Alltel North America Freedom??

[ta206]

I currently have Alltel (Love them - not looking to change providers) going to Cancun, Mexico in a couple of months and wondering if anyone has ever used the North America Freedom plan while in Mexico (especially Cancun since it looks like coverage is sparse on the map)

Otherwise I figured I would go one of the other routes with a GSM phone and Mexico SIM card as I've been reading about. Though that looks like it can be a little pricey for a phone I couldn't use on Alltel afterwards. Unless I would be able to utilitize a prepaid for this and write it off for work? (Not sure if a prepaid would work for this either?)

Appreciate any advice

[strunke]

I think you'll be okay with the north america plan. Just keep in mind the minutes (my circle, m2m, maybe others besides anytime minutes) don't apply down there. Coverage wise I seem remember someone going there with an Alltel phone and reporting back that the coverage was fine.

[ta206]

Originally Posted by strunke

I think you'll be okay with the north america plan. Just keep in mind the minutes (my circle, m2m, maybe others besides anytime minutes) don't apply down there. Coverage wise I seem remember someone going there with an Alltel phone and reporting back that the coverage was fine.

Thanks! That was my main concern.

I have My Circle and never seem to get close to my minutes each month anyway so that shouldn't be a problem.

Appreciate the fast reply

[Eric47]

i dont think your phone will work. from what im told the mexican government is shutting down alot of CDMA networks..not sure why..im sure some sort of political reason.

i cant tell you how reliable this info is, but id say pretty high considering this came from a person i know that is looking to switch to att from verizon bc of the fact that they have 2 homes, one in arizona and one in Mexico and their verizon wouldnt work in mexico. they said it use to but bc of some sort of changes it didnt anymore.

so basically i would do some research if you really need your phone to work.

[ta206]

I will do that - Thanks Eric

I guess they really want to make money on those rental phones

[strunke]

Originally Posted by EricN4707

i dont think your phone will work. from what im told the mexican government is shutting down alot of CDMA networks..not sure why..im sure some sort of political reason.

i cant tell you how reliable this info is, but id say pretty high considering this came from a person i know that is looking to switch to att from verizon bc of the fact that they have 2 homes, one in arizona and one in Mexico and their verizon wouldnt work in mexico. they said it use to but bc of some sort of changes it didnt anymore.

so basically i would do some research if you really need your phone to work.

Do you have a link? Because without one it doesn't mean anything regardless of who you got it from. There have been no reports of the mexican government shutting down cdma networks. More then likely that person got some bs answer from verizon as to why the phone wasn't working where they were. Verizon probably took out that mexican sid because they were too cheap to let their customers roam on it and the phone won't read a sid that is neg'd in the PRL file.

[KyleAndMelissa22]

My mother goes to Cancun often, so it's good to know that (with North American Freedom), her phone will work down there.
And we'll switch from Nat'l Freedom to N Amer. Freedom, thanks to anytime plan changes next time she goes to Cancun/Cozumel.

Last time she went to Cancun, she had Nextel (iDEN), and there was no signal at all down on the Yucatan.

[WumpusVA]

Originally Posted by EricN4707

i dont think your phone will work. from what im told the mexican government is shutting down alot of CDMA networks..not sure why..im sure some sort of political reason.

i cant tell you how reliable this info is, but id say pretty high considering this came from a person i know that is looking to switch to att from verizon bc of the fact that they have 2 homes, one in arizona and one in Mexico and their verizon wouldnt work in mexico. they said it use to but bc of some sort of changes it didnt anymore.

so basically i would do some research if you really need your phone to work.

False.

Yes, your phone will work down there. While CDMA coverage is not as extensive as GSM, it has existed and will continue to exist in the big tourist areas in order to support (and make a lot of money from) the tourists.

Yes, CDMA networks in the north of the country have been shutdown for a variety of reasons. Places like chihuahua and sonora no longer have CDMA service.

I highly recommend reading the following webpage for more information. I'm sure it will answer all of your questions Mountain Wireless - Mexico Roaming

[Eric47]

i dont think what i wrote was false..lol..i said they are shutting down some CDMA areas (for instance the one these people have a house in that i spoke with, i forget the exact location but whatever) and you say it exists and then you say they are shutting some down lol..so thanks for agreeing with me.

also i did not site that it wouldnt work where they are going, i merly mentioned that they could land in one of these places where CDMA is no longer working...in which case they would be upset.

simply put, if you need a phone and your gonna be in mexico, the easiest thing to recommend to anyone is to buy a prepaid phone while your down there to use.

[ta206]

Originally Posted by Wumpusva

False.

Yes, your phone will work down there. While CDMA coverage is not as extensive as GSM, it has existed and will continue to exist in the big tourist areas in order to support (and make a lot of money from) the tourists.

Yes, CDMA networks in the north of the country have been shutdown for a variety of reasons. Places like chihuahua and sonora no longer have CDMA service.

I highly recommend reading the following webpage for more information. I'm sure it will answer all of your questions Mountain Wireless - Mexico Roaming

Thanks so much for the link this is really helpful.