radioguy wrote:
I have a GSM cell phone.

Despite what people in other contries say about just switching sin
cards when you go to another country,

that does not work.

Actually it works fine. The problem that you are having is because you
are trying to put a foreign SIM in a phone that was sold to you at a discount
by a cellular service provider. In order to prevent you from taking their
phone and selling it on eBay, they lock it to SIMs provided by them.

If you were to buy an unlocked phone, or have your service provider (SP)
remove the SP lock, then it would would fine.

People who travel know this and either buy an unlocked US GSM phone
(850/1900mHz), or buy a multiband phone that includes the US bands.
If you have a EU only (900/1800) phone, you can often rent a US one
for little money or free from your SP.

There also is a question about 3g Networks, there are two different bands
used in different places. I think the US uses 1900mHz, the EU etc use 2100 mHz.

As for coverage, there are in the US two GSM bands. 1900mHz bands cover
about 80% of the population, but around 20% of the area. 850mHz covers
the old AT&T Wirless network coverage area, which is more than 99% of
the US.

However there is no such thing as 100% coverage anywhere with cell phones,
if you want that you have to use a satellite phone. The best are combined
satellite and quad band GSM with roaming agreements, so when you are within
the coverage area of any GSM network you use that, but if you are in one
of the few (in the US), or many outside, areas without GSM coverage, you
use the satellite.

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM

People who travel know this and either buy an unlocked US GSM phone
(850/1900mHz), or buy a multiband phone that includes the US bands.
If you have a EU only (900/1800) phone, you can often rent a US one
for little money or free from your SP.

There also is a question about 3g Networks, there are two different bands
used in different places. I think the US uses 1900mHz, the EU etc use 2100
mHz.

As for coverage, there are in the US two GSM bands. 1900mHz bands cover
about 80% of the population, but around 20% of the area. 850mHz covers
the old AT&T Wirless network coverage area, which is more than 99% of
the US.

However there is no such thing as 100% coverage anywhere with cell phones,
if you want that you have to use a satellite phone. The best are combined
satellite and quad band GSM with roaming agreements, so when you are
within
the coverage area of any GSM network you use that, but if you are in one
of the few (in the US), or many outside, areas without GSM coverage, you
use the satellite.


No GSM phones here... can't remember what the protocol they use here is, but
it doesn't work anywhere else, and nobody else's phones work here. Not sure
what the law here is regarding satellite phones.

Brenda Ann wrote:

No GSM phones here... can't remember what the protocol they use here is, but
it doesn't work anywhere else, and nobody else's phones work here. Not sure
what the law here is regarding satellite phones.

Where is here?

The OP was discussing the US, and bringing phones from outside the US, so
I focused on that.

BTW, back before we had GSM service here (Israel), the companies we had
used NAMPS and DAMPS. They both would provide you a GSM phone and a SIM
if you want to use them outside of the country.

The company I worked for had several people who traveled often, so we
rented tri band GSM phones from them and got a SIM for each of us.

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM

radioguy wrote:
wrong. I paid full price for my GSM cell phone. I did NOT get any
discounts on it at all. There is not any slot to put sim
cards into. Not even if you tak it apart. There is no any way to
reprogram the sim number associated with the cell phone, not even if
you take
it apart.

Then it is NOT a GSM cell phone. The GSM specification includes a smartcard
subscriber identity module (SIM), which minimally includes enough information
that the phone system can identify the unqiue phone, which ultimately gives
it a telephone number, etc, a caller directory, a record of SMS messages
sent and received, etc.

And it IS a multi-band cell phone.

These are the GSM phones sold in the U.S.

It could be a TDMA or CDMA phone, in the U.S. they use 800 and 1900 mHz.



So there is no way to bring our U.S. cell phones to Europe or
Australia or anywhere else in the world and use it there by just
puttting in
a different sim card (oer different sim number) like the Eurropeas and
Australians and the reast of the world say we can.

Sure you can. I know people who do it all the time, both ways.


The GSM cell phones sold in the U.S. an NOT be unlocke, even if you
try taking them apart to do it. The cell phone companies won't allow
it, even though the law here requires otherwise. So I don't know how
they get away with it, but they do.

They are not GSM phones. GSM service providers will unlock phones, for
example Cingular, for a fee, or in some cases for free. There is also a
booming business of ilicit phone unlocking, unlocking equipment, etc.

In fact, GSM is not the only system that uses SIM cards, Motorola's MIRS
network (called iDen in the US) also uses them. That causes a lot of confusion
when people bring iDEN phones here and expect to use them on a GSM network.

BTW, one of our SP's operates an 800mHz CDMA network and has roaming agreements
with US SP's. A friend of mine was here in April and his us CDMA phone roamed
onto their network when he turned it on. It was so expensive to use, he
bought a GSM pay as you go phone for himself and his wife anyway.

I'm going to speculate here, but I expect that if anyone is lying it was the
person who sold you the phone.

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM

It's a shame most autopatches were disconnected from most ham
repeaters.

Autopatches were good for getting at least some HOAs off your back for
using your ht while portable.

When they say something to you about it, just tell them it's your cell
phone, then proceed to use the autopatch to call your wife or friend.

You're not really lieing.

After all, the cell phone companies copied the technology they're
using from ham radio.

If they ask why they can hear the other side talking also, just tell
them it's a speaker cell phone.

There's plenty of those around. My cell phone does do it. And now my
regular landline phone does it also.

I'm also sick of everyone saying "just use a payphone".

There are hardly any pay phones around anymore. There used to be lots.
Now there's almost none. Sure, the little booths that say "phone" are
still
there, but the actual phones are not.

And cell phone coverage does not work everywhere.

In a fify mile radius, I have only found one pay phone recently.

Places that used to have them have either taken them entirely out or
have left the booths but taken out the phones.

And yes, they used to be there years ago. I've seen them at those
places back then.

And when you can find a pay phone anymore, they usually don't work
anymore.

No dial tone.

"radioguy" wrote in message
...
I'm also sick of everyone saying "just use a payphone".

There are hardly any pay phones around anymore. There used to be lots.
Now there's almost none. Sure, the little booths that say "phone" are
still
there, but the actual phones are not.

And cell phone coverage does not work everywhere.

In a fify mile radius, I have only found one pay phone recently.

Places that used to have them have either taken them entirely out or
have left the booths but taken out the phones.

And yes, they used to be there years ago. I've seen them at those
places back then.

And when you can find a pay phone anymore, they usually don't work
anymore.

No dial tone.

Most of the pay phones are for sale on ebay..

radioguy wrote:

There are hardly any pay phones around anymore. There used to be lots.
Now there's almost none. Sure, the little booths that say "phone" are
still
there, but the actual phones are not.

Here that has led to people putting in private pay phones in their store
or restaurant. Some places that have seating or displays outside, such as
the corner "minimarket" have them outside. However as soon as they close,
the phone goes into the store and is locked up for the night.

Of course we don't have the street crime problem the US has.

Geoff.


--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM

"Geoffrey S. Mendelson" wrote in message
...
radioguy wrote:

There are hardly any pay phones around anymore. There used to be lots.
Now there's almost none. Sure, the little booths that say "phone" are
still
there, but the actual phones are not.

Here that has led to people putting in private pay phones in their store
or restaurant. Some places that have seating or displays outside, such as
the corner "minimarket" have them outside. However as soon as they close,
the phone goes into the store and is locked up for the night.

Of course we don't have the street crime problem the US has.

Geoff.

They have the same thing here in S. Korea. There are Korea Telecom phone
booths (none that I have seen use coins, they use something simiar to a
credit card), but the vast majority of phone booths here are owned by
businesses that set them out with their displays during business hours, and
take them in at night. Those DO use coins, but of course since they are
always in a spot where they are supervised, there isn't much of a theft
problem.

Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote:
radioguy wrote:

There are hardly any pay phones around anymore. There used to be lots.
Now there's almost none. Sure, the little booths that say "phone" are
still
there, but the actual phones are not.

Here that has led to people putting in private pay phones in their store
or restaurant. Some places that have seating or displays outside, such as
the corner "minimarket" have them outside. However as soon as they close,
the phone goes into the store and is locked up for the night.

Of course we don't have the street crime problem the US has.

Geoff.


Neither do we. "Street crime" is an urban phenomenon; half of
Americans do not live in central cities and their first ring of suburbs.