Going Abroad With a Contract Question

**Audi Fan** · 02-24-2012, 01:49 PM

Hi everyone,

I am in the midst of going to an internship abroad and I'm still in a contract with Telus. It ends on June 11, 2012. Before doing a bit of research on my own and on this forum, I was planning on simply paying out the contract and then just not have a phone while abroad, but I now realize that there's quite a bit of downside to this.

1) I would lose my number and there might be a chance that I won't be getting it back. (I'm going for a year.)
2) If I were to sign a new contract when I come back, I would not get a reasonably-priced plan. I wouldn't get a plan as good as a renewing customer.

Initially I was thinking of going over to Rogers to take advantage of the OneNumber option so I can call back, but now I figured that I can just use Skype . I wouldn't want to pay for a phone just to use a OneNumber option. That, and by the time I come back, there will be newer and better phones. So my question is this. Should I just downgrade my plan to the basic 20-dollar option and simply go month-to-month after the contract expires and just renew when I come back or would it be better to just cancel, pay the fees and then take my chances with a carrier that they would give me a decent plan when I come back?

Thanks.

**turbogeek** · 02-24-2012, 06:45 PM

I would port the number to a VoIP provider and just pay the cancellation fee. I don't think renewing after a year of far-below-target-ARPU bills would get you much from loyalty. When you get back you can reevaluate the market - might make more sense to go with a new entrant or big 3 'flanker' at that time. And you never know, maybe the internship results in a longer stay than you expect - some people end up making such moves permanent.

**DennyCrane** · 02-24-2012, 07:31 PM

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I guess it depends how long you're planning on being away for. If it's anymore than 6 months, I'd do what turbogeek suggested. I'm very attached to my number, but porting to a voip provider can be a very inexpensive way to park your number. Actually I'd probably use that voip line for friends and family to be able to call me from home without incurring long distance charges. Then when you're back home, port the number back.

**Audi Fan** · 02-24-2012, 08:28 PM

That sounds like a decent idea. How do I port my number to a voice over IP?

**DennyCrane** · 02-24-2012, 08:49 PM

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Originally Posted by Audi Fan

That sounds like a decent idea. How do I port my number to a voice over IP?

You just need to find a voip provider that has number portability (magicjack is not one, unless things have changed). I don't know a lot about the different voip solutions available, but I know that there are some out there that are reasonably cheap.

**quacktacular** · 02-24-2012, 09:34 PM

You could port it to Dell Voice or FreePhoneLine (same company) for a one time fee.

**DennyCrane** · 02-24-2012, 11:53 PM

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Originally Posted by shushwap

Us only for number porting with the MJ

Still eh? I gave up on my mj because the quality was so hit and miss. Sure it's cheap, but you get what you pay for.

**hashim71** · 02-24-2012, 11:59 PM

Originally Posted by Audi Fan

Hi everyone,

I am in the midst of going to an internship abroad and I'm still in a contract with Telus. It ends on June 11, 2012. Before doing a bit of research on my own and on this forum, I was planning on simply paying out the contract and then just not have a phone while abroad, but I now realize that there's quite a bit of downside to this.

1) I would lose my number and there might be a chance that I won't be getting it back. (I'm going for a year.)
2) If I were to sign a new contract when I come back, I would not get a reasonably-priced plan. I wouldn't get a plan as good as a renewing customer.

Initially I was thinking of going over to Rogers to take advantage of the OneNumber option so I can call back, but now I figured that I can just use Skype . I wouldn't want to pay for a phone just to use a OneNumber option. That, and by the time I come back, there will be newer and better phones. So my question is this. Should I just downgrade my plan to the basic 20-dollar option and simply go month-to-month after the contract expires and just renew when I come back or would it be better to just cancel, pay the fees and then take my chances with a carrier that they would give me a decent plan when I come back?

Thanks.

Yeah, it can be a mess. I remember when my dad was leaving the country for a few months he didn't want to pay the full bill because it was like 70 dollars so I called Rogers and had them lower it down to the bare minimum possible of 13$ until he came back. When he came back he bought a new sim from Chatr and started using that on his iPhone and forwarded the other number. He's now only paying a fraction of the price he did before. So its better to call them and have them lower it to the bare min possible without renewing your contract. remember to talk to their retention department or whatever. They might even offer u something cheaper.

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