[GadgetKen]

"I think that it would be cheaper to use Hop instead of UM in Canada and Bermuda.
BTW, how much do you pay for Iridium calls?"

Good observation on Hop. That would be a bit cheaper for those 2 destinations. Either that or a local prepaid card (Fido/Rodgers in Canada or Cingular Bermuda) would make sense. Don't really want to bother with CBW/Enlinea because call volume is low. Toying with the idea of getting a Cingular Bermuda card (which I think is being eventually sold to Digicel in the Caribbean).

In answer to your question on Iridium costs I am using a postpaid plan for US$29.95/month including the voicemail and 2 stage US inbound dialing options. Outbound to any country fixed/wireless is US$1.49/minute billed in 20 second increments after a minimum of one minute is billed. Rate is 79 cents/minute to another Iridium handset and rates are usually higher to competing satellite networks. Inbound calls are caller pays if direct dialed, or I think US$1.49/minute for 2 stage dialing. Handset somewhat bulky and heavy(Motorola 9500) but has been invaluable in rural, maritime or international situations where there weren't many other options or they were more expensive. Footnote that it's sort of hard to make an unobtrusive call using a satphone, and it works best outdoors with a good view of the sky!

Have 3 other phones(all prepaid): Seimens A65/United Mobile(Riiing), Motorola i205/Nextel(Boost Mobile USA MVNO), Audiovox 8910/Sprint(Virgin Mobile USA MVNO). Stan, I don't currently have a postpaid plan other than Iridium (have erratic useage primarily for personal and business trips so prepaid makes much more sense for me), so T-Mo postpaid wouldn't work for me. A Fido/Rogers prepaid GSM card off E-bay might be a good solution if I don't need to recharge it that often, or could recharge it in the USA or off a web refill system. Anticipate traveling to greater Toronto area on business twice a year but might be going more frequently.

When I was in Canada, my Boost Mobile/Nextel phone did have push to talk, SMS and WAP functionality on Telus Mobility, but couldn't make phone calls. Riiing/United Mobile phone worked perfectly on Rogers Wireless, but cost per minute was a bit on the pricey side(but since I only made a total of about US$21 of calls over 2 days my office didn't mind). Kind of hoping that Virgin Mobile US and Canada develop a cross border roaming agreement (they hint on the Canadian website they are working on this) or Telus adds phone call capability to Boost Mobile roamers.

In general, I'm happy with United Mobile/Riiing. Worked fine in Toronto and will save me quite a bit of money on calls when I go to Jamaica and St. Kitts.