Dear Lazyweb: prepaid US phone service

[da]

I need a SIM card that works in the US (my prepaid Fido turns into a pumpkin at the border). I would be willing to pay up to $50 for a card that I can use this weekend (in upstate NY) then put $10 once every six months or so and not worry about it going stale in between.

Bonus points if it can do text-messages.

I've got more to say about phone hackery, but right now roverthedog is staring at me for her walk.

Comments

[dcseain.livejournal.com]

Don't know who your provider is, but Rogers and AT&T have deals with each other. Friend of mine from New Orleans spent a semester at Guelph, due to Katrina, and took his AT&T phone to Rogers, got a SIM, and a local number, for the time he was there.

[secretsoflife.livejournal.com]

when rogers bought out fido in canada they eliminated fido's excellent 25c/minute american roaming. grrr.

you're best off just getting a pay-as-you-go sim from whoever it's cheapest from.

[da-lj.livejournal.com]

Heh. Yeah. Now who is that. ;)

this page says T-mobile and Cingular are good choices, but this page says T-mobile minutes expire after 90 days. Bleh.

[dcseain.livejournal.com]

Cingular is now AT&T. I know lots of people that use pay-as-you go with Cingular/AT&T and with Sprint. Verizon and T-Mobile are both rather rip-offs in that department, from what i've been told.

tmobile

[katwrites.livejournal.com]

If you buy over certain amount ($100 your first purchase when I got my phone) with TMobile your minutes are good for 1 year with that purchase and every purchase therafter as long as you buy them through your phone. Current rates are $.10/minute for talk, $.25/msg for text.

[chezmax]

He will need a GSM provider (Cingular, or T-Mobile, I imagine)