PAYG for USA
in [UK Mobile]
|
Prev: Vodafone EDGE
Next: Lebara PAYG Sim v.v. Lyca PAYG Sim
From: mrcamp on 6 Jan 2010 18:52 Very good infor already. Tmobile is plentiful and dirt cheap on ebay. If you do not have the time, you can certainly get a sim/phone package at walmart, bestbuy, target, etc. for about $20. Yes, withtmobile and probably AT&T you can choose whatever areacode you want. It will make it cheaper for those calling you from a local landline. However, all mobiles and most landlines in the US have nationwide calling. So calling anywhere in the US costs the same. 'J B[_2_ Wrote: > ;814455']"Lobster" davidlobsterpot601(a)hotmail.com wrote in message > news:mUP0n.783$Sl1.738(a)newsfe09.ams2...- > > I did just the same - bought two of them from the same ebay seller. > Worked > really well - anything's better than UK roaming in the US. IIRC you > need > to be careful that the SIMs will still be valid to activate for the > duration of your stay (and you can't activate them till you get out > there) > so pick your seller carefully. > > Also I think you could pick your own area code when registering them, > so > you can save money by choosing the area code of where you are > staying?- > > I concur with all the above. > I had an AT&T one and a tri band phone for use in central Florida. > > > -- > J B -- mrcamp
From: Lobster on 7 Jan 2010 07:10 mrcamp wrote: > Very good infor already. Tmobile is plentiful and dirt cheap on ebay. If > you do not have the time, you can certainly get a sim/phone package at > walmart, bestbuy, target, etc. for about $20. Yes, withtmobile and > probably AT&T you can choose whatever areacode you want. It will make > it cheaper for those calling you from a local landline. However, all > mobiles and most landlines in the US have nationwide calling. So > calling anywhere in the US costs the same. I thought local calls in the US were always free? > > 'J B[_2_ Wrote: >> ;814455']"Lobster" davidlobsterpot601(a)hotmail.com wrote in message >> news:mUP0n.783$Sl1.738(a)newsfe09.ams2...- >> >> I did just the same - bought two of them from the same ebay seller. >> Worked >> really well - anything's better than UK roaming in the US. IIRC you >> need >> to be careful that the SIMs will still be valid to activate for the >> duration of your stay (and you can't activate them till you get out >> there) >> so pick your seller carefully. >> >> Also I think you could pick your own area code when registering them, >> so >> you can save money by choosing the area code of where you are >> staying?- >> >> I concur with all the above. >> I had an AT&T one and a tri band phone for use in central Florida. >> >> >> -- >> J B > > > >
From: mrcamp on 7 Jan 2010 09:00 NO. Local calls cost for both incoming and outgoing. However, most landlines and mobiles (not prapaid) have unlimited call packages, that's why it seems like it's free. Since we have unlimited minutes to call any number within the entire US. For the few (landlines) that do not have unlimited package, they will be charged to call a number that is not in the same areacode as theirs. For anyone using cell phone prepaid or not, without an unlimited package, you will be charged to make/receive calls. Again, calls to anywhere within the US landlines or mobiles, cost the same. Lobster;814600 Wrote: > > I thought local calls in the US were always free? > -- mrcamp
From: Dennis Ferguson on 15 Jan 2010 03:56 On 2010-01-09, Ivor Jones <ivor(a)thisaddressis.invalid> wrote: > On 06/01/10 07:21, J B wrote: >> "Lobster" <davidlobsterpot601(a)hotmail.com> wrote in message >> news:mUP0n.783$Sl1.738(a)newsfe09.ams2... >>> > [snip] >>> Also I think you could pick your own area code when registering them, >>> so you can save money by choosing the area code of where you are staying? >> >> I concur with all the above. >> I had an AT&T one and a tri band phone for use in central Florida. >> > The area code is unlikely to make any difference, it's the same charge > for country-wide calls on most systems, certainly T-Mobile which I > usually use. That is correct for all US operators I know of (it is different in Canada). The only advantage of any particular number is if you have a US landline caller who you'd like to be able to call you cheaply, and then you'd want to give them the exact address of that caller to make sure you got a number in the same rate center; the charges for the mobile calls will be the same regardless. Note that local calling areas for landlines aren't defined by area codes, they're generally much smaller than that. Sometimes an area code will cover an entire state, but a landline's local calling area is seldom more than a 5 or 10 mile radius. If you want a number which is local to someone you'll need to give the mobile operator an exact address. In practice, however, this seldom matters (most people have a way to call non-local numbers cheaply). Any number will do. Dennis Ferguson
From: Dennis Ferguson on 15 Jan 2010 04:47
On 2010-01-05, RCC <richard(a)mapson_cowling1.demon.co.uk> wrote: > In message <hi0amp$5jv$1(a)news.eternal-september.org>, Paulg0 ><zdg18(a)ukgateway.net> writes >> >>"Camdor" <none(a)localhost.com> wrote in message >>news:SFN0n.1483$i_1.746(a)newsfe18.ams2... >>>I am looking for a couple of PAYG sims for a 2 week trip to america. >>>Just so we can phone between mobiles. Is the best option to pick up a >>>couple over there? (Is it as easy to get as a PAYG is here?) >>> >>> I won't be using the sims after I return, so want something cheap. >> >>Last time I went I picked up a T-Mobile USA sim card very cheap from >>eBay before going. It had more credit on than the actual cost on eBay. >>An unlocked Quad band handset is needed to use the sim in though >> >>Paul >> >> > Depends where you are going. There are large tracts, including many of > the tourist areas and national parks in the west, where there is no > usable signal of any kind. Have a look at the coverage maps (sprint, > AT&T, T Mobile, Voda): you may be better off buying semaphore flags and > a box to stand on. There's truth to that, though this is much more likely to be your experience with a GSM phone (very particularly one which lacks 850 MHz). Verizon has the best coverage of the 4 big operators, and you are more likely to find a CDMA system to roam on in rural areas where Verizon's native coverage runs out than you are a rural GSM system. If one were truly interested in getting the best available rural coverage in the US the way to do that would be to go to a Walmart and buy the cheapest prepaid Verizon CDMA handset they sell (usually $20 or $30) without activating it, and then activate it instead with this Verizon MVNO: http://www.pagepluscellular.com That said, when I lived in Silicon Valley I was at one point carrying 3 phones (Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile), and yet could drive 20 minutes into the mountains to the west of my house and end up with none of them having service. There is no perfect solution. Dennis Ferguson |