My wife's travelled a lot using AT&T World Traveler, and this didn't sound
right to me, so I called AT&T Business Customer Service.
I asked, and was specifically told that I am not charged when the phone is
on and communicating with the network to maintain its location.
They told me that when roaming in Canada I would be charged a) when I make a
call, b) when I receive a call, and c) when my phone is on and someone calls
me, I don't answer and it goes to voicemail, for as long as the caller
spends leaving a message.
A and B made sense to me, but C was news, and it could sound a lot like what
Len is talking about.
I confirmed that if my phone is off, and someone calls and leaves a message,
I am not charged for the time the caller spends leaving a message. I am
charged, of course, when I call voicemail to retrieve those messages.
I have personal experience not receiving notification of voicemail messages.
I'm told this happens if I'm travelling outside my normal calling area and
don't make outgoing calls.
So, all this means I plan to leave my phone off and check with voicemail
occasionally, whether I have received notification of voicemail messages or
not. I'll then zip quickly through messages that aren't time critical.
You might want to practice getting used to quickly punching "3-3-7" (skip
to the end and delete) and "3-3-9" (skip to the end and save)!
Jeff Bean
The Bean Law Firm PLLC
Your Solutions Beyond the Courthouse
Mediation Services. Collaborative Practice.
Seattle 206 794 5585
_____
From: CollabLaw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:CollabLaw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Len Weiler
Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2007 7:03 PM
To: CollabLaw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [CollabLaw] Canada and Cell Phone Service
Addendum to Georges email re: intl calls (at least with ATT):
You will get charged for a minute every time your phone checks in with the
signal tower, unless you either turn off the phone when youre not using it,
or put it into flight mode (meaning it works as a pda, or game console,
etc, but not as a phone). One guy told me that my phone will automatically
check in with the tower about twice an hour; Another (with intl services at
ATT) said that when youre roaming the phone may be checking in every minute
or two meaning as much as 60 minutes of charges an hour, even if you are not
talking. At 59 cents/minute thats pretty expensive. So be careful. Keep the
phone off most of the time.
Len Weiler
From: CollabLaw@yahoogrou <mailto:CollabLaw%40yahoogroups.com> ps.com
[mailto:CollabLaw@yahoogrou ;<mailto:CollabLaw%40yahoogroups.com> ps.com] On
Behalf
Of George B. Richardson
Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2007 9:37 AM
To: CollabLaw@yahoogrou <mailto:CollabLaw%40yahoogroups.com> ps.com
Subject: [CollabLaw] Canada and Cell Phone Service
For Non-Canadian cell phone users who are heading
to Toronto: You may want to contact your cell
phone provider and talk to them about adding
Canada to your calling area. On another list, a
list-mate shared that: "In June, I went to
Toronto for a three day conference carrying my
smart phone (then a Blackjack) and the data bill
for checking email and getting directions was
approximately $1400. Yeah. With two zeros." Of
course, he is talking about uploading and
downloading data, not about simply telephoning
people. With respect to using your smartphone for
web access, you probably won't want to do that a
lot!
For my carrier, ATT, the difference on my plan is
20¢ per minute for roaming charges, for which I
pay an additional $6.00 per month. They also
recommended that you allow sixty days after your
return to make sure that all of the charges have
actually been charged by the Canadian carrier to
the non-Canadian carrier. For me, that makes the
break-even point 60 minutes of calls [in or out]
at $6 per month for two months divided by $0.20
per minute.] Financial specialists, did I get
that right??
George Richardson
--
<:>:<:>:<:>:<:>:<:>:<:>:<:>:<:>:<:>:<:>:<:>:<:>:<:>:<:>:<:>:<:>:<:>:<:>
George B. Richardson PC; 650.324.4801
Mediation and Collaborative Professional
Certified as a Specialist in Family Law by the
California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization
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