Cell Phone Use in Canadian Rockies
 

Does anyone know if your US cell phone works in Canada, or do you have to have a special international plan? I have service with AT and T. Going to Canadian Rockies next week.

It will work, but you will pay high international calling charges - I think it's $1.29 a minute from Canada to the USA. You should check with AT&T to make sure your plan is "enabled" for international roaming. FWIW, if you have a smart phone, turn off data roaming, which is VERY expensive.

And I'll just add that cell coverage in the mountains can be "sketchy" at times, depending on where you are. Down in canyons or "behind" mountains can cause weak or no signals regardless of your phone provider.

Sorry... hit "enter" before I finished.... Banff and Jasper townsites do have cell coverage though so unless you're expecting to be spending a lot of time "in the back country" you should be OK.

I have Verizon, and always have good coverage in the Canadian Rockies. It does cost me .69 per minute, though. As sf7307 said, turn OFF data roaming - just learned that myself, after getting a smart phone and then heading to Vancouver for a couple of weeks - ouch!

Our friends just spent a week in Banff, and have AT&T - they tell us that they had coverage as well.

My quad-band GSM phone (the system used by ATT and T-Mobile) worked on the Rogers network when I got no service from Verizon just outside Jasper. Did not try the Verizon phone in Jasper townsite, but I have used it in Calgary and Vancouver.

kayd, I believe my friend using AT&T was also picking up the Rogers network in Banff/Canmore.