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Gentlemen/Ladies:

i'm a US person going to Canada for 12 days soon, in about 9 days. i will carry my tmobile blackberry pearl 8100 and use it ONLY for emailing (will do a "all call forwarding" so my phone won't ring and incur any international roaming charges); and bring a 2nd phone, an HTC quad band for voice.

i'll need to purchase a SIM in canada and get a plan: either a pre paid or a monthly. the monthly plans should be ok because the Fido cancellation policy is 15 days and i'll be there for 12 days, so i can in theory get a Fido monthly and use it and cancel in time. BIG PROBLEM: they are now telling me that i must have CANADIAN ID cards and social insurance cards and what not in order to sign up for a monthly plan! mind you, there's nothing devious here: i'll be spending roughly $110 for a monthly plus the sim card with Fido, IF they allow me to sign up. for 12 days, that's quite a lot of money to fork over to Fido. their pre paid is VERY costly so it's only good as a back up plan if the monthly really doesn't work.

any ideas on whether they really are that strict?

FYI: most of my calls will be from Canada back to the US using Onesuite.com, either with their "local access number" where they have them (i.e. Vancouver and Calgary), but in certain places that are a bit more remote, like Jasper, i'll have to use their "866" number). So i'll need a LOT of local minutes.

for international long distance calling from Canada to the US, i'm fine: ok, i'm very fine with Onesuite.com now. i've tried it at "home" (usa) on both my land and cell and it works like a charm - probably the best discounted international long distance "calling card" i've ever used. high tech and easy to use once you set it up.

BIG PROBLEM: i've looked at Fido to get a Canadian SIM and a plan (there are 2 options: Pre paid and Monthly). the pre paid is VERY expensive on a per min basis so that's not good. the monthly is better, BUT THEY TOLD ME ON THE PHONE THAT THEY REQUIRE PROOF OF CANADIAN RESIDENCY and various other types of Canadian ID cards that i obviously don't have. please note that there is NOTHING at all devious going on here!! i'm a traveler going with my family from the USA to Canada to see the great outdoors and the mountains and water!

i can't get an international student card because i'm not a student.

i CAN opt for the online billing but it only is an option AFTER you get your monthly account.

ugh. how do i get a monthly plan then? btw, since i'll only be in Canada for 12 days, the cancellation period is 15 days so i can cancel before i leave.

any advice would be most appreciated!

thank you in advance.

PS: thx "Mike" aka Snidely for the advice on Onesuite.com. it is good. that solves the international long distance part of the equation but now, i have to have a SIM card and a plan!! i'll bring my own 2 phones: tmobile blackberry pearl 8100, and an unlocked quad band HTC phone. i'll only use the blackberry for the emails. the HTC quad band phone will be for voice.