ok so ive been looking to see if cingular runs on 1900 in my area, i bought a phone off ebay for my gf that only runs on 1900, i put in my zip code for the search thingy and like both GSM came up for her zip code (48048), so does that mean that the phone WILL work in her area?
The former ATTWS network is 1900, so it will work. To have the coverage that Cingular advertises, you need to have a phone with both 850 & 1900. You will be lacking coverage with a 1900 only phone. For instance, the Thumb is 850 only with Dobson so it wouldn't work here. It might be ok in SE Michigan and up thru Flint, Saginaw and Bay City and also toward the west side of the state though since the former ATTWS network expanded to those areas. Once you get past that, you will be on either Dobson or Centennial. I think Dobson has both 850 and 1900 with the acquisition of NPI Wireless, but I believe Centennial only runs 850. http://www.gsmworld.com/cgi-bin/ni_map.pl?z=2&x=6&y=4&cc=us&net=at
...and exactly which phone did you buy? My advice to any Cingular customer is to always (and I mean always) buy a phone that supports, at least, the 850MHz and 1900MHz frequencies. This way, if you have coverage issues, then you can eliminate one variable: the phone (unless, of course, you purchased a dud).
