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Cellular Phone Forum / Providers / ATT Wireless / November 2003CallPlus Global PCS
I'm looking at activating a phone with a very basic plan for my mom to use, as she does not need it except for emergencies and other urgent calls to home. I was reading a website about CallPlus Global PCS, which apparently offers cheap prepaid plans on the AT&T TDMA network. It appears that they offer 25 minute cards for $10.00 with a 90 day expiration, which is perfect for my mom as she doesn't want a big monthly bill, and this is only $3.33 a month. (For more information, see http://markson.net/cell_nh_callplus_faq.htm ) I called the company's customer service to see if I could activate it with an existing phone I already I have, such as a Mitsubishi T-200. The guy said that it is one of the models they sell, however he can't tell me if my Mitsubishi T-200 will work or not. He said that it has to be an "AT&T Mitsubishi T-200" and not a "Verizon, Cingular, or T-Mobile phone". First of all, Verizon is a CDMA carrier so they'd never touch the Mitsubishi T-200 TDMA phone to begin with. But, even if it were activated through another company, I don't understand the problem. Why wouldn't I be able to activate the model with them regardless of who had it before? I think the guy is talking about having to have the correct Preferred Roaming List on the phone, as I hear Verizon customers talking about those all the time. When I asked if he meant that I needed to have AT&T's Preferred Roaming List on my phone, he said yes. Then when I asked if I could get the list loaded on my phone he got confused and could only say that it would already have to be there before it could be activated. So, how do I get an AT&T PRL loaded on my phone so I can activate it through this CallPlus Global PCS place, without having to buy the exact same model of phone that I already have from them with it already loaded? I don't want to activate the phone directly through AT&T because their rates are not anywhere close to these for my mom's expected usage. Thanks, Jeff "Jeff" asked > I'm looking at activating a phone with a very basic plan for my mom to use, > I was reading a website about CallPlus Global PCS, check out www.ecallplus.com > offers cheap prepaid plans on the AT&T TDMA network. It appears that they > offer 25 minute cards for $10.00 with a 90 day expiration, for the $10 card, go to www.pharosint.com > I called the company's customer service to see if I could activate it BIG MISTAKE!!! Dealing with live people at CallPlus is a hair pulling experience. If you go to the ecallplus website and click on the tab "Starter kit", down at the bottom you will see a list of compatible phones and the Mitsu T-200 is one of them. > Why wouldn't I be able to > activate the model with them regardless of who had it before? Getting in to an area outside my expertise, but from my experience with TDMA phones, as long as they are not active with another carrier (the account is cancelled), CallPlus will activate them. In fact, if you go to the webpage and look at the FAQ, they tell you the steps to activate your phone with them, and there is no mention of not being able to activate certain phones on their list, and nothing about a preferred roaming list. I ran into the preferred roaming list when I was with Sprint, but don't know if it applies to AT&T TDMA. If you don't mind waiting a few days for mail delivery to get your Mom's phone activated, you can purchase a startup kit for CallPlus at Pharos International (www.pharosint.com) for $15 as opposed to the $35 that ecallplus charges. You can also get cheaper airtime at Pharos than at ecallplus because right now they are selling cards with bonus minutes. -- Lena lenagainster@hotmail.com put "hotmail" in the subject line to get through the filters > "Jeff" asked > > I'm looking at activating a phone with a very basic plan for my mom to [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > lenagainster@hotmail.com > put "hotmail" in the subject line to get through the filters Thanks for the information. You're right, when I called eCallPlus the guy sounded like he didn't have that much experience. I ordered a starter kit from Pharos International today. Hopefully it will work with my Mitsubishi T-200. I know that when I got these phones off ebay originally, they previously had been activated on AT&T. However, when I activated them on the local cellular company here they had to send them some place to have them flashed to remove AT&T's list of roaming partners and put in their own. Now the phone will roam on Cingular instead of AT&T in South East Michigan for example. So, I hope that isn't a problem. I guess I'll wait and see. -Jeff > I'm looking at activating a phone with a very basic plan for my mom to use, > as she does not need it except for emergencies and other urgent calls to [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] > > Jeff TDMA phone use an Intelligent Roaming Database (IRDB) instead of a Preferred Roaming List as CDMA phones did. It is updated over the air. Generally AT&T will not activate a phone not in their inventory list. I do not know about the resellers of AT&T service.  SignatureEarl F. Parrish > TDMA phone use an Intelligent Roaming Database (IRDB) instead of a > Preferred Roaming List as CDMA phones did. It is updated over the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > -- > Earl F. Parrish Well that's interesting. Does this update itself automatically? No dialing *228 like on CDMA? It seems odd that TDMA would use a method of updating itself in a way that seems more intelligent than CDMA. Thanks for the information though. -Jeff >>TDMA phone use an Intelligent Roaming Database (IRDB) instead of a >>Preferred Roaming List as CDMA phones did. It is updated over the [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > -Jeff My Motorola C331t TDMA phone did this with Cingular. I know have a Nokia 6340i and Sony Ericsson T62u, and they both receive updates with a text message telling you to power cycle your phone. AD > I think the guy is talking about having to have the correct Preferred > Roaming List on the phone, as I hear Verizon customers talking about those > all the time. When I asked if he meant that I needed to have AT&T's > Preferred Roaming List on my phone, he said yes. Then when I asked if I > could get the list loaded on my phone he got confused and could only say > that it would already have to be there before it could be activated. Sort of. > So, how do I get an AT&T PRL loaded on my phone so I can activate it through > this CallPlus Global PCS place, without having to buy the exact same model > of phone that I already have from them with it already loaded? I don't want > to activate the phone directly through AT&T because their rates are not > anywhere close to these for my mom's expected usage. Just tell CallPlus it's an AT&T phone and forget about it. When they activate the phone it will get a new IRDB (the TDMA equivalent of a PRL) sent by AT&T. If it doesn't get one right away, it will eventually, since AT&T updates them from time-to-time. Even if it never does, it'll still work, except you could be roaming in come area you ordinarily wouldn't, but with CP you pay the same rate either way. > Just tell CallPlus it's an AT&T phone and forget about it. When they > activate the phone it will get a new IRDB (the TDMA equivalent of a [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > work, except you could be roaming in come area you ordinarily > wouldn't, but with CP you pay the same rate either way. Okay I'll give it a shot. The only thing is... If it updates itself over the air, wouldn't I have to be picking up an AT&T tower in order to receive the update? Because I'm sure if this phone uses whatever systems it remembers it used to use, it won't ever hit AT&T at all. Or do the carriers somehow pass this update information through each others systems? -Jeff Jeff, These pre-paid sellers don't have, and don't need, to know all the technical in's and out's because they're depending on the phone acting just like and AT&T phone, so they don't need to train anyone the technical angles. So they do need to limit your choices to AT&T phones that have been properly 'released' from AT&T. When you get your authorization in the mail, you will call to activate the phone, and they will give you the code (SID) for the AT&T network in your town. The phone will scan the channels until it finds that SID and locks on. It will not, however, automatically download the proper IRDB (Roaming List). It may still work, but it may not if the IRDB doesn't allow it to find the right SID. A different carrier's IRDB (Cingular?) might forbid the SID you've entered. If you were a real AT&T customer, they could force the IRDB to your phone. When the AT&T network issues a new IRBD, it 'forces' it to all phones on the network, and at that time you may or may not get it, based on whether the modified phone will recognize it. It may work, but cross your fingers, anyway. With a Callplus phone, it needs to be 'used' every 30 days, or the account is deactivated, even though the minutes haven't expired. And that's 30 days, not once a month. I guess you could schedule a battery charge every 4 weeks for her, which is recommneded, and when you do, make the once each 30 day call. You might also consider the whole year of pre-paid from Tracphone and T-Mobile. Since you have the Callplus started, it's certainly worth a try. The service works great. They have an excellent calendar to show exactly when each call/refill needs to occur. Pharos looks likes a 1-man operation, but it is one of the best cellular services I have ever used. Bill Radio Click for Western U.S. Wireless Reviews at: http://www.mountainwireless.com > > Just tell CallPlus it's an AT&T phone and forget about it. When they > > activate the phone it will get a new IRDB (the TDMA equivalent of a [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > -Jeff "Bill Radio" claimed > Pharos looks likes a 1-man operation, but it is one of the best cellular > services I have ever used. I second that. Recently, I have purchased separately four of the new $40 airtime cards (174 minutes at 23 cpm) and they come in from Pharos like clockwork, about four hours after submitting the order. (Refills for spouse, 2 kids and my phone). One thing that is puzzling, and I guess I should email Joe at Pharos, is that if I do a Google search on "global pcs airtime card" I get over 5000 hits, and Pharos International is not on the first four pages (100 hits). Seems they ought to be near the top. -- Lena lenagainster@hotmail.com put "hotmail" in the subject line to get through the filters > When you get your authorization in the mail, you will call to activate the > phone, and they will give you the code (SID) for the AT&T network in your [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > modified phone will recognize it. It may work, but cross your fingers, > anyway. I guess I'll have to play around and see what happens when we get it. When I originally bought these phones on e-bay some of them had the AT&T logo on them and others didn't. I think the ones that say AT&T are either lost or are still active with other family members. But regardless, when I bought them Thumb Cellular took them and sent them somewhere to be flashed. They said that they needed to update the firmware in the phone in order to use their service as opposed to whoever the previous carrier was. It was true too because I remember programming Thumb Cellular's SID into it and still having the stinking thing lock onto Dobson / Cellular One all the time anyway before I had sent it in. I imagine being that Dobson seems to be buddy-buddy with AT&T and Cingular, while Thumb Cellular is migrating to CDMA and hooking up with Verizon, then ideally the phone would want to be on Dobson now with CallPlus Global PCS. (That is, when it can't get a true AT&T signal). The thing I can't figure though is why I had to take them in to be flashed if it is an over-the-air update. Wierd. -Jeff The IRDB will be downloaded to the phone as you are activating it (the rep will have you turn the phone on and test it). The only issue with a non-AT&T phone is if it is "SOC locked". From what I hear, the SOC will automatically be updated with the IRDB (even if it is locked) but I have not tested that theory - both my CallPlus phones were AT&T phones. -- Dave Visit my New England Cell Phone Page at http://markson.net/cell_phones.htm (to reply take out the "remove" in my e-mail) > The IRDB will be downloaded to the phone as you are activating it (the rep will > have you turn the phone on and test it). > > The only issue with a non-AT&T phone is if it is "SOC locked". From what I > hear, the SOC will automatically be updated with the IRDB (even if it is locked) > but I have not tested that theory - both my CallPlus phones were AT&T phones. My Cingular 8265 was SOC-locked (first SOC-locked Cingular phone I ever saw!) and it updated to an AT&T IRDB instantly upon CallPlus activation here in Denver. I activated a Nokia 5120 (800-MHz only) in Kansas City (Cingular territory), and though it worked fine roaming on Cingular, it didn't take the IRDB update until it was in AT&T territory for a few hours during a drive from KC to Denver. > Okay I'll give it a shot. The only thing is... If it updates itself over the > air, wouldn't I have to be picking up an AT&T tower in order to receive the > update? Yes. When I activated my last CP phone (in Kansas City, but with a Denver number), it was formerly a Cingular phone. When I programmed the AT&T Denver SID the phone still said "Cingular" in KC, with the Cingular IRDB. A few weeks later when I drove to Denver, it changed duri the drive fRom "Cingular Extended" to "AT&T" shortly after I crossed into AT&T territory. > Because I'm sure if this phone uses whatever systems it remembers it > used to use, it won't ever hit AT&T at all. I'm not familiar with your particular phone, but on Nokia TDMA models, the home SID programmed into the phone will override the IRDB. For example, my Denver phone I mentioned above will ot roam on Verizon in Denver, due to the AT&T IRDB. (Even though I can switch carriers manually, it claims there's "no service". However, if I reprogram the phone with Verizon's Denver SID, it overrides the IRBD and picks up Ve izon. (Obviously the phone won't call anything but Verizon's customer service with invalid programming, but I was testing where Verizon did and didn't have service in my area.) > Or do the carriers somehow pass > this update information through each others systems? No. |
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