I want to talk with my sister in Canada

I currently have a service with ATT that is a senior service plan. When my sister called me from Canada on a land line, I was charged an additional $70 for her to do so.

I would like a service of about $50 per month that allows conversations with Canada. Is this doable?

Skype is free.

Canada is the same as the US for long distance calling purposes. If you already have Comcast or Fios for TV/internet, you can probably add phone service for free or close to it. If you have a cell phone, you can probably already call Canada for free.

Couple of ways to to do this. If you both have a computer or iphone set up skype and call each other on that. If you don't both have iphone/computer to allow skype I would look at viber. You can call the persons cell phone for free.

If you want to be calling a landline and want something more old school I know a lot of people use vonage. There is a monthly cost while with skype/viber, it uses your existing internet connection so doesn't cost anything extra if you already have this service.

Okay, I looked. It's an extra $20 for Fios phone service above the TV/internet price.

Uffda. I don't have a TV cable service as I enjoy my entertainment on my iPad. So I have wireless service and ATT phone service. If she would invest. In an iPad , FaceTime would be great.


Hmm, should I invest in fios and include my phone service? I haven't watched TV in over two years.

She is my big sister and definitely old school. Land line phone and TV. I am the one who will have to change. It will be weird to have cable again.

Did you check with AT&T if they have a plan that would include Canada? My mom lives there part time, and I just call her on my landline phone at no extra charge, but I have Verizon Triple Play, which includes FiOS Digital Voice Unlimited. For overseas calls, like New Zealand and Israel, we pay 10 cents a minute. I have Verizon Wireless and that plan does not include calls to Canada; when we went there a couple of years ago, we paid for a month of an added service that would include it, and then dropped it.

We don't watch TV either, and I know I'm throwing money away every month on the FiOS TV Select HD part of the bundle, but I haven't been able to bring myself to disconnect. I really should call them to find out if I can drop that piece of my bundle without losing all my bundly discounts, and then pay attention to that cutting-the-cord thread.

She does not have a cell phone.
I got charged $70 when she used her landline to call my cell for one call.
Ach maybe I'll just call ATT to see if I can work this out better.

I can't think of any reason that an incoming call from Canada would cost any differently than any other. Quick Google searches of AT&T Wireless policies only came up that they would be charged like any other call.

I'd get some clarification from AT&T.

oneofthegirls said:

She does not have a cell phone.
I got charged $70 when she used her landline to call my cell for one call.
Ach maybe I'll just call ATT to see if I can work this out better.

Something is not right about this. You should not be charged for an incoming call. All my family lives in Canada and I've never heard of anything like this. Outgoing is a different story - check your plan.

My mother is in Vancouver. She is with Rodgers and all calls to the US under an hour long are included in her bundle. She only pays extra when over an hour. She hangs up and calls back our number here.

See what it would cost for her to call you. I found a lot of things in Canada to be cheaper than here. Especially odd was this weekend I saw apples (huge juicy looking Gala apples for $1.69 which cost at least $1.99/lb here so with the exchange rate $1.34/lb) from the USA for sale in Canada for less than what they cost here! Who knew Canada is CHEAPER!!!

If your sister has an internet connection, buy a Vonage box and set it up with a US number. Then send it to her to plug into her broadband connection.

An explanation, not a solution.

http://www.rebtel.com/en/International-Calling-Guide/Calling-Cards/The-Complexity-of-Incoming-Call-Charges-in-North-America/

What about getting sister a prepaid cell phone for these calls? Or is she old school enough to be frustrated about using a cell phone? I know my Mom never did get the hang of those new-fangled whatsits.

ootg, you could look into prepaid calling cards to use yourself. If it's important for her to place the calls (which I already can't remember from the earlier posts), you could hang up and call her right back. I don't know what's available for Canada, but iirc a couple of years ago I could get "cards" that charged 5 or 10 cents a minute for calls from US to Ethiopia or South Korea. You don't have to pick up a physical card; it can all be done online, with pass codes/PIN numbers. I was using nobelcom.com, I think, but there are others. Somewhere online, there's advice about which deals are best if you make long calls, short calls, etc.

Or, others will know, can't you use Skype to call a landline??

Well, I just got off the phone with ATT and found out for $5 a month plus 19 cents a minute whether she calls me or I call her, we can converse. I just spent 45 minutes on the phone with her and it was delightful!

Doesn't that mean you just paid $13 to place a call to Canada?

Yup. Do you have a more reasonable way to do this once a month? I am all ears.
I am not interested in cable unless it is cheaper than my $50 phone bill. :-D

Google voice

How often do you talk to her?

Once a month.

Would it be cheaper for you to get a number with skype and have your sister call that?

Skype to Canada is 2.3 cents a minute or $2.99 a month for unlimited.

Uch. Now my phone isn't working at all. When it is, or I get a new one, I will look into Skype for Canada. Thank you!