<p>So Im pretty sure I'll be going to McGill and was wondering if I need a phone for US calls and a phone for Canadian calls?</p>
<p>Some US cell phone providers have special plans that include Canada as if it were domestic, no long distance or roaming charges for cross border calls. AT&T has one:</p>
<p>[Get</a> Started - Wireless from AT&T](<a href=“http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phone-plans/individual-cell-phone-plans.jsp?_requestid=94329]Get”>http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phone-plans/individual-cell-phone-plans.jsp?_requestid=94329)</p>
<p>Not sure if that includes calls within Canada.</p>
<p>My D goes to Concordia in Montreal, and we live in the US. She ended up going with a local Canadian carrier, Koodo, with the unlimited North America plan buy-up so she can call/text her Canadian friends on a local number <em>and</em> call/text her US friends/family from one phone. When she crosses the border back to the US she switches back to her US phone to avoid roaming charges. Skype and Facebook are also handy for keeping in touch!</p>
<p>Hey,
Just wanted to let you know that its pretty easy to find a cheap phone up here. Those of us from the states (myself included) have two cellphones or at least two simcards. Its helpful to have a 514 number because most people have 514 numbers, so if you have a US phone all your friends with 514 numbers will hate you because they will get charged 30 cents a text and probably even more from calls. Although some American phone companies will cover you and make it so that you can text whoever wherever in North America, this isn’t true of people who want to text you with another area code. They will get charged, so its best to get a phone when your up here. Stay away from Rogers, they overcharge but Koodoo/Telus/Fido are pretty legit. Skype will be your best friend.</p>
<p>I’m from the US and kept my phone when coming to canada. I had something called the ‘north american plan’ at verizon, though i think they changed the name of it. it was good, you still got the free calls from your area code and from verizon phones, which made it convenient to talk to friends and family back home. the issue that comes up is contacting friends in montreal, because the canadian kids from other provinces will get 514 numbers and the european kids will have to get new phones anyway. so what i did was i bought a vonage plan, in which you can pick your own area code, and had that number forwarded to my cell phone. so essentially i had a cell phone with two area codes. i couldnt send texts from that number, so i had to tell people that my texts come from a different number, but that doesnt bother people because either you have to pay for texts or you have unlimited, doesnt matter where its from.</p>
<p>^^
Are you sure that texts from a Canadian 514 number to a USA number are the same price?</p>
<p>texts are texts, all that matters i believe is where you are receiving them. if you are roaming i think it costs more, but if you are not roaming it shoudlnt matter where it comes from. don’t quote me on that. all plans are different and they are constantly changing.</p>
<p>Well, even on AT&T’s Canada plan, texts to Canada still cost a ridiculous $0.60, where you are sending from the US or Canada 
The same is also true for other American providers.
But hopefully it is different for Canadian providers?</p>
<p>i was using an american phone number in canada
i think rates for canadian phones texting american numbers are comparable
like i said though, plans change every year so I don’t know anymore
its a small detail in the long run but definitely a pain in the ass to figure out</p>
<p>did the canadians with canadian phone numbers care u had an american fone/were they concerned bout texting u and the ensuing costs?</p>
<p>it depends
people without unlimited texting would just call back when i texted
though it also costs money for them to call american area codes so.
just do whatever is cheapest and makes it easier. your friends are your friends and they’ll call/text you either way right.
like i said, its a small detail. i kinda wish i had a montreal number sometimes, but it made more sense with my family’s plan to do it this way. this also made it cheaper to call friends and family from back home.</p>
<p>well there are a few things… </p>
<p>getting a local sim or getting the add on for the american plans on VZW, ATT, (and im not sure about sprint in the US) would work. Another great option (though it is much more time consuming for setup) </p>
<p>get a trixbox callback setup ([Fonality</a> trixbox CE, an Asterisk-based PBX Phone System (formerly Asterisk@Home) | trixbox](<a href=“http://www.trixbox.org%5DFonality”>http://www.trixbox.org)) and get a cell prepaid that has unlimited incoming minutes.(or a pick 5 feature). Then you can call basically anyone and have a US # and a Canadian # and have it point to the same phone. Calls to USA and CANADA are usually unlimited with a good VOIP provider and rates to the rest of the world are probably around 1cent a minute (hopefully that is affordable) (;</p>
<p>also if anyone wants any help or more info on anything above just pm me.</p>