What are the options of using your home country cell abroad to call home?
I'm lost as to the many options available and how to implement them. I want know what are the most cost effective ways I can use my Canadian Bell cell number to call family back in Canada from the US. Will my phone work in the state of NY? I have heard something about switching SIM cards but how do I know if it will work? Or is buying a new prepaid cheap phone better in NY instead of using my Canadian cell? Or is buying a number and using with my current cell better?
Who get charged if I buy a number or a SIM? If my family texts my bought number do I get charged long distance or do they?
I'm a heavy data user too. Need like 4GB.
Best Answer
Definitely avoid the roaming fees.
Buying a US SIM card is in my view the most convenient.
- You can call people in the US from a local number
- You can use data on your phone to access things like maps, etc. without being ripped off
You will need to have your phone unlocked if it isn't already.
With Bell Canada there is reportedly a charge of CA$75 for unlocking (source). There are numerous services online that will do this for you for cheaper. Here's one example: http://www.unlockallcellular.com/
The only real downside to getting a new phone numbers is that you will need to give your family this new number to ring while you are abroad. I would recommend buying your SIM card before you go to the US so that you can have a number to give people before you go and also so that you don't waste time looking around while you're in the US. That can be done through any one of a number of resellers or there are some good deals on eBay for prepaid SIM cards too.
@jpatokal already mentioned the possibility of using Skype, which is good except for the fact that you'll be needing to find WiFi to be able to make/receive any calls. You could try to work around this by just buying a SIM card with only data and no call credit. Then use that data to make/receive calls through Skype. You could even set up a Skype incoming number so they can call from a normal phone line. Extra costs would apply to do that course.
Pictures about "What are the options of using your home country cell abroad to call home?"
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How to Make Free International CallsCan I use my local number abroad?
It doesn't matter where in the world you are \u2013 all you need is an Internet connection (wifi or a local data plan). If you'll be getting a local SIM card with a new, local number in the country you're moving to, you can use your old number on top of a new SIM card.How to Keep Your US Phone Number While Traveling or Living Abroad
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