I lived in Canada for three years and frequently called and occasionally traveled to the United States. The Canadian cell phone plans are so overpriced that I f

I lived in Canada for three years and frequently called and occasionally traveled to the United States. The Canadian cell phone plans are so overpriced that I found it significantly cheaper to have a Verizon plan (the "North American plan") than a Bell, Rogers, or Fido plan. This is after taking into account the US/Canadian exchange rate when the Canadian dollar was trading at 85-90 cents per US dollar. How can it be that Verizon (arguably the most expensive US cell carrier) offers a better priced plan than a domestic Canadian carrier? Consider the fact that Verizon must include in its variable costs any additional fees it has to pay to a Canadian carrier to provide coverage on a Canadian network (Rogers or Bell). Note that the cell plans in Canada at first glance look somewhat affordable relative to plans available in other countries. However, the pricing for Canadian plans is often deceptive. Not only are there additional "access fees" and taxes (more so than in the USA), but many standard features must be purchased a la carte, such as voicemail and caller ID.