AT&T / Cingular 1900 Coverage

[MANSY]

Greetings from Down Under.

My family and I are visiting the USA from Australia in April this year. In the course of events we'll be visiting Disney World in Orlando Fl, Los Angeles Ca, Flagstaff Az, The Grand Canyon, Las Vegas Nv, Bishop Ca, Yosemite National Park and San Francisco. A road trip from Flagstaff to SF on the "wrong" side of the road!!...

I have an older Nokia cellphone with 900/1800/1900 frequency coverage. I understand that the only potential function in the USA will be on 1900. The intention is to purchase a Pre-paid Sim on eBay probably Locus which uses the at&t/Cingular networks.

My question is.... will this be adequate most of the time please?

Regards
Mansy

[Blue4Life]

Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.50 (J2ME/MIDP; Opera Mini/4.2.13216/574; U; en))

You may be OK in Arizona, which is a 1900-only MHz market. Using a phone that does not support the 850 MHz band may severely impact your coverage elsewhere.

[MANSY]

Thanks very much for the reply.

Looking at the search facility on this site it would appear that, AT&T for example, have 1900Mhz only in Arizona which you have confirmed for me...thanks.... the indication is that, in general, the company has "850/1900Mhz" in Florida, Nevada and California..I guess the question now is...will the 1900 component cover there be enough?...

The thing is that there are four of us and each has a Nokia 3120 (900/1800/1900Mhz)..they are unlocked and therefore lend themselves to a simple SIM card change to a US prepaid card for the three weeks we'll be away.Obviously I'd like to avoid buying four more 'phones for that period if possible.

Mansy

[Charlyee]

With AT&T it is rather difficult w/o 850. Have you looked at T-Mobile coverage maps? Do they cover the areas you will be visiting? TM is still primarily on 1900.

If that does not work out, how about getting atleast one 850/1900 to cover yourself just in case you find yourself in a 850 only area with AT&T.
Palm850/v0100 Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 7.11)

[dmapr]

I can attest to the fact that 1900MHz-only is completely inadequate here in Bay Area, CA — at least with AT&T. You'd do a lot better with T-Mobile, although you may find their coverage somewhat lacking as well.

[MANSY]

Thanks to everyone who has replied...I don't know how to reply to each in turn after the first...sorry about that!

It looks like I will have to include at least one 850/1900 Mhz 'phone to be sure of things...the T-Mobile coverage would appear to be the best but...not complete either..

The reason for the AT&T fixation was because of the apparent good deals with Sim Cards and included Airtime on eBay....that included domestic rates for International calls....back to Australia of course.

Once we move on from the Disney World part of the trip there won't be the need for each of us to have a 'phone........kids will be kids and will do their own thing at least some of the time!....the remaining airtime was to be used to call back home to the eldest daughter "holding the fort".

..the best laid plans of mice and men......

[mframe]

You could probably get an AT&T GoPhone (prepaid) at Wal-Mart. The Nokia 2610 is currently $15. Even though the phone is SIM locked to AT&T, the Locus SIM should still work.

[MANSY]

Thanks for that....I was starting to look on eBay for something cheap...Nokia 3595 for example...I've certainly made a note of the Wal-Mart possibility if I don't have any luck... I'll do a search for the 2610 as well now.

I'm glad I stated sorting this out well in advance.

[mframe]

Originally Posted by MANSY

I'll do a search for the 2610 as well now..

If you search for Nokia 2610 on eBay, be careful. There is a European version (900/1800 Mhz) with the exact same number. Also, some USA Nokia 2610s are T-Mobile locked. You will, of course, want either unlocked or AT&T locked USA versions.

[MANSY]

Thanks but I've already learnt that lesson ....I bought two cheap 'phones here focusing on the 1900Mhz band...not appreciating how important the 850 was.

I think the Nokia 3595 will be fine for us as it's a very simple unit and there appear to be lots about on eBay.

As far as the phone locks are concerned I've had to look into that as well...there are fairly straightforward protocols on the Net to unlock the earlier 'phones...I managed to unlock one of those I got without problems.

Obviously though I'll look very carefully at the listings to get exactly what I need. We have a family friend in SF who is always happy to forward items on if the eBay seller doesn't sell to international buyers.

Thanks again for your input it's very much appreciated.

[dmapr]

Watch out for the locked 2610 as those are not as easy to unlock as those old DCT4 phones were.

[MANSY]

Thanks for that....No...I think the 3595..unlocked already..at the right price...will be what I'll aim for.

Interesting, isn't it....almost old anything is easier to get along with than the new?

All we need is a telephone...no bells and whistles..just something to use for brief communications...something to have "just in case" more than anything else.

[BillRadio]

Map of AT&T 1900 vs. 850 MHz Coverage.

I did what exactly you did when looking for a simple and cheap GSM phone. The Nokia 3595 is an adequate, basic phone and easily 'unlocked'. I bought mine on eBay for about $20. I used it as a spare, my Mother used it for a year, and it has been a 3rd standby for a year. Certainly got my money's worth and it works on any US GSM system.

Be aware there are 3 new cellular 'bands' coming online in this country which will obsolete these phones, but that shouldn't concern you for at least a couple years.

[MANSY]

Thanks for that...especially the Coverge Map link!

Seeing the 850/1900 coverage suggests that the 1900 component of our "Asian " mobiles should be adequate in Florida where we need person to person communication at Disney World....it will be interesting to see what happens in practice with our Nokia 3120's. I purchased two 3595s on eBay so theoretically we've covered all bases with regard to Orlando plus calling back to Australia from each of the locations we'll visit.

My intention is to write up our experience here when we get back after the trip so that someone else may also benefit from it.

Now to chase up some PrePaid Sim cards with Airtime...

[RadioRaiders]

Most new mid/high end phones coming out these days are quad-band. I have been using an unlocked SonyEricsson w710 (850/900/1800/1900) and when I travel I'll just buy a local pre-paid SIM and pop it in.

I just checked ebay and new, unlocked w710's are going for about $100 US. But you can use that phone at home in Oz too.

Here's one for $99:
A Sony w710 Unlocked Mp3 AT&T T-mobile phone camera gsm - eBay (item 220340723066 end time Jan-16-09 16:39:46 PST)

[MANSY]

Thanks very much for your input but we're pretty well sorted out now I think.

I do understand about the new phones but I really didn't want to upgrade for the moment as the mobiles we use here in Australia are more than adequate still and the matching in car kits are still quite functional.

I guess part of the exercise is to see just what can be done to address the "problem" with a minimum of expense....so far so good...two 850/1900 mobiles with charger for $US24 delivered....now all we have to do is get some Pre-Paid Sim cards as you do and away we go!

[RadioRaiders]

Originally Posted by MANSY

two 850/1900 mobiles with charger for $US24 delivered....now all we have to do is get some Pre-Paid Sim cards as you do and away we go!

Wow, that's dirt cheap! Ok, good luck and enjoy your vacation. Send my greetings to Mickey Mouse

[MANSY]

Thanks. Will do!...........to Minnie as well!

[Simon5282]

When you get to the US go to Wal-mart and pick yourself up a tracfone for twenty dollars. Make sure it says double minutes on the phone. You get free calling to Australia landlines. Your tracfone also gets coverage almost everywhere.

http://www.tracfone.com

http://www.tracfoneild.com