GSM Cell Phone

I have a unique situation here. Will be travelling to Hong Kong,
China, Japan and Singapore soon. Will a Siemens M55 unlock phone
bought in Toronto work? I will be using the phone mainly in Toronto,
and roaming in Hong Kong. I am also going to use a HK SIM card during
my extended stay in HK.

My queries will be:

1. Can I use a Toronto Fido SIM card or Rogers SIM card on my Siemens
M55 unlock phone while in Toronto? Will they re-lock my phone when I
use their service?
2. Will Toronto Fido offer international roaming service to me while
I am in HK, China, Japan and Singapore?
3. If I pull out the Toronto Fido or Rogers SIM card, could I insert
a HK SIM card and use it in HK and China? Does it have to be a SIM
card from a particular cell phone Company?
4. If I pull out the Toronto Fido or Rogers SIM card, could I insert
a Japan or Singapore SIM card and use the phone in Japan or Singapore?
What is Japan and Singapore's network frequency?
5. Any comments of the Siemens M55 reception quality while using in
HK?

Appreciate any help.

On 3 May 2004 12:27:57 -0700, the renowned
(Chopstks) wrote:

I have a unique situation here. Will be travelling to Hong Kong,
China, Japan and Singapore soon. Will a Siemens M55 unlock phone
bought in Toronto work? I will be using the phone mainly in Toronto,
and roaming in Hong Kong. I am also going to use a HK SIM card during
my extended stay in HK.

My queries will be:

1. Can I use a Toronto Fido SIM card or Rogers SIM card on my Siemens
M55 unlock phone while in Toronto? Will they re-lock my phone when I
use their service?
2. Will Toronto Fido offer international roaming service to me while
I am in HK, China, Japan and Singapore?
3. If I pull out the Toronto Fido or Rogers SIM card, could I insert
a HK SIM card and use it in HK and China? Does it have to be a SIM
card from a particular cell phone Company?
4. If I pull out the Toronto Fido or Rogers SIM card, could I insert
a Japan or Singapore SIM card and use the phone in Japan or Singapore?
What is Japan and Singapore's network frequency?
5. Any comments of the Siemens M55 reception quality while using in
HK?

Appreciate any help.

I don't know the M55, but I've had no problems using a Fido unlocked
Ericsson World GSM phone in HK, Taiwan, China and Toronto (and Western
Europe), with the same (roaming) or different SIM cards. Make sure you
get international roaming enabled before you leave (it's a total PITA
to do it by long distance) and be prepared for perhaps surprisingly
high charges (sometimes the bills take 2 months to get back). I think
Japan is a totally different system. Many people change cards when
they cross from China to HK, so I imagine there is a significant cost
saving if you're on extended visits.

Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

The first respondant obviously is from North America, where understanding of
the practicalities of GSM cell phones is low!!

#1. Yes! You can. And no - they won't relock your phone if you just buy a
prepaid sim card (and Fido certainly sell them).

#2. International roaming is prohibitively expensive, as even 'local' calls
you make in HK etc will be routed through Canada. Buy a local prepaid sim
card. They're very easy to fit (if you're hopeless technically most
resellers will do it for you), and easy to 'recharge' (buy extra credit
for).

#3. No!! GSM sim cards conform to an international standard, as do the GSM
cell phones - no matter who manufactures or retails it. 'Locking' involves
software only, and is normally only done when you buy a phone and contract
package. Throughout Asia phone resellers will happily unlock your cell phone
for a nominal fee should it be locked!!

#4. Singapore - Yes! Japan - No! Japan uses its own unique system - cheaper
and easier to rent a cell phone there (they're available at Kansai and
Narita).

#5. The carrier company you choose has more bearing on coverage and
reception than the brand/model of phone used. Additional features (colour
screen, photo capability, and other menu options etc) vary according to
brand and model. Basic reception is a constant given!!


"Chopstks" wrote in message
om...
I have a unique situation here. Will be travelling to Hong Kong,
China, Japan and Singapore soon. Will a Siemens M55 unlock phone
bought in Toronto work? I will be using the phone mainly in Toronto,
and roaming in Hong Kong. I am also going to use a HK SIM card during
my extended stay in HK.

My queries will be:

1. Can I use a Toronto Fido SIM card or Rogers SIM card on my Siemens
M55 unlock phone while in Toronto? Will they re-lock my phone when I
use their service?
2. Will Toronto Fido offer international roaming service to me while
I am in HK, China, Japan and Singapore?
3. If I pull out the Toronto Fido or Rogers SIM card, could I insert
a HK SIM card and use it in HK and China? Does it have to be a SIM
card from a particular cell phone Company?
4. If I pull out the Toronto Fido or Rogers SIM card, could I insert
a Japan or Singapore SIM card and use the phone in Japan or Singapore?
What is Japan and Singapore's network frequency?
5. Any comments of the Siemens M55 reception quality while using in
HK?

Appreciate any help.

On Tue, 4 May 2004 11:19:27 +1000, "A Mate"
wrote:

#2. International roaming is prohibitively expensive, as even 'local' calls
you make in HK etc will be routed through Canada. Buy a local prepaid sim
card. They're very easy to fit (if you're hopeless technically most
resellers will do it for you), and easy to 'recharge' (buy extra credit
for).

Local calls you make while roaming are routed locally, not through
your home country's network. The charge is normally whatever the host
network charges for a local call, plus any surcharge your home network
may add on top of that when they bill you.

Incoming calls are the ones that get routed via your home country, and
as you say, that makes them prohibitively expensive.

On Tue, 04 May 2004 10:18:10 +0800, the renowned Chris Blunt
wrote:

On Tue, 4 May 2004 11:19:27 +1000, "A Mate"
wrote:

#2. International roaming is prohibitively expensive, as even 'local' calls
you make in HK etc will be routed through Canada. Buy a local prepaid sim
card. They're very easy to fit (if you're hopeless technically most
resellers will do it for you), and easy to 'recharge' (buy extra credit
for).

Local calls you make while roaming are routed locally, not through
your home country's network. The charge is normally whatever the host
network charges for a local call, plus any surcharge your home network
may add on top of that when they bill you.

Incoming calls are the ones that get routed via your home country, and
as you say, that makes them prohibitively expensive.

Long distance charges on outgoing calls to Canada are also pretty
expensive compared to the cheap rates we get at home.

Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

Supplementary Answer:

We travelled in Canada, Ireland, Italy and Turkey over 12 weeks last year.
We took with us a triband Motorola GSM phone (similar in capability to your
Siemens).

We enrolled in a callback service (a Google will unearth a dozen or more)
based in the USA. As soon as we had purchased our sim card in each couintry
we registered the new number we had just bought (easy from any internet
cafe - and they're everywhere) and then operated thru' the callback. We paid
through a credit card rolling debit. There can be limitations in some
countries and the services can tell you which countries are so affected.

It proved a very workable, reasonably priced way of communicating, even
though most of our calls were to Australia. If most of your calls are to the
USA or Canada - better still!!


Good Luck!



"Chopstks" wrote in message
om...
I have a unique situation here. Will be travelling to Hong Kong,
China, Japan and Singapore soon. Will a Siemens M55 unlock phone
bought in Toronto work? I will be using the phone mainly in Toronto,
and roaming in Hong Kong. I am also going to use a HK SIM card during
my extended stay in HK.

My queries will be:

1. Can I use a Toronto Fido SIM card or Rogers SIM card on my Siemens
M55 unlock phone while in Toronto? Will they re-lock my phone when I
use their service?
2. Will Toronto Fido offer international roaming service to me while
I am in HK, China, Japan and Singapore?
3. If I pull out the Toronto Fido or Rogers SIM card, could I insert
a HK SIM card and use it in HK and China? Does it have to be a SIM
card from a particular cell phone Company?
4. If I pull out the Toronto Fido or Rogers SIM card, could I insert
a Japan or Singapore SIM card and use the phone in Japan or Singapore?
What is Japan and Singapore's network frequency?
5. Any comments of the Siemens M55 reception quality while using in
HK?

Appreciate any help.

"A Mate" wrote in message . au...
Supplementary Answer:

We travelled in Canada, Ireland, Italy and Turkey over 12 weeks last year.
We took with us a triband Motorola GSM phone (similar in capability to your
Siemens).

We enrolled in a callback service (a Google will unearth a dozen or more)
based in the USA....


That was a great alternative. I am also planning for Europe next
year. Maybe I should explore a bit about the callback service. I
have been using Motorola brand for almost 10 years, different models
of course. They proved to be reliable. It depends on a lot of
factors, maybe the network provider is good. But haven't use a world
GSM tri-band Motorola yet. Looking forward to owning a middle range
one too. Any good experiences? Thanks.

CS

Spehro Pefhany wrote in message . ..

I don't know the M55, but I've had no problems using a Fido unlocked
Ericsson World GSM phone in HK, Taiwan, China and Toronto (and Western
Europe), with the same (roaming) or different SIM cards....


Since I planned to use 1-2 roaming calls only in HK, it won't affect
that much but I will definitely go for the SIM cards for extended
visits. So the GSM world phone could be use in Taiwan as well.
Thanks for the info.

CS