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runner - 10 Apr 2005 17:02 GMT

I am new to Cingular so when I put in a request for international
calling permission, planning a trip to Europe this June, I was told to
try again in a month or two because I was not a customer long enough.

My question is, does this apply to making international calls from my
home area also? I haven't tried it yet but if I make an international
call from my home area will I get some kind of error message telling
ne I cannot make the call?

Thanks.

Reply to this Message

Jack Zwick - 10 Apr 2005 17:39 GMT

> I am new to Cingular so when I put in a request for international
> calling permission, planning a trip to Europe this June, I was told to
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>
> Thanks.

You want to pay $4 a minute? have fun.

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Bill Kraski - 10 Apr 2005 17:39 GMT

> I am new to Cingular so when I put in a request for international
> calling permission, planning a trip to Europe this June, I was told to
> try again in a month or two because I was not a customer long enough.

If you're talking about getting your phone unlocked so you can use a sim
card from a provider for the area you're traveling to, the concensus seems
to be that you can't get the phone unlocked by Cingular unless you've had
at least 90 days of service.

> My question is, does this apply to making international calls from my
> home area also? I haven't tried it yet but if I make an international
> call from my home area will I get some kind of error message telling
> ne I cannot make the call?

You shouldn't get an error message. But there is one thing you should keep
in mind. Without international calling as part of your plan, each call can
be pretty expensive. With international calling added, it's less
expensive, but still not cheap -- at least with the old AT&T. The best way
to call internationally with your cell phone seems to be buying a cheap
international calling card & use that from your home area. I've never done
this, but I understand there is a caveat to the calling card scenario. The
providers vary in quality & cost, so you may need to try cards from several
companies to find the one that gives you good connections & reasonable
rates.

Bill K

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Stanley Reynolds - 10 Apr 2005 18:54 GMT

> > I am new to Cingular so when I put in a request for international
> > calling permission, planning a trip to Europe this June, I was told to
> > try again in a month or two because I was not a customer long enough.

International calling is making a phone call that will cross country
boaders.
International roaming is using your cell phone in another country.
As has been pointed out both cost more with a cell phone than most any other
way.
If your phone is a world phone ( can operate on 900/1800 Mhz ) and is
unlocked then check out prepaid sims.
If your phone is locked and or not a world phone, pickup a prepaid phone
when you get there, you buy or rent.
If you are going to roam with cingular they have a discount plan to reduce
the roaming rate from 1.29 to .99 per min, this is just the roaming charge
longdistance is another charge.

Post your phone model, countries you plan to visit, how long you will be
there, and how much you plan to use your phone for more detailed
suggestions.

Reply to this Message

runner - 10 Apr 2005 19:31 GMT

>> > I am new to Cingular so when I put in a request for international
>> > calling permission, planning a trip to Europe this June, I was told to
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>there, and how much you plan to use your phone for more detailed
>suggestions.

First, thanks for the replies.

I have a V551 world phone. My trip isn't until June and I will be in
Italy and Greece for the majority of the trip.

I didn't want to depend on Cingular giving me international permission
so I used one of those services on line for an unlocking code. The
cheapest I found was one for $20 and got the code almost immediately
in an email but it says to install the code I had to put in a locked
SIM card which would then ask for the code.

Thing is that I am assuming there is no way to test the code they sent
me without a locked SIM card installed. Am I correct in assuming this,
or is there a way to test the code they sent me now?

My plan was on using a prepaid SIM card during the trip. I paid for
the unlock code because it seems logical if Cingu;ar wanted me to wait
for the international permission they would want me to wait to give me
an unlock code also. But now I am in the situation of not knowing if
the code I got will work.

Not knowing that much about this is the reason why I asked if I could
make an international call from my home area now thinking that I would
have to use my unlock code to make that call also and then finding out
if the code worked.

What doesn't make sense is that I need international permission from
Cingular for the main reason of financial fraud in the past. But if
they allow me to make international calls here from my home area what
is their guarantee that they would get paid for those either?

Reply to this Message

Stanley Reynolds - 10 Apr 2005 19:48 GMT

> >> > I am new to Cingular so when I put in a request for international
> >> > calling permission, planning a trip to Europe this June, I was told to
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
> I have a V551 world phone. My trip isn't until June and I will be in
> Italy and Greece for the majority of the trip.

Good phone should work fine.

> I didn't want to depend on Cingular giving me international permission
> so I used one of those services on line for an unlocking code. The
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> me without a locked SIM card installed. Am I correct in assuming this,
> or is there a way to test the code they sent me now?

Find a friend with a tmobile sim or at&t or any other GSM sim.

> My plan was on using a prepaid SIM card during the trip. I paid for
> the unlock code because it seems logical if Cingu;ar wanted me to wait
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> have to use my unlock code to make that call also and then finding out
> if the code worked.

The lock just prevents use of a non Cingular sim, The carrier/provider of
the sim limits it's use for international and roaming as seperate things.
The fact you can make international calls is seperate from roaming
international.

> What doesn't make sense is that I need international permission from
> Cingular for the main reason of financial fraud in the past. But if
> they allow me to make international calls here from my home area what
> is their guarantee that they would get paid for those either?

It is less money to collect international calls vs international/roaming
calls, part of the roaming charge is owed to the carrier in the roaming
country. Cingular has very little chance of collection from a person in
europe vs you, you have a credit history to protect. My time is limited will
post more later.

Reply to this Message

Mike S. - 11 Apr 2005 02:09 GMT

>I didn't want to depend on Cingular giving me international permission
>so I used one of those services on line for an unlocking code. The
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>me without a locked SIM card installed. Am I correct in assuming this,
>or is there a way to test the code they sent me now?

Correct. The only way to tell if a Motorola phone is subsidy-locked is to
insert a SIM card from another carrier. If it is locked, the phone will
ask you to enter a subsidy code at that point. If you have the correct code,
the phone will tell you that the unlock is successful.

If you insert a SIM card from another carrier and the phone never asks for
a subsidy code, it was not locked in the first place.

Reply to this Message

Joseph - 11 Apr 2005 16:18 GMT

>Not knowing that much about this is the reason why I asked if I could
>make an international call from my home area now thinking that I would
>have to use my unlock code to make that call also and then finding out
>if the code worked.

It's likely that you'll need to get international calling enabled. As
has been said before international calling and international roaming
are two different things. International roaming may require that the
company will do further credit investigation on you to see whether
they believe you are a good enough risk for the high bills that may
result from international roaming.

>What doesn't make sense is that I need international permission from
>Cingular for the main reason of financial fraud in the past. But if
>they allow me to make international calls here from my home area what
>is their guarantee that they would get paid for those either?

There is none, but it's a lesser risk than allowing you international
roaming.

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Reply to this Message

Richie - 10 Apr 2005 20:44 GMT

To call overseas, i use these calling cards from my cell phone.
Other posters have addressed the overseas roaming question.

Good to purchase small amounts for casual calling
http://www.sdicard.com/home.asp

Better for frequent calling.
http://www.uniontelecard.com/

>I am new to Cingular so when I put in a request for international
> calling permission, planning a trip to Europe this June, I was told to
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>
> Thanks.

Reply to this Message

Stanley Reynolds - 11 Apr 2005 01:23 GMT

http://www.planetomni.com/SIM_CTRY_greece_DTL.shtml

http://www.cellularabroad.com/greeceppsc.html

http://www.telestial.com/products/greece_sim.htm

http://www.planetomni.com/SIM_CTRY_italy_DTL.shtml

http://www.cellularabroad.com/italyppsc.html

http://www.planetomni.com/SIM_INTL_riiing_DTL.shtml

This is just a sample from google, would get better deals in country.

Reply to this Message

Farreh - 13 Apr 2005 23:09 GMT

> http://www.planetomni.com/SIM_CTRY_greece_DTL.shtml
>
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
> This is just a sample from google, would get better deals in country.

Hi there - I was searching around on the net and stumbled across your
conversation. I can't say I've tried all the different options out
there, but I've had a really good experience using www.onesuite.com for
calling overseas. It's like a calling card, but without the card.

Reply to this Message

Joseph - 14 Apr 2005 04:47 GMT

>Hi there - I was searching around on the net and stumbled across your
>conversation. I can't say I've tried all the different options out
>there, but I've had a really good experience using www.onesuite.com for
>calling overseas. It's like a calling card, but without the card.

Gorilla Mobile <http://gorillamobile.com> is even better since they
don't make you prepay for your calls. Your calls are either billed to
a credit card or charges are taken out with an ACH debit.

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Reply to this Message

runner - 13 Apr 2005 02:31 GMT

>I am new to Cingular so when I put in a request for international
>calling permission, planning a trip to Europe this June, I was told to
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>
>Thanks.

Again, thanks for all the replies and good info.

Wanted to let you know that my request to Cingular directly for my
unlock code paid off. Today the CS that put in my request for my
unlock code called me on my phone and asked for my email address and
she sent me my code with directions.

In this case, having patience and depending on Cingular to come
through with it was the right thing to do and saved me from spending
money on any of those on line unlocking services. From what I have
heard from others, when it comes to unlocking the V551 the remote
software codes that they email you rarely ever work and you end up
having to send them your phone for them to use the hardware (phone
clip) to get you a code.

I haven't tried the code Cingular sent me yet. A friend has a T-Mobile
SIM so I'll try that tomorrow but I feel confident that it will work
fine and when I get to Greece I will be using a pre=paid SIM :-)

Thanks again!

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