Mobile in the States

Mu daughter is about to go off to Uni in America for 10 months, and is
thinking about a mobile phone when she's there. She currently has a contract
phone.

Is she better 1) buying a PAYG phone here, then buying an American SIM
2)waiting till she gets there
3)Keep the contract phone and roam
4) Something else???

She anticipates making some calls back to UK, some within USA and quite a
lot of texts.

TIA

"Slightly Sheepish" <slightly_sheepish@thesheepblueyonder.co.uk> wrote in
message news:8qs0g.54271$wl.7114@text.news.blueyonder.co.u k...
> Mu daughter is about to go off to Uni in America for 10 months, and is
> thinking about a mobile phone when she's there. She currently has a
> contract phone.
>
> Is she better 1) buying a PAYG phone here, then buying an American SIM
> 2)waiting till she gets there
> 3)Keep the contract phone and roam
> 4) Something else???
>
> She anticipates making some calls back to UK, some within USA and quite a
> lot of texts.
>
> TIA
>
>

If she has her phone unlocked u can by a pre pay sim before you go so you
know the number before you get there. Also you could buy a USA pre pay phone
before you go which would be better if your going be there for some time as
this would come with a USA charger.
Would work out cheaper to buy when you get there but buts out lot messing
aorund buying before you go tho.


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Slightly Sheepish wrote:
> Is she better 1) buying a PAYG phone here, then buying an American SIM
> 2)waiting till she gets there
> 3)Keep the contract phone and roam
> 4) Something else???
>
In the USA, different frequency bands are used - 1900 and 850 vs our
1800 and 900.

So the first question is would her present phone work over there if
unlocked. A triband here adds 1900, so that would be ok. On the other
hand, I'd say if she is tempted to get a new phone anyway, leave it
until getting there.

Certainly don't roam though - get a local SIM card - it's the
difference between calls at 10 to 14 cents and about a quid.

Over there, incoming calls are charged as well, but cellphones cost the
same to call as landlines

Info on networks at http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/usa.html

"andy" <andy.ggrps@googlemail.com> wrote in message
news:1145214063.449220.325050@j33g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
>
> Slightly Sheepish wrote:
>> Is she better 1) buying a PAYG phone here, then buying an American SIM
>> 2)waiting till she gets there
>> 3)Keep the contract phone and roam
>> 4) Something else???
>>
> In the USA, different frequency bands are used - 1900 and 850 vs our
> 1800 and 900.
>
> So the first question is would her present phone work over there if
> unlocked. A triband here adds 1900, so that would be ok. On the other
> hand, I'd say if she is tempted to get a new phone anyway, leave it
> until getting there.
>
> Certainly don't roam though - get a local SIM card - it's the
> difference between calls at 10 to 14 cents and about a quid.
>
> Over there, incoming calls are charged as well, but cellphones cost the
> same to call as landlines
>
> Info on networks at http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/usa.html
>

Thanks - her phone is triband, so I think it will be a matter of oes.buying
a SIM - perhaps before she g

I think a tmobile USA prepaid sim is her best option. It's 10 cents and
25 cents per SMS and MMS respectively to any where in the world. And
it's free to receive both (Unlike over there, free incoming SMS and MMS
is rare here). Also, they are the easiest to get. She can an already
activated and loaded with about 150 minutes minutes on ebay for about
$10 and have it shipped to her. Shipping within US would be free. If
she adds $100 topup she will automatically get 1 year expiration and
become a "gold rewards" user . Buying on ebay will also let her know
the number and give it out before leaving. She can change the area code
if she wants, but there is no need, because long distance within the 48
states is already included. It also includes free (limited) tzones.

Please visit tmobile USA's website for more details.


--
mrcamp