Help with new cell phone--"Frequency" choices.
 

I posted this on "Other Topics" but think I'll get a quicker response on this forum! Thank you for any enlightment!
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I am looking at new cell phones and have a question about the "frequency" choices. We currently use our cell phone (which has 900 and 1900 MHt only) when we travel and have used it in China, India, Europe, US, and SA. None of the phones I am looking now has only these 2 frequency options--except in conjunction with additional frequency options. Naturally, the more frequency options, the more expensive the phone. Where in the world do I need these:

850 MHt
900 MHt
1800 MHt
1900 MHt

Thanks!
Jane

Jane....this is a very daunting but simple task.

My buddy gave me a "lesson" on cell phones. His company is a provider of services for the traveller, business or pleasure.

After much discussion, I, along with my parents and sister, dumped Verizon (CDMA) for Cingular. I was a Verizon groupie...and hated Sprint.

I am pleasantly suprised with my local service in the states with Cingular, something I feared since I travel to the VT ski areas and figured I would lose service.

All that being said, Verizon usually offers only dual band phones with analog (analog gets you service in E. Bumble...). Analog is going to be phased out in the next few years (already has begun). Hence, you will be left with a dual band phone.

The dual band frequencies are N.America centric, with a few countries, such as you described, also offering some features and use, though limited.

The tri-band phone is the step up, however, most phones under the GSM (CDMA is verizon...the rest of the world is on GSM) frequencies are now being offered under the "quad band" allowing your phone to be used just about everywhere you can imagine.

The beauty of these phones compared to the dual band, is that the rest of the world is on the other frequencies then the ones you mentioned. So, when travelling to those countries, you have the option of either using your phone on roam, using your phone on intl. service the provider gives you, or popping out your sim card and putting in a pre-paid cheap sim card for the country and/or region you are in (saving you BIG BUCKS).

We are so behind in cell service it is pathetic. In Europe you see people travelling with multiple sim cards and popping them in and out.

Japan and S. Korea are a bit advanced, using 3g software (third generation). Though your quad band phone will work there, you wont get all the services the locals get in those countries. Those two countries are advanced with cells as we are with the internet.

All that being said, I have the Motorola Razor...and I got it after rebate for 83 bucks. I LOVE IT...and now am stress free when I travel....either using Cingular's intl service (both too and from the countries I visit) and sim cards.

I hope that helped.

One last thing...the dual bands we use in the US, and you have used in countries mentioned, is being phased out elsewhere because of tower costs.

Hi Jane,

Many phones nowadays are sold with the 850/1800/1900 frequencies and these are called "domestic tri-band" phones because these frequencies will all get you the best coverage, whether rural or city, in the U.S. Other tri-bands have the 900/1800/1900 frequencies and these are often used by international travelers because these are the frequencies used in other parts of the world. Quad-band phones, which include all of these frequencies can be used for wide coverage both in the U.S. and elsewhere.

The breakdown of frequencies as I understand it is as follows:

850 & 1900 -- Used in North America. The 1900 band is sometimes called PCS.

900 & 1800 -- Used in Europe, Asia, Australia & Brazil.

Allison

Cingular USA: 850/1900
T-Mobile USA: 1900
Everywhere else in the world: 900/1800. [Now, not every mobile network uses both 900 and 1800 at the same time; but since you'll be using your phone at various countries through various network, you basically have to have both to get reliable service.]

Yep...that's the short of it.

Go to cnet.com if you need more research. It helped me as an independant review from what my friend told me.

If I was buying a phone again...I would go quad band. It cost me 30 bucks more...and I have peace of mind knowing the phone can be used everywhere.

I ahve a quad band phone, use Cingular, put myself on and off their "World Traveler" (reduces rate)service when I go abroad and have phone service just about everywhere.

I just didn't want to be bothered getting local SIM cards, changing things, etc.,...IOW lazy and willing to pay for it.

One problematic area remains Japan and Korea but for Europe I have never had a problem and Cingular's CS has been very good.

I have Cingular service and a Motorola V557 phone (quad band). Will I have to do anything to make it work in Ireland when I go this summer? Do I need to call them to 'activate' anything?

Well, depends on where you call. First off, if you are calling locally...go on line and buy yourself a Irish sim card...your local calls will be the local rate.

If you are using it to call home...or dont want to get the sim card....callup and pay 3.99 for the world traveler which gives you a cheaper (80cents or so) a minute rate.

You can pre-buy the sim card so you know your local IRISH number before you leave (giving it to friends and family both here and abroad.

Some of the information in above posts is accurate, some is not. Rather than give you a long-winded answer, let me refer you to http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/index.shtml where you can get country-by-country information on frequencies.

I will probably be calling local Irish as well as my traveling companions (if we get lost) who have US phones.

get a sim card

I for one am very grateful to the question posed and the answers given. Thanks especially to pmgoosed for taking the time to carefully and succinctly explain the situation.

We're getting ready to move (contract is up in May) to Cingular because we can never get service in Mexico through Verizon. Verizon will TELL you that sometimes you can get service, but we've never been able to make a call from Mexico.

Now I know what to look for when I go shopping for the new phone. I'm also glad to know we can have a phone that'll work in the US, Mexico and Europe.

Thanks again!

Thank you SO much, everyone. I now know that my new phone will need it all-- 850/900/1800/1900. I use TMobile which I like a lot--but I think I will take a look at Cingular before committing to a new contract.

The least expensive way to get local calling in a foreign is to have a cell phone that will accept a SIM (subscriber identity module) that you buy in that country) To do this with a phone you get from Cingualr or T-Mobile or on ebay, you will need to have an unlocked" phone. Cingular gave me my "Subsidy Unlock Code" just by calling and asking for it...took about 10 days to receive it from them.

Whe you return you can put you US SIM in your phone and have it back like it is now.

Go to www.prepaidgsm.net to learn about buying a SIM from one of the mobile service providers in the country where you will be traveling.

Alternatively, and at much higher cost per call, you can have your phone activated to work in Europe with your US number (keeping your own SIM in your phone .... cost will be over a dollar/minute though.

If you are getting a new phone, you should also make sure it is EGSM not just GSM. The WIND network in Italy is the lowest cost mobile communication option in Italy but requires an egsm phone. I'm guessing a new Quad band probably will have EGSM capability, but I really don't know about differnt models. There are websites where you can look that stuff up.