Mobile Broadband in Canada

Doryman · Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 11:56 am Post subject: Mobile Broadband in Canada

This thread breaks off and continues a discussion that started in Wild Blue HERE

Doryman · Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 12:01 pm Post subject:

Pat, there is no extra charge for tethering with Verizon AFAIK but you (a) have to have a phone that supports tethering and (b) have a data plan. In my case, I had a third requirement, that I be able to upgrade and downgrade my plan to/from International -- and the only choice for all those requirements was the BlackBerry Storm.

Unfortunately, the gotcha was that when I upgraded to International tethering was not included, as I (and someone else) described in the Wild Blue thread.

Warren

Walldog · Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 12:31 pm Post subject:

Warren, I am interested in what you find out about tethering. I have two phones that have the capability of tethering and a usb aircard. When I hooked up one of my phones to tether, I was told that I would incur another charge for data. I assume it would be $60 additional. I hope I misunderstood. I do have the old plan of unlimited on the card, but they always state that if I go over 5 mb I may be limited in download speed. So I rarely do. Only if I look at a lot of video do I get near the "limit".

Doryman · Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 4:34 pm Post subject:

Walldog · Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 7:26 pm Post subject:

Yes, verizon. I have the LG Voyagers for our two phones and the newer usb modem for best speeds.

Doryman · Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 8:30 pm Post subject:

Herb, Verizon charges me $15 a month to add domestic tethering to my "Nationwide Global Email & Messaging 450 mins" plan. This gives me 5120 MB a month (i.e., 5 GB) in the U.S.

This plan gives me unlimited global use of email and web browsing on my BlackBerry Storm only. It costs $119 a month, which is still cheaper than what I was paying for a T-Mobile phone plus the Verizon mobile broadband.

Warren

Walldog · Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 8:55 pm Post subject:

I am considering getting a Blackberry to replace my Voyager. Email is my main item, but if I can tether for only 15 more, that may replace my aircard that I pay 60. We do not travel as much and we have dsl at home, so the 60 is mostly a waste until we need it. I need to have internet when we travel for business. But it looks like I can save about 45 month. I can tether a Blackberry to my router and run both laptops on it when we travel. I can forward my phone to my wifes when mine is tethered.

Sound like a plan.

Doryman · Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 5:13 pm Post subject:

I tether my BlackBerry to my Mac laptop using Bluetooth. If you do the same, I think you can talk on the phone at the same time. Ask them.

Warren

dotnmarty · Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 6:38 pm Post subject:

Here's an article in today's NY Times travel section about "staying in touch internationally, on the cheap". I read it, but I don't really speak Google or even Skype.

http://frugaltraveler.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/18/calling-home-for-even-less/

Walldog · Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 8:13 pm Post subject:

I forgot about my Skype in number. When we were last in Canada, our Verizon phones would not work in BC and Yukon. We got Skype and checked our voice mail and returned our business cards from any place we had internet. Which was most places. We spent a week in Whitehorse and we went to Rick's cafe every morning for breakfast and to make all our phone calls over skype. We looked weird sitting at the corner table with headphones and a laptop in our face. Skype in costs about $30 a year, you get a number from anywhere and really cheap international calls.