Is it difficult for a Canadian to buy a US data plan?

[Denis54]

I am from Montreal and will do a 2 weeks road trip in January. My itinary will include Las Vegas, Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Phoenix, Tucson and Santa Fe.

Will I have difficulty buying a SIM card and a data plan? I have been told that carriers are reluctant to sell to non US residents. Is that right?

Which carriers offer the best plans?

I want to have access to Google Maps and do some web surfing when I am on the road. Of course I will use WiFi when possible.

I will not buy a data plan for my smart phone so tethering is not an option.

 

[wordoflife]

The only carrier you'll be able to use is AT&T. They sell 2GB of data for $25 and 250MB for $15. I would go to an Apple Store and ask them for an AT&T SIM.

When you sign up, you'll need to enter a US address, so just put the address of where you are staying. (if you're using an Amex ... since they don't check the addresses for a match. Some Visas have problems with using non-matching addresses). US bought Visa/Amex Giftcards should also do the trick.

 

[Pete the Geek]

Thanks for the info wordoflife.

FWIW, you would think that AT&T stores would sell the iPad SIMs, but when I tried to get one from an AT&T store in Indianapolis, they told me to go to an Apple Store.

 

[Denis54]

Thanks. Exactly the info I was looking for

 

[notjustjay]

Is this even practical? Do the American carriers offer a data plan you can use if you're only going to be down there for 2 weeks?

 

[Denis54]

My understanding is that you can subscribe for one month and cancel your subscription at the end of the month. Am I right?

Is it complicated to cancel a subscription?

 

[Pete the Geek]

Is this even practical? Do the American carriers offer a data plan you can use if you're only going to be down there for 2 weeks?

It is, literally, "cost of business". In many cases a month of data is cheaper than daily Internet charges. I can't get 3G service where I live, but when I'm travelling in other parts of Canada (e.g. Toronto), I get one month of data from Bell (actually it's one month or a certain number of GB). AT&T offers a similar prepaid plan.

 

[wordoflife]

My understanding is that you can subscribe for one month and cancel your subscription at the end of the month. Am I right?

Is it complicated to cancel a subscription?

You just cancel it on your iPad. Remember to cancel it before you leave the States though.

 

[notjustjay]

Oh, right, of course. iPad. No contracts. Sorry, I'm just not paying attention today.