Cre8

I've been reading all the posts about the cell phones, the more I read the more confused I get.
I called AT&T and they said I do not need a sim card nor do I need to unlock the phone. Just take a plan for 3.99 a month (which they prorate) and all calls will be . 99 a minute.
I have a GSM Nokia 6820. Am I getting the run-around or what?

xyz123

Sometimes customer service reps are idiots but the information is likely correct provided...

1. You are on AT&T GSM service which you do have a sim card it is an AT&T sim card.

2. I am not familiar with that phone model but you would have to check if it has at least one of the European frequencies (900 or 1800)

In that case the customer service rep is correct if paying 99¢ a minute to both make and receive a call as compared to what local sims cost. And $3.99/month is $3.99/month more than T mobile charges for the same serrice...

rkkwan

The Nokia 6820 is tri-band 850/1800/1900. In Europe, it can access the GSM 1800 networks.

So, the information you get is correct, as xyz123 has already said.

francophile03

I have Cingular which merged with AT&T. Yeah, that's the same plan they offer if you want a 'discounted rate' of $.99/min. Otherwise, you pay $1.29/min. without the plan.

Cre8

Thanks so much for the quick replys.
I started with AT&T but I'm now billed by
Cingular
No unlocking, No sim card. One less thing to worry about.
Now I can spend all my time worring about pickpockets.

francophile03

It's convenient this way but it's not the cheapest as I understand. Btw, AT&T had the int'l. roaming included in the monthly billing package so you don't pay for that.

aggiemom

Hi Cre8-

As everyone has said, yes, the information is correct.

I had the same phone, same plan (99 cents a minute and I think 25 cents for text messages) and had spoken to AT&T/Cingular twice before I went to Europe in May to make sure I had it right. I told them which countries I was visiting, whether I needed "country to country", etc.

Once I got there (I was in England, Netherlands, Germany) I had problems. Only messaging in England; no phone service at all in Netherlands (until I went to a Nokia store) and couldn't call USA from Germany.

Long story short, it was a combination of errors on both parts (I did not use the USA country code once). AT&T just got it all screwed up. They did not provide the service I asked for while giving me other services I didn't want!

I know they were going through the merger then so that probably contributed to the problems. Just be aware and try to re-confirm that all the countries and services you will need are "turned on."

rkkwan

For those having problems calling from out-of-US:

You should learn how to switch carriers on your phone. In most of the European countries, your phone can connect via 2 or 3 carriers. Doesn't matter which one you use, as AT&T will bill you the same. Certain carriers are not "seamless" when using other carriers' SIM, like your AT&T/Cingular.

So, it's important to know how to switch carrier. It's possible on all GSM phones.

ms_go

Where are you going? I have the same plan - it is .99 minute in most western European countries, but it is not .99 everywhere; e.g., I recently was in Russia, where it is $4.99 per minute.

http://onlinestorez.cingular.com/int..._rates_pop.jsp

francophile03

That's true, it's not $.99 everywhere; you have to check the charts. I must admit that the roaming worked well, no problems at all. But maybe it's because we traveled within Switzerland and France only.