Mexico

[MaKaVeLiX02]

Does anyone know if Virgin Mobile Pre Paid phones work in mexico.... me and my girlfriend made the mistake of not researching first and shes already left with it and now ive been reading and i dont think they have coverage there?

thanks for any help

[Andy]

U.S. Virgin phones are, as far as I know, locked to work only on the Sprint network, so I think you'll be SOL.

[MaKaVeLiX02]

is there a way she could get it to work down there?

[Andy]

AS far as I know there is not, but maybe someone else will chime in. You could always call virgin up and ask them, but i don't think there's a way.

[ShoresGuy]

If it works, you'll most likely have to get a PRL update for Mexico's IUSACELL:

http://www.cdg.org/worldwide/index.asp?h_area=3
http://www.cdg.org/technology/produc...operatorid=209

You'll also have to make sure your phone supports CDMA at 800 Mhz (definitely must be the case since this is normal for all new CDMA handsets).

[pichir]

I live in Mexico City and is beater to bay Telcel Phone in amigo kit coast 300 and more pesos and she chose from many phones and she can call from old the country to the usa is a prepay system and the phones are beery god.

[stufried]

I agree. When I was in Mexico, I purchased one of the phones at a Carefour. You don't want to hack up your virgin phone to make it work on IUSAcell. First, it will require some technical expertise to get the job done which would probably including figuring out Virgin's lock codes. Second, if you suceeding in downloading the IUSAcell PRLs and getting the phone going on NAM2, you'll have to fight log a dog to get the phone working correctly in the US.

You can buy a Telcel prepaid kit anywhere. I picked mine up at Carefour, a hypermarket that is everywhere.

[BillRadio]

Originally Posted by MaKaVeLiX02

is there a way she could get it to work down there?

Not really. The Amigo phone from TelCel is the easiest choice, but the calls are about $1.40 to the U.S., but only about .20/minute incoming since they implimented CPP. You can ask to get the prompts in English.

Movistar also has prepaid phones but they're not much cheaper.

If she gets a MX prepaid phone, you also need to consider how much you'll pay to call a Mexico number. Cell carriers charge from .10 to .40/minute, PLUS, if you call a MX cell phone, you also pay another .10 or so per minute! You both might want to try calling cards (@ .25/min), they usually work in hotels. Sadly, there are few other easy options between the US & Mexico.

[Telekom]

Originally Posted by BillRadio

Not really. The Amigo phone from TelCel is the easiest choice, but the calls are about $1.40 to the U.S., but only about .20/minute incoming since they implimented CPP. You can ask to get the prompts in English.

Movistar also has prepaid phones but they're not much cheaper.

If she gets a MX prepaid phone, you also need to consider how much you'll pay to call a Mexico number. Cell carriers charge from .10 to .40/minute, PLUS, if you call a MX cell phone, you also pay another .10 or so per minute! You both might want to try calling cards (@ .25/min), they usually work in hotels. Sadly, there are few other easy options between the US & Mexico.

Historically, rates to call Mexico from the US have been much higher than to call most any "first world" country. "Settlements" with Telmex (or other Mexican phone companies) are very high.

[naoautorizada]

Originally Posted by BillRadio

Not really. The Amigo phone from TelCel is the easiest choice, but the calls are about $1.40 to the U.S., but only about .20/minute incoming since they implimented CPP. You can ask to get the prompts in English.

Movistar also has prepaid phones but they're not much cheaper.

If she gets a MX prepaid phone, you also need to consider how much you'll pay to call a Mexico number. Cell carriers charge from .10 to .40/minute, PLUS, if you call a MX cell phone, you also pay another .10 or so per minute! You both might want to try calling cards (@ .25/min), they usually work in hotels. Sadly, there are few other easy options between the US & Mexico.

Long time lurker deciding to finally register as this caught my eye....
I just came back from Mexico and this time used a rental (called) mexitel cellular. Turned out to be less out of pocket than before - when I bought phone cards, and far less than SIMs. (SIMs died on me before I could get back.) The rental was Telcel, so everything worked. Very happy and will do this one again - you might want to browse it.

Oh - what I meant to say and almost forgot - calls to the US were only 2 cents (not a buck and a half anymore) on top of local air time. They have their phones hooked up to VOIP for international calls. OK, done - C 'ya.

[stufried]

The url for mexitel is mexitel.net. This is not an endorsement, I just found it "googling." The offer sounds interesting.