Best Mobile network for west coast USA and Canada?

[Gremlin]

Going to be in the USA in July/August for 6 weeks, riding around. I need to sort a sim for calls/text/data, data probably being the most important.

Question is, which network should I be looking at? Arrive in Los Angeles, head north up the coast to Canada, briefly there for a week visiting Whistler, Banff etc, then back into USA, riding National Parks, going as far east as Rapid City. Then back west, past Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, back to Los Angeles.

Not sure if the USA is like Australia, where you use certain providers based on where you want coverage in the country?

[Stormdragon]

We are pretty much nationwide on providers, but service can be really spotty (read non-existent) in rural areas as there's no gubberment mandate or support for coverage. Now take my advice with a healthy grain of salt, as I've dumped my cell phone several years ago, due to the aforementioned spotty service. Verizon, I believe is the best thing going, followed by AT&T. All the cell providers will want you to sign a 1~2 year contract at $50 a month, so you're probably best off checking into what phones are compatible with the US system, bringing a used phone with you, and signing up for a $20~30 a month plan. Data used to be separate, although I understand it's often packaged with the phone service now. Whether that's available on a month to month plan, I dunno.
Also don't trust the drones at the cell phone counter. They'll promise you anything and everything. Make sure the contract states your services clearly, (especially amounts of data) and test all your services before you leave the store!

Canada is on a different system, and I don't know how much overlap there is there.

I'll also say that you've chosen the hottest, driest time of year to be wandering about in the southwest. Pick up an evaporative cooling vest for your trip, don't wear black, and keep water on hand to drink. You'll thank me.

[Gremlin]

Thanks.

Yes, I'll most likely be bring my own phone with me, a Blackberry (compatible with all frequencies). I've looked into something like a travelsim, and they don't do BES data, and others seem to have complex arrangements, so purchasing a non-contract sim in the USA makes the most sense.

I'll see what Verizon etc have to offer, but also looking into the possibilities of using wireless in accommodation for communication as well.

[Stormdragon]

If you have a laptop, and any sort of semi-current wireless card for said laptop, (the Blackberry may do as well, but I'm not familiar with how they usually connect to networks) you can usually get free internet service at all the Starbucks ( shortened to *$'s around here ) coffee houses, and most large hotels.

And if you have the time, and want to make a little trip through the gold country after Sacramento, I'd be happy to show you a couple of the better roads.

[TOTO]

I can hook you up with a high visibility vest to put over all those black clothes so that you are not so hot. Doesn't have a tip over preventions sensor tho

[Gremlin]

If you have a laptop, and any sort of semi-current wireless card for said laptop, (the Blackberry may do as well, but I'm not familiar with how they usually connect to networks) you can usually get free internet service at all the Starbucks ( shortened to *$'s around here ) coffee houses, and most large hotels.

And if you have the time, and want to make a little trip through the gold country after Sacramento, I'd be happy to show you a couple of the better roads.

I'm riding with a group, so unfortunately won't have too much spare time. We do have 2 nights in San Francisco, but the lay day I'll be aiming to see Alcatraz and visit AdvDesigns, to get some lights installed. Cheers for the offer of riding tho Here's an idea of the first half of the route: http://maps.google.co.nz/maps?f=d&so...453979&ie=UTF8

The blackberry does have wireless, and after some research, Verizon isn't an option, due to running CDMA instead of GSM, so T-mobile looks like the best option (and has roaming to Canada). Trick is to get prepay for data, as I saw one person showing the horror they went through trying to cancel with T-mobile...

I can hook you up with a high visibility vest to put over all those black clothes so that you are not so hot. Doesn't have a tip over preventions sensor tho

Pants are black, jacket is mostly grey

[Stormdragon]

I'm riding with a group, so unfortunately won't have too much spare time. We do have 2 nights in San Francisco, but the lay day I'll be aiming to see Alcatraz and visit AdvDesigns, to get some lights installed. Cheers for the offer of riding tho Here's an idea of the first half of the route: http://maps.google.co.nz/maps?f=d&so...453979&ie=UTF8

For the California section, I'll say it's not a great route, but not horrid either. It's the standard tourist route, so you can count on a fair number of cars, and slow speeds. You'll hate the section through 'Frisco, (Make sure you call it 'Frisco when you're there. It annoys the locals no end! ) And the weird-ass 101 interchange in San Jose is a death trap.

If the folks you're traveling with are open to route changes, I'd suggest you ask on BARF for preferred routes through The Bay Area. Tell them the day and time your group will be passing through, and you'll probably get some workarounds that don't involve lane-splitting (legal in California) or sitting in traffic for a few hours. Plus those guys have The Routes for the lower north coast. (You gotta work in Hwy 36!)

The blackberry does have wireless, and after some research, Verizon isn't an option, due to running CDMA instead of GSM, so T-mobile looks like the best option (and has roaming to Canada). Trick is to get prepay for data, as I saw one person showing the horror they went through trying to cancel with T-mobile...

Yeah, and make sure you use up all that credit. You'll have a time getting any cash back from those pirates.

[Smifffy]

When we were there we could only find 2 carriers that did pre-pay sims. We went with AT&T.

[Gremlin]

When we were there we could only find 2 carriers that did pre-pay sims. We went with AT&T.

Who was the other?

It seems there are also a few niche players, but I need multi-state coverage, and the roaming to Canada is a nice feature.

[Smifffy]

Who was the other?

It seems there are also a few niche players, but I need multi-state coverage, and the roaming to Canada is a nice feature.

I think it was Verizon, but I can't honestly remember. The AT&T shop was an easy walk from where we were staying, and I only wanted it as a back up contact option, not for general chitchat or data.

The deal was a few bucks for a sim, and we chose the $20 valid for 30 days. If you used the phone on any given day the charge was $2 for as many calls as you want.