Upgrade Phone without Change Plan. Former AT&T WS User.

I have a $29.95 plan with Cingula. The plan was carried over when
Cingular acquired AT&T wireless business. I was considering updating my
old Motorola V120T to a color foldable phone. I bought a Samsung X427
from Ebay for $25. I took the phone to a local Cingular office. To my
surprise the guy told me that I have to switch to their newer plan
which costs at least $39.95 per month. The phone I bought (X427) does
not compatible with the plan I have. He also told me that I could not
change to any newer style phone if I don't want to change plan. After
some research on the net I found that the two phones use different
protocols. Is there a newer style phone I can switch to but still keep
the current plan?

Btw. I do like the current $29.95 plan which gives me 300 minutes plus
unlimited night and weekend time.

Thanks,
Dave

---

› See More: Upgrade Phone without Change Plan. Former AT&T WS User.

Is it possible to upgrade to a newer model TDMA phone without change
plan? If yes where can I buy it? Who can activate for me?

Thanks,
Dave.

>
> Dave,
>
> Your old phone used TDMA. Your new phone uses GSM. This problem has been
> discussed before. If you like Cingular then change plans.
>
> Your other alternative is to change carriers. T-Mobile will fire up your
> new phone right now. They even might be cheaper than Cingular.
>
> Good luck.

Thank you for the suggestion. Can I upgrade to a newer model TDMA phone
without change plan? If yes what kind of phone should I buy and who can
activate for me?

Dave

>
> Dave,
>
> Your old phone used TDMA. Your new phone uses GSM. This problem has been
> discussed before. If you like Cingular then change plans.
>
> Your other alternative is to change carriers. T-Mobile will fire up your
> new phone right now. They even might be cheaper than Cingular.
>
> Good luck.

No.

Fred

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Thank you for the suggestion. Can I upgrade to a newer model TDMA phone
> without change plan? If yes what kind of phone should I buy and who can
> activate for me?
>
> Dave
>
>>
>> Dave,
>>
>> Your old phone used TDMA. Your new phone uses GSM. This problem has been
>> discussed before. If you like Cingular then change plans.
>>
>> Your other alternative is to change carriers. T-Mobile will fire up your
>> new phone right now. They even might be cheaper than Cingular.
>>
>> Good luck.
>

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
says...
> Now you know why a lot of AT&T folks are angry. Your options are limited.
> You can't activate a TDMA phone anymore. That infrastructure is slowly

You can't activate a NEW TDMA account anymore and maybe can't *add* a
phone to an existing TDMA account but can someone verify you can't buy a
TDMA phone off eBay and call and replace/swap the for an existing phone.
They haven't taken out the ability to change esn's since just last week
a friend had a TDMA phone replaced under warrenty (original Cingular)
and there was nothing unusual about it--everything done at the store
terminal just like always.
--
Jud
Dallas TX USA

On 22 Jul 2006 14:49:44 -0700, [email protected] wrote in
<[email protected]>:

>Is it possible to upgrade to a newer model TDMA phone without change
>plan? If yes where can I buy it? Who can activate for me?

TDMA is being phased out.
--
Best regards, SEE THE FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS AT
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>

[email protected] wrote:
> I have a $29.95 plan with Cingula. The plan was carried over when
> Cingular acquired AT&T wireless business. I was considering updating my
> old Motorola V120T to a color foldable phone. I bought a Samsung X427
> from Ebay for $25. I took the phone to a local Cingular office. To my
> surprise the guy told me that I have to switch to their newer plan
> which costs at least $39.95 per month. The phone I bought (X427) does
> not compatible with the plan I have. He also told me that I could not
> change to any newer style phone if I don't want to change plan. After
> some research on the net I found that the two phones use different
> protocols. Is there a newer style phone I can switch to but still keep
> the current plan?
>
> Btw. I do like the current $29.95 plan which gives me 300 minutes plus
> unlimited night and weekend time.

Forget it. You have to change to a new phone, not on TDMA. Even if you
kept your phone and plan, Cingular is starting to charge a surcharge to
TDMA users of $5 per month, so the $29.95 plan will be history.

There are no $30/month plans anymore that are as good as what you had.
T-Mobile has a $30/month plan, but with no nights and weekends.

You might check to see if your employer has any discount plans with any
carrier.

In alt.cellular.cingular [email protected] wrote:
> Dave,
>
> Your old phone used TDMA. Your new phone uses GSM. This problem has been
> discussed before. If you like Cingular then change plans.
>
> Your other alternative is to change carriers. T-Mobile will fire up your
> new phone right now. They even might be cheaper than Cingular.
>

T-Mobile offers 300 minutes for $29.95 as well. However, you will have to
"sign" a contract. Personally, if you like Cingular, I would consider the
upgrade and stay with the company you know.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:

> T-Mobile offers 300 minutes for $29.95 as well.

But not with unlimited N&W.

In alt.cellular.cingular SMS <[email protected]> wrote:
> Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:
>
>> T-Mobile offers 300 minutes for $29.95 as well.
>
> But not with unlimited N&W.

True ... plans are more expensive than they used to be. Less overall coverage
with the elimination of AMPS as well. What an excellent deal for America.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:
> In alt.cellular.cingular SMS <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:
>>
>>> T-Mobile offers 300 minutes for $29.95 as well.
>> But not with unlimited N&W.
>
> True ... plans are more expensive than they used to be. Less overall coverage
> with the elimination of AMPS as well. What an excellent deal for America.

I was up in a part of the Bay Area with only AMPS coverage yesterday,
Skyline Boulevard between highway 9 and highway 84. I'm wondering if
Verizon will really turn off all of the AMPS coverage when they are
allowed to do so. This area had call boxes, which are on the AMPS
system, and they are in an area where it would be very expensive to add
enough towers to provide digital service.

In alt.cellular.cingular SMS <[email protected]> wrote:
> Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:
>> In alt.cellular.cingular SMS <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:
>>>
>>>> T-Mobile offers 300 minutes for $29.95 as well.
>>> But not with unlimited N&W.
>>
>> True ... plans are more expensive than they used to be. Less overall coverage
>> with the elimination of AMPS as well. What an excellent deal for America.
>
> I was up in a part of the Bay Area with only AMPS coverage yesterday,
> Skyline Boulevard between highway 9 and highway 84. I'm wondering if
> Verizon will really turn off all of the AMPS coverage when they are
> allowed to do so. This area had call boxes, which are on the AMPS
> system, and they are in an area where it would be very expensive to add
> enough towers to provide digital service.

Unless they plan to break agreements that they have made with the likes of
OnStar or with security companies like Tyco (ADT), which uses analog backup, I
tend to doubt it will go out anywhere soon. They might make deals between
carriers so that at least a minimal amount of spectrum is dedicated to AMPS,
but no one carrier has to bear the entire burden.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

On Mon, 24 Jul 2006 11:45:12 -0700, SMS <[email protected]>
wrote in <[email protected]>:

>Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:
>> In alt.cellular.cingular SMS <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:
>>>
>>>> T-Mobile offers 300 minutes for $29.95 as well.
>>> But not with unlimited N&W.
>>
>> True ... plans are more expensive than they used to be. Less overall coverage
>> with the elimination of AMPS as well. What an excellent deal for America.
>
>I was up in a part of the Bay Area with only AMPS coverage yesterday,
>Skyline Boulevard between highway 9 and highway 84. I'm wondering if
>Verizon will really turn off all of the AMPS coverage when they are
>allowed to do so. This area had call boxes, which are on the AMPS
>system, and they are in an area where it would be very expensive to add
>enough towers to provide digital service.

You used to claim that Verizon had digital coverage in that area.

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

On Mon, 24 Jul 2006 13:52:51 -0500, "Thomas T. Veldhouse"
<[email protected]> wrote in
<[email protected]>:

>In alt.cellular.cingular SMS <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:
>>> In alt.cellular.cingular SMS <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>> Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> T-Mobile offers 300 minutes for $29.95 as well.
>>>> But not with unlimited N&W.
>>>
>>> True ... plans are more expensive than they used to be. Less overall coverage
>>> with the elimination of AMPS as well. What an excellent deal for America.
>>
>> I was up in a part of the Bay Area with only AMPS coverage yesterday,
>> Skyline Boulevard between highway 9 and highway 84. I'm wondering if
>> Verizon will really turn off all of the AMPS coverage when they are
>> allowed to do so. This area had call boxes, which are on the AMPS
>> system, and they are in an area where it would be very expensive to add
>> enough towers to provide digital service.
>
>Unless they plan to break agreements that they have made with the likes of
>OnStar or with security companies like Tyco (ADT), which uses analog backup, I
>tend to doubt it will go out anywhere soon. They might make deals between
>carriers so that at least a minimal amount of spectrum is dedicated to AMPS,
>but no one carrier has to bear the entire burden.

OnStar is already going digital, and thus won't be a factor. I doubt
that any others will be significant factors either. My bet is that AMPS
will go away rapidly after the mandate expires. Spectrum is scarce and
expensive, and AMPS demand is already very low, so carriers have a
strong incentive to rapidly redeploy the spectrum.

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

In alt.cellular.cingular John Navas <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> OnStar is already going digital, and thus won't be a factor. I doubt
> that any others will be significant factors either. My bet is that AMPS
> will go away rapidly after the mandate expires. Spectrum is scarce and
> expensive, and AMPS demand is already very low, so carriers have a
> strong incentive to rapidly redeploy the spectrum.
>

Yes, OnStar is going digital ... but there are MANY AMPS only deployments.
Verizon Wireless gets the business on newer deployments ;-)

Also, as I indicated, there are agreements with various consumers of AMPS,
that I suspect go beyond 2008 [which is the end of the AMPS mandate if I am
not mistaken]. Vast areas of Northern MN, WI, MI and others are ONLY coverred
by AMPS. Further, they are covered by mostly independent tower operators or
smaller regional players [i.e Cellular One]. As long as they receive roaming
revenue from existing infrastructure, I am not sure that these rural operators
will benefit from going digital as that would require multipe towers where
there once was one and promise no significant return on investment. What may
finally get these to go will be the lack of handsets that even have AMPS
capability.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1