Hello regulars. I am new to your 'space' here, have searched the forum, and not found an answer for my issue. I apologize up front for the long post. I frequent several forums and don't like reading novels! But wanted to present all the information, so hopefully the thread is short and concise. Situation: I have to use two phones (one AT&T and one Alltel) in two different parts of Colorado. The coverage areas only overlap in one direction. The Alltel phone will roam into the AT&T area, there is no roaming agreement (evidently) for the AT&T phone to roam into the Alltel area (phone says no network). The phones: Motorola Z6M (Alltel branded) and Motorola V3xx (Cingular Branded & SIM). Desired Result: Use one phone for both. And preferrably fully functional (voice and data) on both. Since the Z6M (Alltel) will support 2 NAMS, I thought this will be easy (yeah I know, that was a dumb a** assumption!). As step one, to get basic funcionality going (will figure out data next), just call AT&T, get the SID I need for Colorado so I can program NAM2 on the Z6M, have them change the pESN and/or HEX in the AT&T database to the Z6M instead of the V3xx so AT&T's network will recognize the Z6M, and then when necessary, just change the NAM selection on the Z6M, and poof, be on the other network. Well, as soon as I explained to AT&T support (both customer and tech) what I wanted to do, I could hear the drool hitting their headset mouthpiece! So here I am, probably where I should have gone in the first place to ask the questions. 1. Can what I described be done? Use the Alltell (simless) dual-band Z6M on AT&T's (SIM based) network. 2. If so, what are the magic words to use with AT&T support to get the Z6M programmed in their database? 3. Can it be done if the entire scenario is flipped? Somehow get Alltel to recognize the V3xx SIM when in that territory? Not the preferred arrangement because of the MP3 player in the Z6M. Probably have to ask that question in the Alltel forum anyway. And if the answer to all of the above is no, sorry, out-of-luck, you must be crazy!!, I guess I will continue to be a two-gun slinger until the AT&T contract expires, and then go to Alltel exclusively, get everyone updated about what phone number to use, and deal with the roaming issue! Again, sorry for the long post. I hope I have clearly described the situation and what I want to do. Any thoughts, ideas, additional questions, or if I am missing something? Thanks!!
Hello fiaranch and WELCOME to WA. Now about your question, the Motorola Z6M is a CDMA device and at&t uses GSM, the two technologies are incompatible and so no you cannot use your Alltel phone on the at&t network. To confuse matters further Alltel does have some GSM network but only for roaming to be used my other GSM providers so that will not be of any help to you either. Now, you have all the steps perfect, so how about Verizon, USCC or another CDMA carrier in the area that Alltel has no coverage, if you find another CDMA provide then you could program them in as Nam2 in your Z6M. Hope that helped a little and maybe others will chime in with different options.
I didn't research/consider/know that AT&T was exclusively GSM. So I understand the issue clearly and will proceed accordingly. Thanks for the prompt and clear response.
Glad it helped. Please do stick around, enjoy WA, share your experience and let us know what you ended up doing. PS: I carried a GSM phone and a CDMA phone for 5 years until at&t covered the areas that I needed the CDMA phone for, so it is possible that carrying both may end up to be your best option.
Is there any reason why you don't want to use your current Alltel phone in the rest of Colorado? An Alltel National plan will roam for free on Verizon and Sprint in Colorado, and elsewhere. BillRadio (Mountain Wireless-Cellular Reviews, Maps and Information) posts that Verizon is generally better than AT&T out there, anyway.
Wirelessly posted (Treo 750: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 7.6) UP.Link/6.3.1.17.0) Great suggestion, also along similar lines if Alltel does roam where there is at&t coverage why not only Alltel, without forcing it.
Both obvious questions, and thanks for asking them in case I hadn't thought about that idea. Without a bunch of boring background, the issue was primarily a question of calling areas, calling party LD charges for incoming calls from the northern part of the state, some companies with toll restricted phone systems, and the majority of contacts (contractors, etc.) are in that area. Was is the key word there. Already killed the AT&T number, changed the service plan on the Alltel account, and off and running getting new contact info out to folks, and working on some messaging alternatives dealing for with toll issues. Thanks again for the input and feedback!!
