Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 16 to 24 of 24
  1. #16
    Jer
    Guest

    Re: Cingular Says I Need A New "GSM" Phone?

    [email protected] wrote:
    > Bill Radio wrote:
    >> Ed,
    >> you have several options, some already discussed. You have about a year
    >> before the old phone stops working.

    > That's nice to know. I have prepaid from BeyondWireless, and they are
    > sending me text messages and E-Mails to get a new GSM phone because my
    > network is going away. Unfortunately, unless Dobson gets some new
    > antennas up it won't help. So I have a year to use up my minutes and
    > go to something else that would work at our cabin, which is probably
    > Verizon analog roaming, if they allow it.
    >



    I've heard unconfirmed rumors that Verizon is also ditching TDMA after 1Q08.

    --
    jer
    email reply - I am not a 'ten'



    See More: Cingular Says I Need A New "GSM" Phone?




  2. #17
    Dave
    Guest

    Re: Cingular Says I Need A New "GSM" Phone?

    Jer wrote:

    > I've heard unconfirmed rumors that Verizon is also ditching TDMA after
    > 1Q08.
    >


    Verizon uses CDMA not TDMA.



  3. #18
    John Navas
    Guest

    Re: Cingular Says I Need A New "GSM" Phone?

    On Thu, 12 Oct 2006 14:23:13 GMT, Dave <[email protected]> wrote in
    <ldsXg.7596$W35.4923@trnddc06>:

    >Jer wrote:
    >
    >> I've heard unconfirmed rumors that Verizon is also ditching TDMA after
    >> 1Q08.

    >
    >Verizon uses CDMA not TDMA.


    I'm guessing he meant AMPS, not TDMA.

    --
    Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
    John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>



  4. #19

    Re: Cingular Says I Need A New "GSM" Phone?


    John Navas wrote:
    > On Thu, 12 Oct 2006 14:23:13 GMT, Dave <[email protected]> wrote in
    > <ldsXg.7596$W35.4923@trnddc06>:
    >
    > >Jer wrote:
    > >
    > >> I've heard unconfirmed rumors that Verizon is also ditching TDMA after
    > >> 1Q08.

    > >
    > >Verizon uses CDMA not TDMA.

    >
    > I'm guessing he meant AMPS, not TDMA.

    Not necessarily. Verizon bought Cellular 2000 of St. Cloud MN, and
    Cellular 2000 had TDMA customers. There was a time Verizon customers
    roamed on Cellular 2000 in analog mode, but not today.

    1Q08 is when Cingular is supposed to shut it down too, I believe.

    The real question is when Verizon will not allow analog roaming
    anymore.

    GSM in rural Ohio is still spotty, let alone rural MN. And I go to
    both places.




  5. #20
    Jim Burks
    Guest

    Re: Cingular Says I Need A New "GSM" Phone?

    "Ed Stasiak" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]...
    >I got a letter from Cingular the other day and it said that
    > they will no longer be supporting my (4+ year old Motorola
    > V60) TDMA/analog cell phone (whatever that is) and I have
    > to get a new GSM cell phone (whatever that is).
    >
    > Now Cingular is offering a "free" Nokia 6030 phone, but the
    > rebate deal states that I have sign-up for a new 2-year contract
    > with them and I have to get a Cingular VISA Rewards Card
    > and I'm not interested in going thru all that BS.


    I got the same letter. I've always liked Cingular, but this
    is going to push me to change.

    I've got a really old plan that's $10/month for no minutes,
    and $10/month for 60 minutes. Most months my mother
    uses about 5-10 minutes.

    Now, the are adding $5/month for TDMA surcharge, and
    TDMA goes away the end of next year.

    EVEN IF I BRING MY OWN GSM PHONE they won't
    move the account from TDMA to GSM without switching
    to a $39.99 or higher plan.

    Guess I'll switch mom to Virgin Mobile. They have a
    pay as you go plan that's effectively $20/quarter, so
    I'll be saving $$. Only downsides are that it's CDMA,
    and on the Sprint network, so coverage is spotty off
    the highways.





  6. #21
    Bill Radio
    Guest

    Re: Cingular Says I Need A New "GSM" Phone?

    Jim,
    If you have a 7-Eleven nearby, check out their SpeakOut phones. They are
    GSM using the Cingular network, and a $25 refill lasts a YEAR. They charge
    $1.25 month, and you need to use the phone once every 120 days, but it's
    cheaper than Virgin, lasts a year, and it appeasr would have better
    coverage. Minutes are .20/min.

    I had nothing but problems with Cingular prepaid, but switching to SpeakOut,
    I get the same network, cheaper rates, no charge for voice mail calls,
    better customer service, and refills last a year. You can manage the
    account online, too! If you use a lot of minutes, T-Mobile is even better.


    Bill Radio
    Click for Wireless Reviews at:
    http://www.mountainwireless.com




    "Jim Burks" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]...
    > Now, the are adding $5/month for TDMA surcharge, and
    > TDMA goes away the end of next year.
    >
    > EVEN IF I BRING MY OWN GSM PHONE they won't
    > move the account from TDMA to GSM without switching
    > to a $39.99 or higher plan.
    >
    > Guess I'll switch mom to Virgin Mobile. They have a
    > pay as you go plan that's effectively $20/quarter, so
    > I'll be saving $$. Only downsides are that it's CDMA,
    > and on the Sprint network, so coverage is spotty off
    > the highways.
    >






  7. #22
    Paul
    Guest

    Re: Cingular Says I Need A New "GSM" Phone?


    >EVEN IF I BRING MY OWN GSM PHONE they won't
    >move the account from TDMA to GSM without switching
    >to a $39.99 or higher plan.
    >
    >Guess I'll switch mom to Virgin Mobile. They have a
    >pay as you go plan that's effectively $20/quarter, so
    >I'll be saving $$. Only downsides are that it's CDMA,
    >and on the Sprint network, so coverage is spotty off
    >the highways.


    FWIW, I just went through that same process. Went round and round
    both on the phone and in an inependent Cingular store. Got all sorts
    of unsatisfactory answers.... the best I was offered was a two year
    contract and either $29/month for 200 rollover minutes or $39/month
    for the standard plan. I had the old Nation 250 for $29/month and
    wanted to keep it. Per everyone at Cingular, no way. I tried
    everything... reminding them that there were other carriers out there
    and the like. The guy at the store told me my best bet was to keep my
    current plan and phone and use it until it stopped.... said it was the
    best deal I could get, even with the $5 TDMA surcharge.

    Finally I tried talking to a "supervisor" on the phone one last time
    and they transferred me to the "activations" department. After
    explaining that I was a customer, not a dealer I spoke to someone who
    actually did the activations and she said..... "NO PROBLEM. Go to any
    Cingular store and you can keep your plan, sign a new 2 year contract
    and get a discount on a phone". So I did and I did. Got a Razr for
    $99 after rebate and still have my $29 Free Nation 250 plan. It was
    dead easy in fact. I have no idea whatsoever why it was so hard up to
    that point though. Cingular really needs to get its act together.
    They almost lost me.

    In retrospect, I have to say that I might have been better with the
    "Pick your plan" plan for $29/month and 200 minutes that roll over.
    Basically, from what I can determine, you pay $29/month into your
    account. They bill minutes at $0.15/minute and other services like
    data are also billed at whatever rate applies. Unused money rolls to
    the next month up to a max of something like $500. In the long run I
    think it is a better deal because it includes data.... my current plan
    does not. The only down side is that on my Nation plan, voicemail
    retrieval calls are billed as one minute regardless of duration. On
    the other plans they are billed per minute.

    Paul



  8. #23
    Paul Hovnanian P.E.
    Guest

    Re: Cingular Says I Need A New "GSM" Phone?

    [email protected] wrote:
    >
    > John Navas wrote:
    > > On Thu, 12 Oct 2006 14:23:13 GMT, Dave <[email protected]> wrote in
    > > <ldsXg.7596$W35.4923@trnddc06>:
    > >
    > > >Jer wrote:
    > > >
    > > >> I've heard unconfirmed rumors that Verizon is also ditching TDMA after
    > > >> 1Q08.
    > > >
    > > >Verizon uses CDMA not TDMA.

    > >
    > > I'm guessing he meant AMPS, not TDMA.

    > Not necessarily. Verizon bought Cellular 2000 of St. Cloud MN, and
    > Cellular 2000 had TDMA customers. There was a time Verizon customers
    > roamed on Cellular 2000 in analog mode, but not today.
    >
    > 1Q08 is when Cingular is supposed to shut it down too, I believe.
    >
    > The real question is when Verizon will not allow analog roaming
    > anymore.
    >
    > GSM in rural Ohio is still spotty, let alone rural MN. And I go to
    > both places.


    I keep hearing about the inevitable shutdown of AMPS/TDMA systems. It
    got me wondering about some of the non-voice mobile services that these
    systems support. For example, GMs OnStar, which has been around since
    the late '90s, is based on the cellular networks in operation at that
    time. Undoubtedly, the newer OnStar systems use the current cellular
    protocols, but I just don't see the older customers bringing their
    Caddilacs in to the local Cingular store for an upgrade.

    Worse yet, there are quite a few utilities that bought into remote meter
    reading systems based on the cellular networks in existence back in the
    mid-90s. I'm not sure what the contract terms are between the utilities
    and the network operators. But I don't see the remote metering equipment
    being upgraded and I don't see anyone making plans to do so.

    Many other cellular-based telemetry systems were sold to various
    industries back in the old days and I just haven't seen much of it being
    upgraded. I'm wondering if the analog systems are really going dark, or
    if the network operators are just trying to throw consumers off of them.

    --
    Paul Hovnanian mailto:[email protected]
    ------------------------------------------------------------------
    Big business never pays a nickel in taxes, according to Ralph Nader, who
    represents a big consumer organization that never pays a nickel in
    taxes.
    -- Dave Barry



  9. #24
    SMS
    Guest

    Re: Cingular Says I Need A New "GSM" Phone?

    Jim Burks wrote:

    > Guess I'll switch mom to Virgin Mobile. They have a
    > pay as you go plan that's effectively $20/quarter, so
    > I'll be saving $$. Only downsides are that it's CDMA,
    > and on the Sprint network, so coverage is spotty off
    > the highways.


    Pageplus is a better option than Sprint. They use the Verizon network,
    and unlike Virgin, allow roaming onto other CDMA and AMPS networks (at
    extra cost). As long as most of the time she'll be in a Verizon area,
    it's the best prepaid choice in terms of both price and coverage. Much
    less $ per quarter as well, $10 every 120 days, so it'll be $30/year,
    $7.50 per quarter.

    PagePlus coverage is essentially equal to Verizon's InPulse service, and
    is far better than T-Mobile, Cingular, or Sprint coverage.

    On the minimum card value, it's $10 for 80 minutes, and there is a 50¢
    per month charge, so it works out to about 14¢ per minute on the $10
    card. Higher value cards give you more minutes per $. I wish that they'd
    offer a one year, $100 card, because it'd be less hassle than adding
    money three times a year.

    You can use any Verizon CDMA phone, even older non-E-911 phones, and
    even an InPulse phone that you buy new.



  • Similar Threads




  • Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12