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Best USA mobile network
pkc
24-07-2008
I am looking for peoples expierence with USA based mobile networks.

Any help would be welcomed.
SilentLoner
24-07-2008
when you go roaming your on at&t or t-mobile they are they only gsm networks. By gsm it is the same standard that mobile phone's over here and the majority of the world use therefore your phone from here works in america if unlocked. there is also sprint and version and they use a different technology which is a name that escapes me at present.
ricki
24-07-2008
I own a t-mobile usa sim card that i use on my trips to the states

needs to stay active and new credit every 6 months, but there are cheap to buy (eBay) and credit is the same .
pkc
24-07-2008
Originally Posted by SilentLoner:
“when you go roaming your on at&t or t-mobile they are they only gsm networks. By gsm it is the same standard that mobile phone's over here and the majority of the world use therefore your phone from here works in america if unlocked. there is also sprint and version and they use a different technology which is a name that escapes me at present.”

Yep.. there are 3 bands also..

I am all okay with the technical side, just trying to work out what is best value.
pkc
24-07-2008
Originally Posted by ricki:
“I own a t-mobile usa sim card that i use on my trips to the states

needs to stay active and new credit every 6 months, but there are cheap to buy (eBay) and credit is the same .”


T-mobile, if you topup 100$ its valid for a year, then when that year is near to expiry topup by 10$ for another year's validity.. My mum has a t-mobile over there...
ricki
24-07-2008
yeh thats what i do!

one thing to remember about USA MOBILE Costs are

you have a local number - so if your in Manhattan and your landline is (212) you mobile is also (212)

When someone calls you, you get charged - Sounds a little odd, but it's cheaper because calls are local rate

which in BT terms is 1p a min etc etc etc
bumsex
26-07-2008
Originally Posted by pkc:
“I am looking for peoples expierence with USA based mobile networks.

Any help would be welcomed.”

Hi i deal with a Lot of US customers every day. The 2 largest networks over there are Verizon Wireless ( www.verizonwireless.com )and AT&T (formerly Cingular) ( www.att.com ). AT&T are a GSM network where as Verizon operate as a CDMA ntework predominently. The CDMA phones are easily spotted as they do not have a sim card. Also GSM service only really covers half of the mainland too so check where you are going and see if the coverage is OK.
Katia Polletin
26-07-2008
Originally Posted by SilentLoner:
“When you go roaming your on at&t or t-mobile they are they only GSM networks. By GSM it is the same standard that mobile phone's over here and the majority of the world use therefore your phone from here works in America if unlocked. there is also sprint and version and they use a different technology which is a name that escapes me at present.”

Not quite.

In the UK and most the rest of the world we use GSM 900 (o2 & Vodafone & virtuals) and GSM 1800 (T-Mobile, Orange & virtuals).

In the USA they use GSM 850 and GSM 1900 as they were late to adopt GSM and other technology uses / used the 900Mhz / 1800Mhz frequency.

So if you only have a regular dual-band phone then it won't work in the USA, unlocked or not.

At the least you'll need a tri-band phone which adds on GSM 1900, with a quad band that adds on GSM 850 too.
spanglysteve
27-07-2008
Originally Posted by ricki:
“When someone calls you, you get charged - Sounds a little odd, but it's cheaper because calls are local rate

which in BT terms is 1p a min etc etc etc”



Thats rediculous, why should they charge you for someone else calling you, surely the other person should pick up the cost of calling you?
Last edited by spanglysteve : 27-07-2008 at 22:15
Katia Polletin
27-07-2008
Originally Posted by spanglysteve:
“Thats rediculous, why should they charge you for someone else calling you, surely the other person should pick up the cost of calling you?”

In the USA and a couple of other countries it is the person being called who has to pay the difference in the high cost of running the call.

In the UK and most of the rest of the world, the person calling the mobile phone pays the difference, hence it's dearer to call a mobile than a landline.

In the USA (& Canada) and a couple of other countries the cost to call a mobile is the same as the cost to call a landline, however the person you are calling has to pay the difference, either at a rate of 10 - 15c / minute or taken out of their inclusive minutes. This is why it took a lot longer for mobiles to take off in the USA.
spanglysteve
27-07-2008
Originally Posted by Katia Polletin:
“In the USA and a couple of other countries it is the person being called who has to pay the difference in the high cost of running the call.

In the UK and most of the rest of the world, the person calling the mobile phone pays the difference, hence it's dearer to call a mobile than a landline.

In the USA (& Canada) and a couple of other countries the cost to call a mobile is the same as the cost to call a landline, however the person you are calling has to pay the difference, either at a rate of 10 - 15c / minute or taken out of their inclusive minutes. This is why it took a lot longer for mobiles to take off in the USA.”

cool i understand, i guess its the same as us being abroad... as the caller is calling a "uk" number, they wouldnt know we were abroad and hence we pick up the difference. The callers in the USA would not know they are calling a mobile and therefore the mobile owner picks up the cost. Must say, I prefer our method of doing it, dont really like the idea where I'm scared to pick up my phone as it will cost me!
Katia Polletin
27-07-2008
Originally Posted by spanglysteve:
“cool i understand, i guess its the same as us being abroad... as the caller is calling a "uk" number, they wouldnt know we were abroad and hence we pick up the difference. The callers in the USA would not know they are calling a mobile and therefore the mobile owner picks up the cost. Must say, I prefer our method of doing it, dont really like the idea where I'm scared to pick up my phone as it will cost me!”

Yeah, I prefer our method too.
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