those from US carriers, International SIM's (see Below), and SIM's purchased locally in each foreign country.
• INTERNATIONAL ROAMING SIM's for your unlocked GSM phone can be purchased in advance from MOBAL.
• LOCAL SIM's for your unlocked GSM phone are available in various degrees of convenience after entering a foreign country. In some places they can be purchased at storefront vendors and kiosks, and in others from vending machines at train stations and air terminals. In other countries they can only be purchased at "official" outlets. Once a local SIM is purchased, it may also work in a neighboring country, sometimes at the same, local rate.
• LOCAL WIRELESS PHONE. In some places the only way to buy any Local cellular service is to buy a prepaid phone. In some cases this can be a good deal depending on the plan that comes with it. If it is a GSM phone, most likely the SIM can be removed and placed in your own unlocked GSM phone. Check our Tips for using foreign Local phones and SIM's.

• Wi-fi capable phones: There are many possibilities including Smart phones, the iPhone, Blackberry and others, with a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) connection.
• Other Wi-Fi devices. There are a number of computer-associated devices that can handle both incoming and outgoing calls that don't care where you are located.
  
  This type of connection is useful if you plan to handle calls from a fixed location. Rates can be as low as Free, depending on the cost of your Internet connection.