Originally Posted by Bill_S (Post 8752842)

Inspired by rivingtonpike's thread, but not wanting to distract from his question, I'll ask mine here.

I live in the US, have family in Canada. At the moment I have a dumb phone on Verizon Wireless. When visiting Canada I can roam on the local CDMA network. Price is steep, but I'm not a big talker so I live with it. But the aforementioned dumb phone is old and ready to go Tango Uniform. I'd like to replace it with a smartphone but the roaming charges for data are horrendous. Opinions vary as to how easy it is to turn all data signals off when traveling.

My brilliant idea was to pick up a PAYG phone in Canada to use for voice when I'm visiting (a few times per year). But the options seem pricey and not really convenient - minutes expire in 30 days, phones must be kept "topped up" to preserve account and phone number.

According to Rogers' website their sim cards do not expire. Does anybody know if you can maintain a zero balance on a Rogers PAYG phone for a considerable period? Eg, I get the cheapest Rogers phone I can, put 20 bucks worth of time on it, then let the minutes expire when I'm home in the US. On my next trip, say six months later, can I top the phone back up or will my account be closed? I believe Bell closes a zero balance account after 120 days but the Rogers site appears to be silent on the matter.

It could well be that there's no cheap, effective solution for what I want. If so then I'll carry my new smartphone in a lead box and only take it out in case of emergency!

Originally Posted by Bill_S (Post 8752842)

Inspired by rivingtonpike's thread, but not wanting to distract from his question, I'll ask mine here.

I live in the US, have family in Canada. At the moment I have a dumb phone on Verizon Wireless. When visiting Canada I can roam on the local CDMA network. Price is steep, but I'm not a big talker so I live with it. But the aforementioned dumb phone is old and ready to go Tango Uniform. I'd like to replace it with a smartphone but the roaming charges for data are horrendous. Opinions vary as to how easy it is to turn all data signals off when traveling.

My brilliant idea was to pick up a PAYG phone in Canada to use for voice when I'm visiting (a few times per year). But the options seem pricey and not really convenient - minutes expire in 30 days, phones must be kept "topped up" to preserve account and phone number.

According to Rogers' website their sim cards do not expire. Does anybody know if you can maintain a zero balance on a Rogers PAYG phone for a considerable period? Eg, I get the cheapest Rogers phone I can, put 20 bucks worth of time on it, then let the minutes expire when I'm home in the US. On my next trip, say six months later, can I top the phone back up or will my account be closed? I believe Bell closes a zero balance account after 120 days but the Rogers site appears to be silent on the matter.

It could well be that there's no cheap, effective solution for what I want. If so then I'll carry my new smartphone in a lead box and only take it out in case of emergency!

Originally Posted by dbd33 (Post 8752858)

I have a BlackBerry, when in the US I switch off roaming for data but leave roaming for voice on. That's easily done.

Originally Posted by CanadaJimmy (Post 8752891)

Some companies offer international data plans. I know Rogers does. You could also look at getting a phone with wifi and just use skype whenever you want to talk near a wifi hotspot. Good if you're trying to meet someone at the airport.

Originally Posted by Bill_S (Post 8752842)

Inspired by rivingtonpike's thread, but not wanting to distract from his question, I'll ask mine here.

I live in the US, have family in Canada. At the moment I have a dumb phone on Verizon Wireless. When visiting Canada I can roam on the local CDMA network. Price is steep, but I'm not a big talker so I live with it. But the aforementioned dumb phone is old and ready to go Tango Uniform. I'd like to replace it with a smartphone but the roaming charges for data are horrendous. Opinions vary as to how easy it is to turn all data signals off when traveling.

My brilliant idea was to pick up a PAYG phone in Canada to use for voice when I'm visiting (a few times per year). But the options seem pricey and not really convenient - minutes expire in 30 days, phones must be kept "topped up" to preserve account and phone number.

According to Rogers' website their sim cards do not expire. Does anybody know if you can maintain a zero balance on a Rogers PAYG phone for a considerable period? Eg, I get the cheapest Rogers phone I can, put 20 bucks worth of time on it, then let the minutes expire when I'm home in the US. On my next trip, say six months later, can I top the phone back up or will my account be closed? I believe Bell closes a zero balance account after 120 days but the Rogers site appears to be silent on the matter.

It could well be that there's no cheap, effective solution for what I want. If so then I'll carry my new smartphone in a lead box and only take it out in case of emergency!

Originally Posted by Bill_S (Post 8752842)

Inspired by rivingtonpike's thread, but not wanting to distract from his question, I'll ask mine here.

I live in the US, have family in Canada. At the moment I have a dumb phone on Verizon Wireless. When visiting Canada I can roam on the local CDMA network. Price is steep, but I'm not a big talker so I live with it. But the aforementioned dumb phone is old and ready to go Tango Uniform. I'd like to replace it with a smartphone but the roaming charges for data are horrendous. Opinions vary as to how easy it is to turn all data signals off when traveling.

My brilliant idea was to pick up a PAYG phone in Canada to use for voice when I'm visiting (a few times per year). But the options seem pricey and not really convenient - minutes expire in 30 days, phones must be kept "topped up" to preserve account and phone number.

According to Rogers' website their sim cards do not expire. Does anybody know if you can maintain a zero balance on a Rogers PAYG phone for a considerable period? Eg, I get the cheapest Rogers phone I can, put 20 bucks worth of time on it, then let the minutes expire when I'm home in the US. On my next trip, say six months later, can I top the phone back up or will my account be closed? I believe Bell closes a zero balance account after 120 days but the Rogers site appears to be silent on the matter.

It could well be that there's no cheap, effective solution for what I want. If so then I'll carry my new smartphone in a lead box and only take it out in case of emergency!

Originally Posted by Bill_S (Post 8752988)

Thanks. I can put BlackBerry on the list, then. I was thinking about one of the Android phones, and opinions in internetland are mixed with respect to turning off data roaming. Some claim to have done it, others have had trouble (switched off various settings but the phone managed to pull data anyway).

Originally Posted by PMM (Post 8753591)

Buy $100 worth of time from Rogers. It lasts for a year, so if you don't use it you don't have to top it up.

Originally Posted by Bill_S (Post 8752988)

Thanks. I can put BlackBerry on the list, then. I was thinking about one of the Android phones, and opinions in internetland are mixed with respect to turning off data roaming. Some claim to have done it, others have had trouble (switched off various settings but the phone managed to pull data anyway).