UMTS roaming in non-GSM Countries
I may travel to South Korea and Japan in the future. They don't use GSM at all there but when I heard they use UMTS in those two countries, I got excited. I know it's cheaper to get a phone from there locally but I'd actually rather just use my existing phone there for emergencies.
I'm thinking of getting the 8525 which will have all three UMTS bands and I've been trying to get information on whether that phone will be ok for Japan and South Korea.
It looks like Japan is okay but South Korea is kinda iffy. Technically it should work but Cingular would need to have the right agreements in place and I can't find any information stating that they do. Anyone here know anything about that? =T
I'm thinking of getting the 8525 which will have all three UMTS bands and I've been trying to get information on whether that phone will be ok for Japan and South Korea.
It looks like Japan is okay but South Korea is kinda iffy. Technically it should work but Cingular would need to have the right agreements in place and I can't find any information stating that they do. Anyone here know anything about that? =T
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Nope. They will not work. Japan and South Korea use 2100 mhz band and our UMTS phones are 850/1900. You could use your sim card and rent a phone, but, you could not use a Cingular phone.
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whoops. i think i read your post as 8125. sorry. i'll check on that. again, sorry for the incorrect info...
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Actually, South Korea has their own special blend of CDMA, so no non-native phones would work there. You may be able to get the 8525 to work in Japan, but I'm not totally sure. I don't know if the UMTS 2100 can actually be used for voice, but I'd be happy to learn it did.
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Cingular has a roaming rate for Korea listed on their website, so they must have the agreements in place. I know one person with a Nokia e61 (which includes 2100Mhz UMTS) who got a signal in Narita airport, but he didn't actually use the phone.
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Hmm. . . that's odd that they have a rate in place - on the price sheet for international roaming in CSP, there's a big bold note saying MUST HAVE SPECIAL PHONE, and it notes that the frequencies in use in S.K. are in the CDMA 1800 band. Incidentally, the 8525 should work for voice on UMTS 2100, so you should be good for Japan.
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http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/roa_usb3.shtml »
And if you look under South Korea for Cingular roaming partners you see KTF and 3G as their network type.
The thing that will suck though is if Cingular only allows you to roam on the CDMA 1800 network in Korea. =T
http://www.cingular.com/travelguide/coverage/coverag ... »
So I never had any doubt about Japan.
http://www.cingular.com/travelguide/coverage/coverag ... »
But this is the problem. But I know for a fact that South Korea has a UMTS 2100 network there! Does Cingular CHOO...
(continues)
And if you look under South Korea for Cingular roaming partners you see KTF and 3G as their network type.
The thing that will suck though is if Cingular only allows you to roam on the CDMA 1800 network in Korea. =T
http://www.cingular.com/travelguide/coverage/coverag ... »
So I never had any doubt about Japan.
http://www.cingular.com/travelguide/coverage/coverag ... »
But this is the problem. But I know for a fact that South Korea has a UMTS 2100 network there! Does Cingular CHOO...
(continues)
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