Nokia 3100 World Phone - will it work in France?
 

I know, I know, it's been debated to death but I'm still confused about this particular phone. It says that it "Operates on 850/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS Networks." Can I do without the 900 MHz frequency if I have the 1800?

I have a very cheap plan with Cingular ($15 mo. for 15 minutes with rollover) that suits me fine since I use my phone here very infrequently. My understanding is that they don't even offer that plan anymore but will let me keep it if I renew before my contract expires on 5/22. Other than the Nokia mentioned above the only other phone they have that would work in Europe is a Motorola V400 Camera phone (quad-band)that is a lot more expensive and has more bells and whistles than I need or want.

I'll be using the phone here and in France only so I was hoping to buy a French SIM card there. Don't know if the Nokia comes unlocked but I have found an internet site that says they will unlock it for $5.00. I'll be traveling with several other people in 2 cars so I want to buy a second prepaid phone there so we can keep in touch. Would I be better off to just buy a simple phone to use here and then 2 French phones when I get there?

Anyone had experience with using the Nokia 3100 in Europe (France, in particular)? TIA

From what I can find on T-mobile USA's site, Orange (which is France Telecom' mobile service) only uses 900 in France. So, you shouldn't buy a SIM card that uses their service.

Bouygues is 1800, and SFR Cegetel uses both 900 and 1800. You may want to do some more search on this topic.

Nokia3100 works in 900 and 1800 MHz GSM networks.
In France and in most countries of civilized world, both networks overlap. Even if, by some reason, only one of these frequencies is available, Nokia 3100 is still able to work fine.
Try to learn to use SMS (short message system) up to 160 characters. You will find it an incredibly easy and cost efective way to communicate between 2 groups.

Thanks, rkkwan & lobo_mau. Any other experiences or suggestions?

Lobo_mau that is actually incorrect... (I thought that myself before)
Since that specific model is bought in the US and is a triband phone it uses 850/1800/1900. A Nokia 3100 bought in Europe would be a European triband and would then use 900/1800/1900. This is simpler with the SonyEricsson models sine the US models has slightly different names, the European T610 is known as T616 in the US f. inst.

As rkkwan said check that the provider you will be buying a SIM from used the 1800 band, but as he said most decent providers uses both and you will seamlessly overlap unless you have an american triband. If you expect to be a lot in Europe a cheap dualband phone might give you better coverage, and be a better long-term solution. But if only for a week or two I would use a 1800Mhz or 900/1800Mhz provider.

Cobos

I just realized that I left out some important information. The phone I have now is a Siemens S40 which worked fine for about 18 months, but lately will not hold a charge. I have replaced the battery and tried everything I can think of but it just won't stay charged for more than about 3-4 hours. So I need a new phone for US use as well as use in France.

Cobos, if I understand you correctly, the Nokia should work fine here and in France as long as I use a SIM card from a French company that uses the 1800 MHz frequency. And if rkkwan is correct, that would be Bouygues or maybe SFR rather than Orange. Right?

I'll be in France for about 3 weeks this trip and hope to go back at least once a year for the next few years.

That is correct, but the only problem is that at least in Norway mostly every provider uses BOTH 900 and 1800Mhz because there usually isn't enough "room" on just one band so if your phone only covers 1800 and not 900 (as an americanbought GSM phone will) you will get a worse reception in some places and might even be without coverage in some parts... The exact details on coverage I do not know for France. Hence my idea that buying a cheap European dualband (900&1800) might be a good idea to ensure better coverage... But if you are mostly staying in bigger cities I doubt it will be a problem...

Cobos

I don't know the Nokia model but chances are if it is sold by Cingular, it is tri band 850/1800/1900 and will not work in many areas of Europe where there are carriers who use only 900. It is not the model #...the same phone, sold in Europe would have a different model number.

I would opt for a cheap unlocked dual band for use in Europe. This is one of the results of the US refusing to embrace globzlization some years ago when it was decided throughout the world which frequencies to use for GSM phones. European countries opted for 900/1800 while for a variety of reasons, the US (and of course Canada) would not do so (or could not do so as the case may be). Now T mobile operates exclusively on 1900 so for the most part when they sell tri bands, they sell 900/1800/1900 which is much more useful than the fact that both Cingular and AT&T WS (soon to be one big happy family) have decided to use both 850 and 1900 which means their customers are sold phones made specifically for the American market (850/1800/1900) with the resulting problems discussed above.

Incidentally on a side note, there are web sites that unlock Nokia phones for free. As a matter of fact, the DT-4 calculator needed to unlock Nokia phones is available on the web site. You insert the IMEI number, the carrier and the unlock code is generated for youy.