International Roaming

[JR1]

What kind of prices per minute can one expect to pay while roaming in England..... London specifically. I have cingular right now but am thinking of switching to AT&T. Cingular says that they can't tell me how much it will cost to roam.... I find that hard to believe.

[Bugwart]

There are posts in the "Buildout" thread in the Network Technologies section that discuss this. Roaming costs are outlandish from all US service providers.

Your best bet is to buy an unlocked tri-band (900/1800/1900 MHz) GSM phone and buy a pre-paid SIM card after you arrive in the UK.

With a pre-paid SIM card, all incoming calls are free (caller pays), and your outgoing local calls should be less than 1/4 of the roaming cost with either AT&T of Cingular.

Try calling tech support at Cingular to find out the roaming costs.

[northform]

It would be easier to pick up a prepay sim there if you don't need to keep your number. I know that T-Mobile charges 99c in western europe.

[JR1]

Yeah I called Cingulars help line 3 times and had 3 different people and no one could tell me the cost. I also went to 2 different cingular phone stores.

In KY we use the 850 frequency not the 900 for some reason.

[JR1]

Are all sim cards standard......I know the phone has to be unlocked but will any brand sim card work in any phone?

[Bugwart]

All SIM cards will work in an unlocked phone.

If you have an 850 MHz GSM phone, then you might want to buy an unlocked 900/1800 MHz phone in the UK. Both frequencies are used in the UK. These phones are available at all the cell phone shops that I visited in London. It will not work in the US, but then my tri-band won't work on your 850 MHz system.

Whether this makes sense depends on how long you will be there, and how many calls you will make and receive. It also depends on whether you will be getting incoming calls. With a UK pre-paid all your incoming calls are free, but even with US T Mobile SIM (as Northform said) you would be paying $0.99/min. If local people will be calling you, they may not want to make an international call to your US number.

[Phony]

New Cingular roaming rates are $1.29/minute in Western Europe which is great considering it use to be $4.00/minute. If you go down to Mexico its $.79/minute. If you really plan on using your phone the pre-paid route would be your best bet.

[polonius]

Originally posted by: Phony
New Cingular roaming rates are $1.29/minute in Western Europe which is great considering it use to be $4.00/minute. If you go down to Mexico its $.79/minute. If you really plan on using your phone the pre-paid route would be your best bet.

It USED to be (until just a few weeks ago) that Cingular used the standard GSM mark-up of local operator charge+ 15%. Obviously this varied a lot market to market, and from peak to off peak and from local to long distance, etc. But as an example, roaming on T-Mobile UK, making a local, off-peak call WAS about 12p + 15%, a total of about about 14p/minute. NOW that they've followed T-Mobile's lead (T-Mobile introduced their "world-class" rates in November 2001), that same call costs you $1,29, an increase of over 600%! It never was 4,00 USD /minute AFAIK, and it is certainly not great. Of course it also true that the peak rate, long distance call you make back to the USA also costs you 1,29/minute under the new plan, but it was only about 90c before, so I think their attempts to sell us these rate hikes as a "simplification" is word that would no doubt be censored by this board.

It's also unbelievable they told you they can't tell you the price -- it's on their web-site: roaming. They do not have roaming with Mexico.

[JR1]

Thank you Polonius. Thats the first time I've got an answer from cingular...they didn't even know or said they didn't and I couldn't reach that web page without your link. That does help a great deal!

I couldn't view that webpage because in my area for the cingular store 42431....the page does not exist.....

[polonius]

Yes, be careful -- Cingular's GSM network is still really two separate networks (former PacBell and former BellSouth), and the link I gave you is for former BellSouth. The PacBell people pay rates that are even more outrageous -- 3,99 for an incoming call!

I'm getting that urge to use words not permitted on this board again!

[JR1]

I've been with the same company for almost 6 years now.....it was cellular one....then it was bellsouth....now it is cingular. I wonder if they will sell me the sony ericsson t306 unlocked?

[Bugwart]

Originally posted by: JR1 I've been with the same company for almost 6 years now.....it was cellular one....then it was bellsouth....now it is cingular. I wonder if they will sell me the sony ericsson t306 unlocked?

I suggest that you try Ebay to buy an unlocked GSM phone. There is a better selection and the prices will be lower.

[josepho]

And remember that once you get to London go to any Carphone Warehouse or Virgin Megastore and pick up a Virgin Mobile Sim-pack @ £10 ($15) with £5 of credit included. You don't even have to register it, just stick it in and away you go. The calls to the US are only 15p/min. if I remember correctly. Great deal. Even if you're only staying for a short time it still rules!

[DiverDown]

Actually thats incorrect. Calling the U.S. from the Uk using vigin is 20 pence per minute. Or like a little over 35 cents a minute. (actually the dollar is weaker then ever it may be even higher then that.

The cheapest is to go to a carphone warehouse and buy a "fresh"network phone (T-Mobile Uk's prepaid company, though they also have there own prepaid company i think).

It costs 20p for the 1st minute and 10p for each additional minute to the U.S. I used it last year for about 6 months in london, and abroad its the best prepaid cellular rate you can get to call the U.S. with. (Unless you have a bank account and some form of residency then I suggest going for a contract phone).


Organe phone also offers rates of 15p per minute to the U.S. But as you can see if you are going to call for over 2 minutes a call fresh is much cheaper.

[josepho]

I must've been getting it mixed up with 15p/min on Orange. For some strange reason I thought you had to register or something to use Fresh, but you're right... you don't. The inconvience is, you can't buy top-up vouchers for Fresh so widely - I don't know how they are with foreign credit cards. As far as I'm aware (apart from calling up CS) you can only top up at Carphone Warehouse stores, though if you're just staying in London then I guess you'll never be too far from one. Virgin are still attractive, esp. if you know other Virgin users (V-V texts only 3p).

Good luck, and enjoy!

[Phony]

If you take your world phone and have service w/Cingular and travel to Western Europe the roaming charge is $1.29 per minute. As far as Mexico is concerned there is a roaming agreement w/TelCel which is 1900mhz GSM. $.79 per minute.....I was there two weeks ago and was able to make and receive calls.

[DiverDown]

If you don't have a bank account in UK you have to top of at a carphone warehouse.

Let me put it this way, there are as many car phone warehouses as there are 7-11's in the U.s if note more.

Literally in london just on Oxford street there is about 1 carphone warehouse every block in a half. In Edibourgouh Scotland I must have seen at least 4.

I saw at least 3 in Belfast, this is just in walking distance. I much have seen another 2 or 3 in Glasgow. There are just so many its insane. Literally anyone Local you ask about the nearest carphone warehouse will most likely give you directions by pointing because its literally right in front of you.


Totally fresh is the way to go, I never had a problem with them at all.

Big fan.

[rallykid]

Unlocked phone and pre-paid is definitely the way to go when traveling in Europe. For what it would cost you for a weeks worth of calls while roaming in Europe on your U.S. carrier you could have paid for the phone and a couple of sim replenishments. Plus you get to keep the phone so you have a spare.

[polonius]

Originally posted by: Phony
If you take your world phone and have service w/Cingular and travel to Western Europe the roaming charge is $1.29 per minute. As far as Mexico is concerned there is a roaming agreement w/TelCel which is 1900mhz GSM. $.79 per minute.....I was there two weeks ago and was able to make and receive calls.

That's new -- and good news, but the higher roaming charges are still annoying.

[Bugwart]

By Polonius:

That's new -- and good news, but the higher roaming charges are still annoying.

Yes, they are annoying to say the very least!