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> Getting a mobile in the USA, please help!
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Hi, I currently live in the UK and I am moving on Saturday to New York for a year for work reasons. I am very confused over what kind of service I can get over there so I was wondering if someone from America could help me out. I have a
T68i which I know works on some US networks so what I'm interested in is since I doubt that they will be willing to offer a foreigner who has just arrived a contract, which networks have a pay as you go service that I can buy and use with my T68i in NYC? What are the costs for these packages like?
Thanks for any help!
regards, Dimtiri
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Posted: 2002-12-04 23:32:00
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Your best bet would be T-mobile. They are the only exclusively GSM providers in the US. Their coverage is growing by the day too. Here is their current coverage map:
Besides T-mobile your other options are AT&T GSM or Cingular GSM, but both of these companies have TDMA in most of the regions and very limited GSM coverage.
Here is AT&T's GSM map:
Also note that AT&T does not offer a prepaid plan for their GSM service plans only for their TDMA (at least this is what I got out of their website)
Here is Cingular's coverage:
Just FYI, prepaid in the US is completely different than in Europe. Since incoming minutes are paid by the recepient as well as outgoing calls prepaid cards don't work like in Europe where you can keep the card for pretty much eternity without hardly ever making a call. Here most prepaid cards expire in about 60 days, so two months. After that you'd need to refill to keep your number.
Also, prepaid is more expensive than post pay since T-mobile charges about $50 for 100 minutes for 60 days, while you can get 300 minutes + 300 SMS or 1MB WAP for $30 a month on a post pay service. Also note that post pay accounts requre a 1 or 2 year contract even if you bring your own phone.
Good luck with your choice!
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Posted: 2002-12-05 05:20:00
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Prepaid certainly sucks in the U.S. And from what I understand NYC has pretty bad coverage on any type of mobile.
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Posted: 2002-12-05 07:05:00
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i believe you can still sign up with a post-paid plan with any GSM networks even if you're a foreigner, if you will give them a $200 deposit or something like that.
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Posted: 2002-12-12 06:15:00
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Waddie,
Nope, I tried that out with T-Mobile, they said No.
Gosh! Did I said T-Mobile? Yeah, I'm from Europe...
It was VoiceStream of corse
_________________
Sony Ericsson T68i faceplates (Original OEM) for sale @ ONLY $35/piece.
shima_gd@yahoo.com[ This Message was edited by: Shima on 2002-12-17 22:26 ]
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Posted: 2002-12-17 23:25:00
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If u're still unsure, check out their websites:
www.t-mobile.com or
www.cingular.com . I'm not a big fan of at&t (I have Cingular), but I do know that you can get a clear reception underground in San Francisco's subway system--don't know if that's the case in NYC. Folks say that T-Mobile is better than Cingular, but FYI--Cingular and T-Mobile are one in the same (a friend that works for Cingular gave me the info). If you check the coverage area maps for the 2, their very simular. Good luck!
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Posted: 2002-12-31 00:58:00
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