Calling all Morocco and/or cell phone aficianados!

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Seth - 16 May 2005 05:31 GMT

I am leaving in 4 days from New York for Morocco where I will be
traveling for 1 week. I have a good deal of international travel
experience but am relatively unseasoned in overseas cell phone useage.

For convenience, I think I would like to make and receive domestic
calls and overseas calls to the US from a mobile phone while I am
there. It seems like it would be cheapest for me to be able to take my
own cell phone, rather than rent one. I have a Pocket PC Phone that
uses T-mobile and has dual-band (900/1900) capability. Will this work
in Morocco? What band is required there? I thought 900 would be OK...
is that true? I am unsure if the service is "locked" or "unlocked".
Does anyone know? I do know that I have the option of roaming on other
providers networks without being charged roaming on my domestic
national plan. Does that imply that the service is "unlocked"?

If I were to use this phone, T-Mobile itself provides an international
calling service which would cost me $2/minute from Morocco. That
certainly seems steep, but even the domestic SIM cards, through Maroc
Telecom, seem somewhat pricy, ~$1.30-$1.50/minute. Furthermore, as far
as I can tell,a $69 SIM only gives $22 of calling. Why is this the
case? It seems like this would not be nearly the cheapest option, as I
have been told, and, in fact, would be more expensive than my own
T-Mobile plan. Is it because it also allows unlimited incoming calls?
Would it really be cheaper?

Is international callback a better option?

Can someone please describe to me my options and which would most
likely be best in my situation? I would be tremendously grateful for
your help.

Thanks.

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a2gti - 16 May 2005 15:21 GMT

If you are only going to be there for one week, i would suggest just
using your SIM Card to roam. Unless of course you plan to use your
phone extensively...then a local prepaid Card would be an option.
Morocco is like Europe in a sense that the calling party pays (i.e you
don't pay for incoming calls).

Morocco uses the 900 and 1800 mhz frequencies but you should be fine
with just 900. Meditel and Maroc Telecom are the providers. Coverage
is pretty good..even on the fringes of the saharan desert you can get
coverage.

If your phone is "locked" to T-mobile, you would not be able to use a
local moroccan sim card (or any other provider for that matter) unless
you get it unlocked. Call Tmobile customer care and see if they can
provide you the code to get it unlocked. Once it is unlocked, you can
use any SIM card.

> I am leaving in 4 days from New York for Morocco where I will be
> traveling for 1 week. I have a good deal of international travel
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
>
> Thanks.

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a2gti - 16 May 2005 15:26 GMT

By the way, if you are calling the states from morocco (or from any
other country), make sure you include a +1 on the phone number.
Actually its a good idea save all your phone entries in this format.

For ex, calling (212) 555-1234, would be +12125551234.
+ is the equivalent of 011 and 1 is the country code for USA.

Forgot to mention, if you want to save money, you can send text
messages/SMS from morocco as well instead of making a phone call.
Again, use the above number format when sending text messages.

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Seth - 16 May 2005 21:13 GMT

Thank you so much for your help. Would you happen to be able to assist
me with any of the other questions as well?

Would it be cheaper to stick with T-Mobile or buy a local Maroc Telecom
SIM card. It seems, in theory, the Maroc Telecom SIM card would be
cheaper, even if it would still cost as much as the publicized $1.30 -
$1.50. T-Mobile charges $2. However, I looked into buying a Maroc
Telecom SIM card online and it cost $69 and claimed that it only
provides $22 worth of phone calls! Why would that be the case? Would
that be just because I am trying to buy it in the US and it is cheaper
if I buy it when I get to Morocco? Or is that the going rate?

Lastly, what do you know about international callback plans? I skimmed
some web pages that seemed to suggest this might be a much cheaper
option. Might you suggest this?

Thanks again.

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Seth - 16 May 2005 21:20 GMT

The reason I'm asking is because it seems to me that even $1.30.minute
would be a rate that can be beat. Are text (SMS) messages cheaper?

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Stanley Reynolds - 17 May 2005 01:23 GMT

> The reason I'm asking is because it seems to me that even $1.30.minute
> would be a rate that can be beat. Are text (SMS) messages cheaper?

Morocco has Unlimited FREE incoming calls , the T-mobile US roaming in
Morocco does not.

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a2gti - 17 May 2005 04:02 GMT

Hmmm...honestly for a one week trip I dont think its worth the prepaid.
Are you going to be using the phone extensively? I've never used a
callback service but keep in mind, if you use the T-mobile SIM, when
the callback service calls you back, you would still be charged the
same $2.49/minute..(no free incoming calls with t-mobile SIM). It still
would be cheaper to call directly.

Now if you use a callback service and a pre-paid local sim, you would
get the free-incoming calls.

Question, you only have four days before you leave for Morocco..if you
buy the SIM card online...can they get it delivered to you before you
leave?

It's been a while since i lived in Morocco but am not sure what the
rules are anymore concerning non-residents buying prepaid cards. I
know that in some countries, non-residents aren't allowed to buy a
prepaid card. Also I am not sure what the going rate is these days for
a sim card.

Do you know anyone who lives there? What I used to do when I visited
was borrow a SIM card from a friend (who had an extra one) and just top
it off with whatever amount I needed. That way I saved on buying a new
SIM card (thats why its $69..you have to pay for the actual SIM card
plus the airtime on it). At the end of the trip, I just gave back the
SIM card to my friend.

My personal opinion, if you are there for only a week and only need to
make a few calls...I would just stick to the Tmobile SIM. But if you
are going to make many calls..go with the prepaid.

Make sure before you leave that you have the international roaming
feature turned on (call customer care). No activation fee and TMobile
is the only US provider that doesnt charge a monthly fee).

Have fun and be safe!

> Thank you so much for your help. Would you happen to be able to assist
> me with any of the other questions as well?
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>
> Thanks again.

Reply to this Message

Stuart Friedman - 19 May 2005 03:05 GMT

It is certainly much cheaper to buy the prepaid SIM in Morocco if you are
going to buy one.

Stu

> Hmmm...honestly for a one week trip I dont think its worth the prepaid.
> Are you going to be using the phone extensively? I've never used a
[quoted text clipped - 56 lines]
>>
>> Thanks again.

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Donald Newcomb - 24 May 2005 13:01 GMT

> Would it be cheaper to stick with T-Mobile or buy a local Maroc Telecom
> SIM card.

That depends entirely on how much you will use the phone and what sort of
calls you will make. Clearly, if you make no calls at all, T-Mobile is much
cheaper. Hint: Do a search of groups.google.com for "Newcomb's cypher" ;-)

> It seems, in theory, the Maroc Telecom SIM card would be
> cheaper, even if it would still cost as much as the publicized $1.30 -
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> that be just because I am trying to buy it in the US and it is cheaper
> if I buy it when I get to Morocco? Or is that the going rate?

I take it you are looking at CellularAbroad or Telestial? It is always
cheaper to buy after you get there but there may be language problems or
other unexpected difficulties. It's safer but more expensive to buy before
you fly.

> Lastly, what do you know about international callback plans? I skimmed
> some web pages that seemed to suggest this might be a much cheaper
> option. Might you suggest this?

I've recently started using CallbackWorld.com and am quite pleased with the
cost and service.

Signature

Donald Newcomb
DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net

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CJL - 18 May 2005 23:08 GMT

> I am leaving in 4 days from New York for Morocco where I will be
> traveling for 1 week. I have a good deal of international travel
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
>
> Thanks.

Out of curiosity what decision have you made concerning your mobile
phone traveling to Morocco?

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