Cell Phone Goodness!

As most people know, I was in Halifax at the beginning of September on business. Since I know quite a few people in Halifax I was trying to connect with some people so I would have something to do in the evenings. My only mode of communication was my cell phone.

All well and good but I couldn't help but shudder every time I received a call on my cell. All I could think about were the Roaming charges I was racking up. But what can you do? I figured I would worry about that in October.

Here it is October. I received a notification several days ago that my bill was ready for pick up (I have electronic billing) and, knowing the ungodly amount that was most likely waiting for me, I put off checking to see the amount. Well, I knew I couldn't put this off forever so this morning I logged in to my Aliant site to view my bill and.....$40.30.

Say huh? Where's the ungodly amount? There was supposed to be an ungodly amount on my bill. You have to understand that I was on my cell phone quite a bit. I remember seeing the ominous "R" when I turned my cell phone on. So...did Aliant make a mistake (which I doubt) or does my cell number not register as "roaming" when in a different province? I did make a call back to SJ and I got a long distance charge for it but nothing on roaming. I know if I'm in another city within NB, it's considered a local call but I thought I didn't get that in other provinces.

I want to ask Aliant but I'm nervous that they'll end up charging me for the roaming, which I do not want to pay. So big score on a cheapish bill but I want to know: Can I use my cell phone in other provinces without worrying about the roaming charges?