Roam Mobility - US cellular service for Canadians

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Gary RV_Wizard

Gary RV_Wizard

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One of the hassles for Canadian visitors is cellular voice & data access. In general, their own Canadian cell plan is charged with huge roaming fees if used in the USA, and major US carriers seem to insist on a US credit card and US home address to enroll for a US cellular account.

Roam Mobility, a Canadian service, offers a solution to that problem with a lower cost roaming service that directly connects on US networks.  You buy the phone service in Canada but use it in the USA. They offer both voice and data services and you can use their hones or hotspots or insert their SIM in your own [unlocked] phone to convert it.

For more info, see http://www.roammobility.com/

I haven't used the service myself, so Caveat Emptor applies.
 
Nice find Gary, but expensive (I think) at $60.00 / 30 days, telephone and text services only.  I currently use a tracphone during our snowbird sojourn which is sufficient for my needs (no data needed).
 
If Tracfone will take on a Canadian subscriber without a US address or credit card, I totally agree with that choice. Tracfone is a very cost effective service - we use it for our second phone.
 
Thanks Gary, we do meet those US address/cards as Snowbirds!. I have also used an AT&T SIM card used in an unlocked and compatible phone and registered it in the past using all my Canadian info and a Canadian credit card  over the internet with no hassles what-so-ever.

Of course it does not work until shortly after crossing the border. I usually slip it in while waiting on Customs or at the duty free.
 
Good Cold morning to all the Canadian RV ers and the just as cold ones in the USA.

Are there any Canadians out there who have used ROAM MOBILITY recently and how was that working out?

Thanks for your responses

Yellow Bellied Switchflicker
 
To chime in, I did come across a posting on a blog here: http://www.gonewiththewynns.com/mobile-internet#more-6581 that talks about internet connectivity in the USA.

They talk about these guys here: http://millenicom.com/

I have no experience with them, but they may be an option too? But they are internet only. With a good voip number and 20GB of Internet per month - you can get into a ton of trouble I'm sure.

Frank
 
Millenicom is a good service. I had a wireless modem with them for a couple years. At the time their modems were on the Sprint network and I moved to Verizon to get better coverage. But now the Millenicom 20 GB data plan runs on the Verizon network anyway.
 
Gary RV Roamer said:
Millenicom is a good service. I had a wireless modem with them for a couple years. At the time their modems were on the Sprint network and I moved to Verizon to get better coverage. But now the Millenicom 20 GB data plan runs on the Verizon network anyway.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info Gary. I'm looking to go into the USA for extended visits and this is starting to sound like a good solution overall for my internet/phone needs.

Frank
 
I used Roam Mobility for 20 days in the US over the recent Christmas holidays in Chicago and Indianapolis (not RV-ing). T-Mobility is the provider and their coverage is not that great.  I had more dead zones than active.  I understand that T-Mobility is amalgamating with one of the larger providers, not sure if its Verizon, and coverage should be better.  For short holidays in the US, with better coverage, Roam Mobility should work out well cost wise, at $4 per day for unlimited long distance in North America and a 3GB data plan.
 
I spend about $200 for an entire year on telephone and internet hotspot, using trac fone and internet on the go.

- no credit cards required
- no contracts
- no roaming
- no long distance, even back to canada or mexico
- unused telephone minutes and internet roll over
- national coverage
- total start up cost is about $100 for hardware, telephone minutes and 4gb.

I don't think there's a better deal out there.

You want to compare that to roam mobility? 
 
95F:  The WalMart Internet is priced right but they use Sprint. Depending on which end of the country you live in the coverage can be ZERO.  Popular snowbird areas are very bad: AZ, CA. Look at the coverage map and it is horrible. I have a Ting phone that runs on Sprint and in Tucson half of the city has no coverage. Very poor in Yuma and Q as well. Minnesota, NE, ND: Nothing. The speed is only 4G ( not true 4G) in large cities and even then only in some parts. From Wal marts web site:As long as you are in a strong coverage area, average download speeds will range from 600-1400 Kbps, peaking at 3.1 Mbps and average upload speeds will range from 350-500 Kbps, peaking at 1.8 Mbps.
  Tracfone minutes  are good for 30 days, 60 days ,90 and one year . They do roll over if you buy more before yours expires. A one year 400 minute ( can double or triple depending on your phone) is around $100. Depending on which Tracfone you buy the service can be ATT, Verizon and others. The Verizon service is the best. Tracfone does not work in Canada and you cannot text to Canada.
 
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