? on GSM 800 (850) and International GSM
(This is a cross post from the AT&T forum).
I'm currently a Cingular customer and am now looking at my contract options with AT&T as well as Cingular. My situation is that I travel extensively (U.S. and International). I would dearly love to have just one phone and swap out SIM cards as needed.
As well as my Cingular contract I have service in the U.K. with o2 (GSM 900/1800) and in Australia with Optus (major cities GSM 900/1800 rest of country GSM 900). Of the countries I travel to the most, nearly all have GSM 900/1800 services (the exception being Japan - but that's a whole 'nother ball game anway ;-).
My concern with getting a new phone and service with AT&T or Cingular is the use of the 800(850) band as well as the 1900 band...
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I'm currently a Cingular customer and am now looking at my contract options with AT&T as well as Cingular. My situation is that I travel extensively (U.S. and International). I would dearly love to have just one phone and swap out SIM cards as needed.
As well as my Cingular contract I have service in the U.K. with o2 (GSM 900/1800) and in Australia with Optus (major cities GSM 900/1800 rest of country GSM 900). Of the countries I travel to the most, nearly all have GSM 900/1800 services (the exception being Japan - but that's a whole 'nother ball game anway ;-).
My concern with getting a new phone and service with AT&T or Cingular is the use of the 800(850) band as well as the 1900 band...
(continues)
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grommitt63 said:
(This is a cross post from the AT&T forum).
I'm currently a Cingular customer and am now looking at my contract options with AT&T as well as Cingular. My situation is that I travel extensively (U.S. and International). I would dearly love to have just one phone and swap out SIM cards as needed.
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So if I go wth a 900/1800/1900 phone am I going to face coverage problems in the U.S.? I'm based in Dallas (zip 75220) and mostly travel to major cities (e.g. Los Angeles, Chicago, New York). Or should I really be looking at an 800/1800/1900 phone?
The simple answer is Yes, you'll have coverage problems. Both AT&T and Cingular use BOTH the 800 (850) and 1900 frequencies. The 1...
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OK, so I missed one point. You stated that you'll mostly be traveling to major cities... Check the pdf map link and see if those cities use 850 or 1900, that should point you in the right direction. However, I think the quad-band phones might ultimately be a better choice.
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Thanks for the response. Cool map - it does look like most of the major cities are 800/1900. So in theory I should be o.k. I would go for a quad band phone except a) I don't particularly like the two models I've found and b) they are cost an arm and a leg!!! lol.
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Well, the only quad band phones I could find were the Motorola V400 and V600. I don't particularly like flip phones so that was what first put me off, then when I looked at the cost (with contract committment) it was between $150 and $200. If I have to spend that much and sign a contract for two years then I would expect to get an excellent phone that I will be happy with.
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