Cellphone in Mexico

I'm going to Ensenada, Baja California Norte, Mexico for a couple of
days next weekend and I'm confused by the information I'm reading about
cellphone usage in Mexico.

My cell is Motorola C139 which is a dualmode GSM and my service is
TracFone. I'm reading webpages advertising Mexican SIMS and I'm reading
TracFone's webpage about US-only coverage and about TracFone access to
worldwide international numbers and I'm finding the information
conflicting so I'm looking for some help to straighten me out.

I think I can call a Mexican telephone when I'm in the US by using the
TracFone international number. I could also call a Mexican telephone
with my cell when I'm in the US by accessing my longdistance carrier,
but there would be no advantage in that over tracfone's international
which is no additional charge.

But I think that my problem is that if I am /in/ Mexico I can't call a
US landline or a US cellphone telno, whether it is in Mexico or the US
because my TracFone carrier doesn't have coverage cell arrangements in
Mexico, and I wouldn't be able to use the TracFone international number
to call a Mexican phone if I'm in Mexico because of the same TracFone
cell deficiency. Is that true? This is confusing because I'm reading
in the wiki that TracFone uses the wireless networks of numerous 30 or
so different providers such as AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile
Alltel, and US Cellular.

Do people actually buy overpriced SIMS to use in Mexico and how well
does that work with the Motorola C139? The other thing I see is ads to
rent a cellphone that works in Mexico for $19 but an outrageous
replacement fee if you lose it.

I'm also reading this in the wiki and I don't know what it means: "The
International Neighbors plan allows Tracfone customers to obtain up to
three local telephone numbers in any of several Canadian or Mexican
cities. These are forwarded to the Tracfone customer in the United
States at the standard rates."


--
Mike Easter

---

› See More: Cellphone in Mexico

Mike S. wrote:
> Mike Easter
>> I'm going to Ensenada, Baja California Norte, Mexico for a couple of
>> days next weekend and I'm confused by the information I'm reading
>> about cellphone usage in Mexico.
>
> [snip]
>
>> But I think that my problem is that if I am /in/ Mexico I can't call
>> a US landline or a US cellphone telno, whether it is in Mexico or
>> the US because my TracFone carrier doesn't have coverage cell
>> arrangements in Mexico, and I wouldn't be able to use the TracFone
>> international number to call a Mexican phone if I'm in Mexico
>> because of the same TracFone cell deficiency. Is that true? This
>> is confusing because I'm reading in the wiki that TracFone uses the
>> wireless networks of numerous 30 or so different providers such as
>> AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile Alltel, and US Cellular.
>
> If Tracfone does not have international roaming arrangements, then you
> can't use your Tracfone SIM/handset in Mexico, period.

TracFone's website states pretty emphatically that their coverage area
is limited to the US (99% of it, the largest digital coverage area in
the US)

.... but people say they use their TracFones in Mexico. Here's one:
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-7817_102...sageID=2631550
11/15/07 I just got back from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where I found my
cell phone worked and cost no more than the regular rate. I could call
other phones in PV and also call the USA, same rate. My cell phone
service is Tracfone,



--
Mike Easter

"Mike Easter" <[email protected]> wrote in news:13mr7gkmbq6snf8
@corp.supernews.com:

> I'm going to Ensenada, Baja California Norte, Mexico for a
couple of
> days next weekend and I'm confused by the information I'm
reading about
> cellphone usage in Mexico.
>

Let's forget all about using the SELLphone to call across
borders, the most expensive communications on the planet not
involving your own satellites, and try to use the SELLphone in
Mexico to call a LOCAL access number of a cheap carrier, like
Mobivox for instance I'll use here. You pay for airtime to call
the local number off the SIM, same as if you were calling the
house across the street, or at least a house somewhere near you.
Then, the carrier, like Mobivox, handles the call across the
border for US1.9c/min off your pre-charged $10 account you can
use after you leave Mexico...or go back later....or to call
Mexico for 1.9c from home.

Let's look at:
http://www.mobivox.com/countries/
in my example. Click on Mexico and you'll find local numbers in
16 Mexican areas that will put you in touch with Mobivox. A
girly computer voice answers it. If the computer doesn't
recognize your caller ID because you're using a Mexican number,
you can input your account username/password by voice and she'll
look you up. If the person you are calling is also a Mobivox
customer, you pay NOTHING TO CALL HIM. If he is on Skype, you
call him on Skype and pay NOTHING TO CALL HIM. Talk forever for
free, minus the Mexican airtime, of course. If you call a number
in the USA mobile or landline, it's 1.9c/min, MUCH cheaper than
ANY SELLphone call over that border! Paying SELLphone rates is
CRAZY!

The smart ones will make their SELLphone one Mobivox account,
their home phone/wife's SELLphone/office phone other accounts, to
take advantage of the FREE calls to other Mobivox customers. You
do NOT need to charge up these free accounts unless these
accounts are going to make outgoing calls over Mobivox to other
phones that are not Skypers or Mobivox customers. Incoming calls
only need an account, empty is fine....reducing your LD cost from
Mexico to Peoria to ZERO! NOBODY beats Zero price! If you have
to call a customer or other numbers, 1.9c/min isn't
bad....ESPECIALLY compared to the SELLphone rates!

Check it out...www.mobivox.com. Works great, even to Skypers!


Larry
--
QUOTE OF THE MONTH:
"I have been to several major Chinese cities and have seen first
hand shops crammed with obviously fake American products." - Jon
Dudas, Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property
Rights.

How can they be fake? The Chinese make all "American Products" I
use!

On 2007-12-23, Mike Easter <[email protected]> wrote:
> TracFone's website states pretty emphatically that their coverage area
> is limited to the US (99% of it, the largest digital coverage area in
> the US)
>
> ... but people say they use their TracFones in Mexico. Here's one:
> http://forums.cnet.com/5208-7817_102...sageID=2631550
> 11/15/07 I just got back from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where I found my
> cell phone worked and cost no more than the regular rate. I could call
> other phones in PV and also call the USA, same rate. My cell phone
> service is Tracfone,

You might want to try to figure out which kind of Tracfone they are
talking about, a GSM model or a CDMA model.

All the reasonably priced US-phone-roaming-in-Mexico plans I've seen
have been with the CDMA operator in Mexico, so my first guess would
be that if any Tracfone works in Mexico it would be the CDMA version.

If a GSM Tracfone really does work in Mexico at US rates I'd be
very interested in knowing that since the Mexican GSM operators
have significantly better coverage than the CDMA carrier.

Dennis Ferguson