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#1
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Mobile Phones in the US
Hi,
We will be road travelling through the western US next month. I have a tri-band mobile phone, but think that global roaming charges (from Australian account) may too expensive for regular use. Are there fairly cheap pre-paid phone or SIM card packages avaliable in the US, and if so where are they available and what might be the approximate costs? What about hiring a phone from the rental car company? Thanks, Keith |
#2
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Mobile Phones in the US
On 6/20/2006 6:39 PM Keith wrote:
Hi, We will be road travelling through the western US next month. I have a tri-band mobile phone, but think that global roaming charges (from Australian account) may too expensive for regular use. Are there fairly cheap pre-paid phone or SIM card packages avaliable in the US, and if so where are they available and what might be the approximate costs? What about hiring a phone from the rental car company? Thanks, Keith You'll find them in Target Stores, Staples, Best Buy to name a few. Trac Phone is one that comes to mind. There are others. -- ________ To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address. Brian M. Kochera "Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!" View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951 |
#3
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Mobile Phones in the US
On 2006-06-21 01:37:38 -0400, Brian K said:
On 6/20/2006 6:39 PM Keith wrote: Hi, We will be road travelling through the western US next month. I have a tri-band mobile phone, but think that global roaming charges (from Australian account) may too expensive for regular use. Are there fairly cheap pre-paid phone or SIM card packages avaliable in the US, and if so where are they available and what might be the approximate costs? What about hiring a phone from the rental car company? Thanks, Keith You'll find them in Target Stores, Staples, Best Buy to name a few. Trac Phone is one that comes to mind. There are others. However, WATCH OUT for Trac Phone! There are places where roaming is impossible. |
#4
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Mobile Phones in the US
On Wed, 21 Jun 2006 05:37:38 GMT, Brian K
wrote: On 6/20/2006 6:39 PM Keith wrote: Hi, We will be road travelling through the western US next month. I have a tri-band mobile phone, but think that global roaming charges (from Australian account) may too expensive for regular use. Are there fairly cheap pre-paid phone or SIM card packages avaliable in the US, and if so where are they available and what might be the approximate costs? What about hiring a phone from the rental car company? You'll find them in Target Stores, Staples, Best Buy to name a few. Trac Phone is one that comes to mind. There are others. Aren't the setup and per-minute charges outrageous? I used a T-Mobile Sim card in my triband phone on one trip to the US and never again. It's cheaper to pay the outrageous roaming charges from my Italian provider. Actually my provider this year instituted a fairly reasonably priced roaming plan. -- Barbara Vaughan My email address is my first initial followed by my last name at libero dot it. |
#5
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Mobile Phones in the US
Keith wrote:
We will be road travelling through the western US next month. I have a tri-band mobile phone, but think that global roaming charges (from Australian account) may too expensive for regular use. Are there fairly cheap pre-paid phone or SIM card packages avaliable in the US, and if so where are they available and what might be the approximate costs? What about hiring a phone from the rental car company? Assuming your mobile phone uses GSM-Technology: might be worth first to check gsm-coverage for the area you plan to travel at www.gsm.org more specifically http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/cou_us.shtml otherwise you will find yourself with a gsm prepaid package and still pay roaming for having to use an other service providers network. Or at least you can check roaming partners to your service provider in the US and the prices. I have no first hand experience for the US, but have given up such plans for trips to Canada (average once a year) as prepaid SIM-cards are offered with very limited services at relatively high prices (compared to Europe) - for example, international calls limited to a very few countries only .... . Looks like its less expensive using international roaming on a decent contract with a national provider - or, what I try to do on such travel, use SMS whenever possible. If you expect to do lots of "local" calls, renting a cellular phone might then be the appropriate solution (not necessarily gsm!) |
#6
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Mobile Phones in the US
On Wed, 21 Jun 2006 11:39:03 +1000, "Keith" wrote:
Hi, We will be road travelling through the western US next month. I have a tri-band mobile phone, but think that global roaming charges (from Australian account) may too expensive for regular use. Are there fairly cheap pre-paid phone or SIM card packages avaliable in the US, and if so where are they available and what might be the approximate costs? What about hiring a phone from the rental car company? Thanks, Keith Keith, I used a Cingular sim card when over in May ( East coast though) It cost 20 US dollars and top-up ranged from 10$ upwards. Well pleased with them they were very helpful in advice on which kind of sim card to get. Elizabeth in Renfrewshire, Scotland. Removex to reply |
#7
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Mobile Phones in the US
Elizabeth wrote: On Wed, 21 Jun 2006 11:39:03 +1000, "Keith" wrote: Hi, We will be road travelling through the western US next month. I have a tri-band mobile phone, but think that global roaming charges (from Australian account) may too expensive for regular use. Are there fairly cheap pre-paid phone or SIM card packages avaliable in the US, and if so where are they available and what might be the approximate costs? What about hiring a phone from the rental car company? Thanks, Keith Keith, I used a Cingular sim card when over in May ( East coast though) It cost 20 US dollars and top-up ranged from 10$ upwards. Well pleased with them they were very helpful in advice on which kind of sim card to get. Yes Cingular sim card is the ticket. Find out if there is a Cingular store near where you are going to be staying. Elizabeth in Renfrewshire, Scotland. Removex to reply |
#8
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Mobile Phones in the US
Keith wrote:
Hi, We will be road travelling through the western US next month. I have a tri-band mobile phone, but think that global roaming charges (from Australian account) may too expensive for regular use. Are there fairly cheap pre-paid phone or SIM card packages avaliable in the US, and if so where are they available and what might be the approximate costs? What about hiring a phone from the rental car company? You can buy any phone that works on Verizon's network (even older phones) and activate it for about $10. Then you can buy more time on-line. You can buy a new Verizon InPulse phone at a store like Target or Wal-Mart, but it's better to activate it on PagePlus than on Verizon's own prepaid network. Be sure to buy a tri-mode, not an "All Digital" handset. I.e., the Audiovox CDM 8615 is tri-mode and sells at Wal-Mart for $60. Verizon's CDMA/AMPS network has far better coverage than the U.S. GSM networks, especially if you're traveling outside of urban areas (i.e. National Parks, rural roads, etc). See "http://stores.ebay.com/The-AHZ-Wireless-Store-Online" for PagePlus activation(I have no affiliation with this seller). You can probably sell the phone to a future U.S. bound traveler for nearly what you paid for it. |
#9
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Mobile Phones in the US
Keith wrote:
cheap pre-paid phone or SIM card packages avaliable in the US, and if so where are they available and what might be the approximate costs? What about Please see http://mayescem.ld.net where you will find prepaid and conventional cellular. You might also see if your current cellular provider has a service in the USA where you can get a USA SIM card and exchange it in your phone while you are here. Hope you have a good trip. Lloyd Colston Pryor, OK USA |
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