I'm confused about cell phones in China. At first Verizon told me mine won't work in China and that I would need to rent a Global rental phone. Then I called them again and they say my cell phone will work. I have a flip phone, LGX6100 which is a trimode and all digital. They say if there is a CDMA network, my phones will work. The charge is 69 cents/min, which doesn't seem bad at all. However, I was told China could add service charges of which Verizon has no idea how much that would be. Does anyone know how much these charges are imposed by China? Don't want any big surprises.
Thanks!

China, like most of the world, uses GSM, not CDMA. So, forget about using your phone in China.

Plus, the GSM rate that Verizon charges for most countries in the world is $1.29, not 69 cents. That's actually pretty good for China, as T-Mobile USA charges more than that. But again, you'll need a GSM phone first.

Look in your booklet that came with your phone. If it's a "world phone" it may work. Some phones will work on only one frequency, some on three and some on all four, like mine. You need to know which frequencies your will work on. If your phone will work on GSM at 900 MHz (the frequency China uses), it should work. You will probably have to activate international roaming with Verizon as well.

I can't give a definitive answer, I'm sorry, but - does your phone's user manual tell you what 3 bands it handles? CDMA is a mobile (cellphone) technology more common in North America than elsewherem and from memory in the US cellphone networks use the 850 and/or 1900 Megahertz bands. By far the most common technology used outside the US however is GSM, which usually works on 900/1800 MHz. I believe there are some GSM networks in the US also. My Australian GSM phone certainly worked in China, but I'm not confident that a CDMA phone would.

Another wrinkle is that from reading other posts it appears common practice for US operators to "lock" your phone so that it can be used only on their networks. This would prevent you buying a SIM (subscriber identity module) card with prepaid usage in China and inserting it into phone, the cheapest option.

Personally, I'd want a more authoritative assurance on this than you seem to have from Verizon, whose advice sounds vague and contradictory. I always get nervous when two calls to a company produce two different answers, and I suspect that the first answer may be the correct one.

There are some helpful posts on this recurrent problem for American travellers on the Europe forum, if you want to run a search there.

Interesting...the two Verizon folks I talked to TODAY both said my phone would work. I did add International roaming onto my phones. That latest rep checked the cities I will be travelling and said Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou all had CDMA capabilities, while Xian did not. I guess I need to investigate further. When I asked the first rep about unlocking the phone (since I read that in some of your posts) she said that is for a SIM card (as Neil said) but she said that is for a PDA, not a cell phone. That wasn't my understanding.
So, the consensus is I should rent a global phone? Just trying to save a little on expenses. I need to find my manual.

CDMA technology is available in certain markets in China, but I don't believe its use is nearly as prevalent as GSM 900 (which your phone model doesn't have). I've never tried using a CDMA phone there so have no personal experience to offer in terms of coverage, reception, etc. How critical is it that you have cellular service? If it's critical, then I would go with a GSM 900 phone (whether you rent or buy). If not, try the CDMA service and report back to us on how well it worked, be the guinea pig!

I have some relatives in a nursing home, so cell would stictly be for emergency use. I would be checking in myself via landline phone often. So, not sure what cell to use.

If your phone is tri-band it will work here. My husband's phone works here, the US, Europe, Australia, all over Asia.

The only concern is cost. if your company pays your bills or you can voucher them as business expenses while on the trip, just let the roaming charge add up.

You can buy a SIM card at the BJ airport (about $12) and insert it into any phone that accepts SIM CARDS and buy top up cards for your trip here if you want it for making cheap local calls. This is available before immigration, and last night there was someone there just for our (delayed from rain) plane at 10:30PM.

but if you want it for making/receiving calls from the US, and for convenience of people knowing your number for a short trip, just pay the huge roaming fees.

PS
and for what they'd probably charge you to rent the global phone, you could buy a low end Nokia phone here (about $90)

I did some searching and it appears that China Unicom is the only provider using CDMA technology in China and they operate on 900/1800 frequencies. The specs of the LG VX6100 say that it's CDMA 800/1900, so the frequencies aren't compatible. I know very little about CDMA technology but assume like GSM, the frequencies have to match so it would seem that your phone won't work afterall even though CDMA does exist in China.

Wow thanks everyone for your info!! BChen-this trip is for pleasure, so all the phone costs I will have to pay. My phone doesn't take SIM cards. Verizon's "package" is $3.99/day to rent the phone, $25 to deliver it, $2.49/min to send or receive calls with $300 deposit. So, it's about $81 to rent the phone for 2 weeks plus usage charges. Do you have any idea how much the roaming charges will be?

Patty-thanks for researching for me!! That pretty much seems like I have to rent a phone. Darn, I was hoping to save some money.


Another company rents phones at www.globalphoneworks.com for first week free rental, then $30/week for the phone, $8/day if not full week. $25 to ship. Their rate is 1.99/min incoming and 3.39/min outgoing calls with $100 deposit.

All depends on how much usage the cell will get as to which is the better deal. Verizon shows their coverage on the net and it appears to be pretty good.

Thanks for all the info!!

Unless you need to be reached by a US number, it's probably a lot more economical to buy an unlocked tri-band GSM phone on ebay, and then buy the local Chinese SIM card. Total start up cost is <$100, and you have a phone that you can keep for future use overseas, or you can sell it back on ebay. The per minute cost with a local Chinese SIM is a fraction of the rates with a US-based account or a rental program.

If I've understood LostinChina correctly she only needs a cell phone to allow emergency contact from home, so per-minute roaming charges shouldn't be a problem.

Despite this, the idea of buying an el-cheapo Nokia phone in China, or an unlocked tri-band phone on eBay, is a good one. You could buy a local prepaid SIM card covering a modest amount of outgoing calls, and if you like, a landline phone card that could be used from a hotel or payphone. Use that to call the rels back home and tell them what your new Chinese cellphone number is.

BTW, from memory CDMA cells provide wider coverage than GSM, and I think also potentially greater bandwidth for data calls. CDMA is used here in Australia to extend coverage to thinly-populated rural areas, but GSM is still the norm.

OK, rkkwan and Neil peaked my interest in buying a cheapo phone. I have never bought anything on eBay, so have no idea what I'm doing. I did search for an international phone and saw a Nokia GSM Intl cell phone +roaming SIM card for $49. That seems like a great deal. I was warned by one of the phone companies to make sure the phone is good in CHINA since many don't. I don't need a company like Verizon giving me service for this phone while in China, like a monthly service fee? Where do I buy SIM cards? Do I need a new one for each city I travel in? This seems like a great idea. However, as you can tell, I'm clueless on how everything works.
I will have to investigate "how to" on eBay.
Thanks!

BChen mentioned in his reply that you can get a SIM card at the Beijing airport for around US$12. I don't have 1st hand experience, but I know that cellular stores are everywhere in China - big cities or small. [For example, if you cross into China from Hong Kong or Macau, the first dozens of stores you'll see all sell SIM card.]

And once again, if you decide to buy a phone, ebay or otherwise, the 4 keywords you need to see are:

- Unlock (or Unlocked)
- GSM
- 900
- 1800

As long as the description has all 4 words, you are fine. It will work.

Some posters on the Europe board have ordered the free used rental phone that's currently being offered by Mobal Rental (the phone is yours to keep) -

http://www.mobalrental.com/sale/

It seems like a good deal, you pay only the $10 shipping fee. If you're looking for the cheapest possible solution, I think this is it.

The free Nokia 5110 is 900 MHz only, but that shouldn't be a problem in China. Included with the phone is a Mobal SIM (with UK based number) and it states that the phone is locked. Nokia's are supposedly very easy to unlock with a code (no data cable required). Try a google search for 'Nokia 5110 unlock'. Once you get it unlocked, you can purchase a prepaid SIM card when you arrive in China to replace the included Mobal SIM for lower per minute rates.

If you're really only planning to receive incoming calls for emergency purposes, you could even consider using the included Mobal SIM (then no unlocking required). The cost of receiving incoming calls using the Mobal SIM in China is $1.75 per minute (the cost of making outgoing calls in China to the US/Canada is $2.95 per minute). Also with the Mobal SIM, you don't need to prepay for your minutes.
Any calls you make/receive are billed to your credit card, so no risk of buying minutes you never use.

Just remember that anyone calling you will be dialing an international number (UK if you use the Mobal SIM, China if you purchase a prepaid SIM there) so they'd have to pay whatever long distance charges are on their end.

Thanks for the info rkkwan and Patty.
Patty-wow your free phone seems like a great deal with only $10 shipping fee. How do I get service for it though? I need to read up on your web site. I printed out the manual for it. Thanks for the info. Certainly worth looking into. I guess if we do get a cell phone, we will end up using it more than we planned simply due to the convenience and our not being in the hotel much at all.

Thanks!!

I did the search for unlocking the phone. There appears to be a small charge and then they give you a code.

I skimmed the posts at the Europe site. The ones I read, esp by xyz123 seem to refer to the Mobal phone they bought for $49. I didn't find any posts regarding getting the free phone. Am I missing it or looking in the wrong place, Patty?

Thanks!

Try this thread -

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34609239

Someone reported that the Nokia 5110 they received was already unlocked, so check before you pay for the unlock code. Once unlocked, you can purchase a SIM on arrival in China. You can also use the included Mobal SIM but at higher per minute costs.