Re: OT- need a new GSM provider

[Joe Rhett <jrhett () meer net>]

Way off topic, hit delete now.

On Thu, Sep 02, 2004 at 11:09:27PM +0000, vijay gill wrote:
> Triband phones mostly operate on 900/1800/1900 frequencies. There is a
> major US deployment of GSM on the "cellular" GSM 850 band. So if you are
> with a triband phone on anyone other than Tmobile (which uses only
> 1900gsm in the US), you will not get adequately covered. You want either
> a US centric triband for use in the US with ATT/cingular that operates
> on GSM 850/1800/1900 and then get a world triband on GSM 900/1800/1900
> and swap sims in and out (trivially easy to get most gsm phones
> unlocked)

I've had no drama at all going internation with T-Mobile service, using an
unlocked (nokiafree.org) AT&T 6310i phone.

> if you are going to be calling a lot while abroad, I suggest picking up
> an unlocked nokia 6310i and prepaid sims as you fly into airports.
> Put up a web page with your current phone number of choice.
 
Ugh.  Much more convenient to just carry your phone with you ;-)

> Also note due to fraud mitigation, most phones only allow you to call
> within the country you are in or back to the home country, all the while
> charging you an exhorbitant price.
 
Um, sorry but I've never seen this.  I used to world-roam on AT&T, and now
I do it with T-Mobile and never had any such drama.  Kind of hard to place
a call in Europe without calling the next country over ;-)

AT&T used to rip me a new one for intl->intl calls, but t-mobiles rates are
roughly half that and apparently do pass-thru charges for calls which don't
leave a given providers network...?   Anyway, I spent nearly a month in
Spain this spring and my cell phone was my only contact, for both voice and
many long hours of GPRS internet access, and the bill was only $890 or 
something similar.

(I had a few 2.5k phone bills on similar length trips to England while
using AT&T...)

-- 
Joe Rhett
Senior Geek
Meer.net