bylo said:

Calls from London to the GTA and vice versa are a local call, so not sure why you would need another area code.

Because people who call him would incur long distance charges?

It. depends where they are calling him from. If they are calling from Europe, the USA, Japan, etc, calling either a 416 area code or a 519 area code won't make any difference.
However, he never stated that he was worried about incoming calls, so maybe he can clarify.

He did state that he is in London now, and will be switching between the GTA and London for the next 4 years. It should be noted that Speak Out's local calling area includes area codes 519, 226, 416 647 905 and 289. If he is just thinking about his cost of outgoing calls, it wouldn't be anymore expensive making a London to Toronto call, than it would a Toronto to Toronto call.

With all the long distance companies that are out there (and getting a great plan), the charges for a long distance call to the next area code are nominal at best. The company I use charges $0.025/minute, if it across the province or to the USA, UK etc.

Calls from London to the GTA and vice versa are a local call, so not sure why you would need another area code.

Because people who call him would incur long distance charges?

jenom said:

"Also, the number and identity of the account/user is tied to the sim card, not the phone"

So if I would buy a SIM card from somebody,

1) would I need to call customer service to notify them of the ownership change ?

2)or does the previous owner need to call them ?

3)do they keep owners name, address, credit card number, etc... in their system ?

Thanks!

If I buy a SO SIM, can I port my number to it?

ca3636 said:

How much do they charge to change the area code?

(My case is: I'm a UWO student, basically I have 8 months in London and 4 months in GTA in next 4 years.)

Thanks !

Calls from London to the GTA and vice versa are a local call, so not sure why you would need another area code.

When you're in London, use the one with the London area code. And when you're in Toronto, use the one with the Toronto area code.

When you're in London, change the voicemail on your Toronto phone to say "Hi, I'm in London right now, so call me at 519-xxx-xxxx". And vice versa when you're in Toronto.

That way you won't have to worry about being charged for changing your phone number, and you don't have to let everyone know your new number every 4-8 months.

Sure, you'll be paying the monthly 911 fee on both throughout the year, but that seems to be a small price to pay for the convenience of having 2 phone numbers.

How much do they charge to change the area code?

Generally it's no charge, however, if you change back and forth every few months they might object. Note too that your phone number will be different every time, i.e. you can't switch back and forth between 519-123-4567 and 416-987-6543. You might even get a different area code overlay, e.g. 416 one year and 647 the next or 519 and 226.

(My case is: I'm a UWO student, basically I have 8 months in London and 4 months in GTA in next 4 years.)

Thanks !

3. No personal id is ever kept.

I suspect that's not strictly true. For example if you port a phone number from another carrier it would be possible for them to look up the owner of that number using standard tools like Canada411.com, etc. Perhaps they don't do it routinely but they could.

How would you deactictivate stolen sim/phone if there is no info in the system on an owner? Anybody can call and cancel anybody's sim? LOL.

I suspect you can't just call, give a phone number and ask them to cancel. You'd need to give them more information, e.g. when you bought the phone, the approximate balance, what numbers you last called, etc. Better still, record the information that came with your phone and SIM, e.g. the label on the box that has the phone's IMEI number, the letters and numbers on the SIM, etc.

One more thing, why does everyone thing that anonymity is such a good thing? While SO doesn't require your name, address, etc. if you provide it to them via customer service I'd imagine they'd keep it on file and use it to confirm you if you should ever have to cancel a stolen phone or SIM.

3. No personal id is ever kept. Speak Out does not know my address, credi card number etc. A prepaid phone company such as Speak Out usually lets you remain anonymous.

How would you deactictivate stolen sim/phone if there is no info in the system on an owner? Anybody can call and cancel anybody's sim? LOL.

jenom said:

"Also, the number and identity of the account/user is tied to the sim card, not the phone"

So if I would buy a SIM card from somebody,

1) would I need to call customer service to notify them of the ownership change ?

2)or does the previous owner need to call them ?

3)do they keep owners name, address, credit card number, etc... in their system ?

Thanks!

1. No, just call customer service, and let them know you need the area code changed. They will provide the new area code and number.
2. The previous owner does not need to call them at all.
3. No personal id is ever kept. Speak Out does not know my address, credi card number etc. A prepaid phone company such as Speak Out usually lets you remain anonymous.

"Also, the number and identity of the account/user is tied to the sim card, not the phone"

So if I would buy a SIM card from somebody,

1) would I need to call customer service to notify them of the ownership change ?

2)or does the previous owner need to call them ?

3)do they keep owners name, address, credit card number, etc... in their system ?

Thanks!

Also, the number and identity of the account/user is tied to the sim card, not the phone, so you will be able to switch the sim card bewteen unlocked phones (that operate on the North American bands (850/1900))