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.

[ckd]

I generally look to these guys for GSM SIM card deal info.

In this case, you have a choice between Cingular AT&T and T-Mobile, or one of the many MVNOs. Some of the MVNOs will only sell you a SIM in a phone, though.

The T-Mobile deal has their "Gold Rewards", which boils down to "once you've spent $100 in refills, we'll give you an automatic year validity on all your minutes". I can't find anywhere on the web site where they'll set you up with just a SIM, but you might try one of the retail locations.

If nothing else, you can buy the cheapest prepaid phone from whoever and swap the SIM....

[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.

[da-lj.livejournal.com]

I feel like such a hoser. It looks like I'm going to stop at 7-Eleven in Henrietta New York (just off the freeway near Rochester) and buy a $39.99 "speakout wireless" GSM phone that uses refill cards with $0.20/minute service, 1-year expiration and $0.05 text-messaging. I guess I'll donate the cheapo Nokia phone to Ithaca Rape Crisis Centre Center.

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.

[ckd]

That does seem like the most cost-efficient approach, and has a nice potential side benefit.

Since my phone's on a T-Mobile contract plan, I'll just eat the roaming charges if I use it in Canada. When we go to the UK, we swap in Virgin Mobile SIMs, but that's because we're usually there for longer and are more likely to need to call locals.

(Both hr_macgirl and I have unlocked quad-band phones, so neither roaming nor getting a local SIM is a problem.)

[da-lj.livejournal.com]

If Fido still allowed me to use minutes in the US, I'd eat the roaming charges, too. Convenience-to-fussyness factors, I'd prefer to not have to swap SIMs.

At least I get to keep my phone numbers working properly while I'm gone, since I have it set up wtih voice over IP for the incoming.

I don't travel enough to warrant quad-band. :)

[chezmax]

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