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  1. #1
    Frugal Sam
    Guest
    Hello

    I have a Nokia CDMA phone that I currently use with Verizon in USA.

    I will be visiting Brazil in the next couple of weeks, and then Thailand in
    September and would like to have the use of a cell phone while I am in
    those countries.

    My understanding is that I need to get hold of an 'unlocked' quad band cell
    phone and then, when I am in those countries, buy a SIM card from a local
    provider.

    Is this correct ?

    If it is, how can I get hold of an unlockedquad band cell phone ?

    Thanks.



    See More: Travelling from USA to Brazil : Need cell phone




  2. #2
    www.simcard.me.uk
    Guest

    Re: Travelling from USA to Brazil : Need cell phone


    "Frugal Sam" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]...
    > Hello
    >
    > I have a Nokia CDMA phone that I currently use with Verizon in USA.
    >
    > I will be visiting Brazil in the next couple of weeks, and then Thailand
    > in
    > September and would like to have the use of a cell phone while I am in
    > those countries.
    >
    > My understanding is that I need to get hold of an 'unlocked' quad band
    > cell
    > phone and then, when I am in those countries, buy a SIM card from a local
    > provider.
    >
    > Is this correct ?
    >
    > If it is, how can I get hold of an unlockedquad band cell phone ?
    >
    > Thanks.



    Yup you would need a quad or triband unlocked





  3. #3
    snidely
    Guest

    Re: Travelling from USA to Brazil : Need cell phone


    Couple of points:

    1. For a price, Verizon will give you a GSM SIM keyed to your Vz
    number to be used in a GSM phone. I believe they have an arrangement
    w. Vodafone to handle the roaming. (I could be wrong on some of the
    details.)
    2. You could sign up w. a GSM carrier here, Cingular or T-Mobile,
    and roam overseas w. a phone that will operate at 900 and 1800 in
    addition to the 1900 band used here. Roaming rates are high.
    3. You could get a phone that operates on the 900 and 1800 bands and
    buy a prepaid SIM when you land. Disadvantage of that is you wouldn't
    know your phone number til you land. There are a couple companies here
    that will, for a 50 to 100% premium, sell you a prepaid before you
    leave.
    4. If you buy a phone before you leave, make sure it is "unlocked"
    meaning it can accept any SIM from any carrier. A phone that has 1800
    in addition to 900, while not absolutely necessary, would be useful in
    Brazil where they seem to have a lot of 1800 only carriers. They do
    have a few 900 carriers as well. In Thailand, a 900 only phone would
    probably do. You should be able to find either a 900/1800 or more
    likely, a 900/1800/1900 phone for about $50 on Ebay.
    5. You could get a "worldwide" prepaid from Riiing.com or
    hopmobile.com. Hop doesn't work in Brazil but incoming in Thailand is
    about 50 cents and outgoing (like back to U.S.) is about $1.20 cents.
    Hop doesn't have a VM system - but says they are planning on it.
    Riiing claims to have VM, but as I and others have discovered, it is
    useless. I think Riiing is prohibitive for use in Thailand anyway.

    Downside in using these companies (or any prepaid with a "foreign"
    number is the large premium callers will pay to call a cel number
    rather than a foreign land line. Eg. To call a UK landline is about 3
    cents/min. To call a UK mobile is over 25 cents/min. Riiing is in
    Lichtenstein - premium paid by callers ranges from 20 to 50 cents
    depending on the LD carrier. Hop is in Monaco, which is slightly less
    on some carriers.

    ...mike



    Frugal Sam Wrote:
    > Hello
    >
    > I have a Nokia CDMA phone that I currently use with Verizon in USA.
    >
    > I will be visiting Brazil in the next couple of weeks, and then
    > Thailand in
    > September and would like to have the use of a cell phone while I am in
    > those countries.
    >
    > My understanding is that I need to get hold of an 'unlocked' quad band
    > cell
    > phone and then, when I am in those countries, buy a SIM card from a
    > local
    > provider.
    >
    > Is this correct ?
    >
    > If it is, how can I get hold of an unlockedquad band cell phone ?
    >
    > Thanks.



    --
    snidely



  4. #4
    talksense
    Guest

    Re: Travelling from USA to Brazil : Need cell phone

    Yes, you are correct. You need an unlocked quadband(in some cases triband
    will work) GSM phone. You can buy unlocked quadband phones on the internet
    from e-bay or some other websites. I bought mine from www.****.
    To the best of my knowledge, Motorola makes most of the quadband phones. You
    can get any of them online.

    Thanks
    Imran
    http://www.mobileisgood.com

    "Frugal Sam" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]...
    > Hello
    >
    > I have a Nokia CDMA phone that I currently use with Verizon in USA.
    >
    > I will be visiting Brazil in the next couple of weeks, and then Thailand

    in
    > September and would like to have the use of a cell phone while I am in
    > those countries.
    >
    > My understanding is that I need to get hold of an 'unlocked' quad band

    cell
    > phone and then, when I am in those countries, buy a SIM card from a local
    > provider.
    >
    > Is this correct ?
    >
    > If it is, how can I get hold of an unlockedquad band cell phone ?
    >
    > Thanks.






  5. #5
    Stuart Friedman
    Guest

    Re: Travelling from USA to Brazil : Need cell phone

    The 850mhz band is being used in South America and Latin America more
    and more. If this individual travels there with any regularity, it
    might be worth the extra money. Roaming agreements with South American
    GSM providers are all over the map. Sometimes the carrier you can
    roam on does not match the carrier who supports your band.

    For Brazil, you might also want to look at riiing.com. They have fee
    incoming calls in Brazil. The carrier is based out of Lichtenstein,
    but that number can be called on many international phone plans at
    $US0.20 a minute. You can also setup a US call forwarding number to
    ring the riiing sim for $US0.22 (apx) a minute from stanaphone.com




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