Calling between 2 Cingular cell phones in Europe
 

If we have 2 quad band Cingular cell phones that are set up for use in Europe, and we also have a plan that allows free calls between them in the U.S.....then does calling between them in Europe constitute roaming and charges for these calls, whether making or receiving?

The phone making the call will be charged the roaming fee for calling US (as your call will be routed via US - you have to dial the full international prefix such as 001), and the phone receiving it will be charged the roaming receiving fee. It will be much cheaper for both phones to have local sim card and only the phone making the call will have around 50 cents/min deducted from call credit.

Alec is correct regarding the charges and seems to have answered any and all questions covering this matter. One thing I do want to point out is that receiving calls on your Cingular phone from the States will cost you about $1.49/minute. T-Mobile charges $0.99/minute and is the cheapest service in this regard.

If your phones are unlocked, which they will need to be in order to use another services sim card, then you can give those numbers to your friends at home to call. Your friends will have to pay long distance, but all incoming calls are free when using a local sim card.

Thank you for the succinct and understandable answers. All clear now.

orval, we have quad band phones with Cingular service also, and I wonder if you could tell me what exactly you did to be sure they were unlocked and set up for use in Europe?

Hi marilyn,

If your phone is a Nokia, go to www.mobileliberation.com

If you've had you cell phone service for awhile, then you can ask your service provider for the unlock code for your particular phone, or you can send it out to be unlocked by an unlocking service. There are several listed on-line. Some phones, like the Sony Ericsson and Nokia, are easy to unlock, others, like Samsungs, require special software.

One place you can check for additional information is "The Travel Insider" (http://www.thetravelinsider.info/roa...bandphones.htm)

Thanks. It's a Motorola. I've been told that I can put someone's chip in who has a different service provider, and if the phone is usable, then it's unlocked. But I'm not sure any of my friends want me messing around with their cell phones.

Marilyn...

GSM phones are made to have the SIM card very accessible so it should not be a big problem to borrow somebody else's sim card for a quick check. Basically the first thing the phone checks on booting up is if the phone is sim locked. If it is you will get a message to that effect; if it isn't you will get no message and the phone will attempt to register on some service with which the sim is compatible. As simple as that.

Nokia's are the easiest to unlock as the unlocking calculator is free software all over the web. Sony Ericsson does not have a free available unlocking calculator available; you can call your mobile provider. T mobile has been very loose with giving unlocking codes, Cingular is fairly loose but currently AT&T will not provide unlocking codes under any circumstances but of course this might change with the merger.

Marilyn, we have just purchased the Motorola V600's I believe, and simply went to a Cingular store and paid a small fee to allow their use in Europe for roaming. I have not addressed the issue of "unlocking" the phone, and I am still vague re: the issue. One needs to have it unlocked (I believe) in order to install a, say France Telecom/Orange sim chip, to use purchased minutes in Europe. We planned on paying the ridiculous $1.49 a minute for calls, because we wanted to have a provider to bill us instead of having to resuscitate the minutes each time we came to Europe, thereby not having phone service the first or second day due to our itinerary. It seems easy to simply buy a phone in Europe, purchase minutes and go on from there each year, but it does deny us a cell phone at critical moments, that is, when we are at airports in Europe or en route to the hotel, which may be when we most need a cell phone. Also, I understand that each year one must go to the store and get the minutes renewed unless you have used the cell phone at least once every three or possibly six months? Still vague on these issues.

Thanks, xyz. Do you know anything about Motorola?

Marilyn, I have a Motorola V600 as a personal telephone. I like it, the battery is not outstanding but it's ok. Make sure you have the Motorola bluetooth earset. With the earset it's very easy to make and receive calls without even touching the earphone (provided it is within a 30 feet range). In Europe it's illegal to make telephone calls while driving, but it is allowed to do that with a cord or cordless earphone.

orval...

You make some good points and I'll try to help you...

1. Sim locking more commonly simply called locking means the phone will only recognize the sim card of the company to which it is locked. For example if a phone is locked to Cingular you can't insert a T mobile sim card and the phone will work. Certain countries such as Finland and Italy are not as paranoid and the mobile phones sold in those countries by law must be unlocked. The argument about locking is that the company subsidizes the full price of the phone so why should you be able to use it with another company but if you think about it they are doing something quite immoral i.e. disabling one of the vital aspects of this kind of phone.

2. If you are going to use your American GSM carriers in Europe you don't have to unlock the phone or anything like that...if the phone works in the US and it has the proper frequencies you will be fine.

3. You are correct about phone time elapsing or phone service being taken away if not used in a given period of time; this varies by carrier and by custom of the country. Sometimes it is a specific period of time before which the phone has to be recharged. In the case of Orange France, for example, the number remains your for six months after the expiration of the stated period of time. A €20 recharges gives you 60 days of service, for example, and then the remaining credit is lost but the number remains yours for an additional 6 months to receive calls. If you travel to Europe once a year and wish to retain your French number you can buy a recharge slip from a tabac before you leave for say €10 and recharge from the US; some allow you to recharge with a credit card...every company has its own policies but I do hear you about having use of a mobile phone upon arrival.

One way around the loss of minutes is to use a callback service I described above where you are billed each month to your credit card account.

xyz123, Thank you again. Your postings have cleared up numerous questions that I had. I am new to this site and will equally provide whatever knowledge I have to assist others. Wonderful info.