Motorola RAZR in Bangkok. Can I use?

On Apr 9, 7:52 pm, Alfred Molon wrote:
In article .com,
says...

As for intended use. I basically just want to be able to receive
calls from my in-laws and my kids and return such calls as well. I
will not be making any local calls to Thailand.

Then the Thai SIM card only solves half of the problem: it certainly
allows you to receive calls from the US for free, but in the other
direction you'll have to pay (presumably) steep rates. You may
probably find on-line what the rates are. Try to find the Orange pre-
paid service in Thailand.

Don't know about the USA, but here in Germany you can call Thailand for
a few cents/minute with a standard phone (i.e. not VOIP). Not exactly
what I would call a steep rate. How much do you pay in the USA to call
Thailand?

It's the charge call from Thailand that's expensive.


--

Alfred Molonhttp://www.molon.de- Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe

I have just got back and phoning the Uk using a 1,2 call local sim
and using the 009 prefix it was about 9 baht a minute, which I thought
was very good.
found this on the web not sure if its upto date on the prices

Pressing 009 or eFONE will get you through to the economy service
offered by CAT, which uses Voice over internet protocol (VoIP) to help
you save money on international calls to over 150 countries across the
world. The minimum call duration is 1 minute, and remaining time is
billed per six-second block. For instance, a call to the USA is
charged at Bt5 per minute, with each remaining six-second block
charged at 50 satang

In article . com,
says...

Pressing 009 or eFONE will get you through to the economy service
offered by CAT, which uses Voice over internet protocol (VoIP) to help
you save money on international calls to over 150 countries across the
world. The minimum call duration is 1 minute, and remaining time is
billed per six-second block. For instance, a call to the USA is
charged at Bt5 per minute, with each remaining six-second block
charged at 50 satang

The funny thing is that a standard call from Thailand to Europe only
costs a few cents/minute at wholesale rates, so VOIP in reality does not
have a cost advantage. The intercontinental cables have huge capacities.
--

Alfred Molon
http://www.molon.de - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe

"Alfred Molon" kirjoitti
s.com...
In article . com,
says...

Pressing 009 or eFONE will get you through to the economy service
offered by CAT, which uses Voice over internet protocol (VoIP) to help
you save money on international calls to over 150 countries across the
world. The minimum call duration is 1 minute, and remaining time is
billed per six-second block. For instance, a call to the USA is
charged at Bt5 per minute, with each remaining six-second block
charged at 50 satang

The funny thing is that a standard call from Thailand to Europe only
costs a few cents/minute at wholesale rates, so VOIP in reality does not
have a cost advantage. The intercontinental cables have huge capacities.
--
Hmmmm.... Knowing that domestic phone calls in Finland cost a few cents per
minute and in Germany supposedly many times more than in Finland (and that
telecommuncation networks aren't that fancy in Thailand), the claim above is
perhaps untrue. Many teleoperators do offer rates similar to those you
suggest but voice is digitally packed and you may have a wild guess where
they might traverse between the sending and receiving ends. I don't know
what cables go out from Thailand but for instance in Europe the EU authority
is stepping on the toes of evil teleoperators who practice banditry in the
name of roaming. And this has little to do with the band width of phone
lines.

Tchiowa wrote:
On Apr 10, 2:46 am, "jg" wrote:
Hi,

I have a Motorola RAZR (Cingular service) and am going to be
travelling to Thailand in the near future for two weeks. I am hoping
to use my current phone while in Thailand either with my US number or
a temporary number. I've checked with Cingular and they would charge
me either $1.29 or $1.99 per minute... which is more than I am
willing to pay.

Standard US phones don't work in Thailand. You have to make sure it is
a tri- or quad-band. Then it works. When you get to Thailand you'll
have to have it unlocked. Then buy a Thai SIM card (virtually free
from a service like 1 2 Call) and you're on your way.

You can find places to unlock your phone all over Bangkok.

Or, go to someplace like MBK and buy a cheap, used Nokia for $25 and
throw it away when you leave.

Agreed. Buy a cheap unlocked phone in Thailand and a local sim card.
I can't speak for Thailand costs as we were only there a few days, so I
didn't need a card. Though I was told rates were good.
In Malaysia a sim card costs just a couple of ££ with air time and a call to
most countries is only 20 cents a minute (about 3pence).
I'm sure you could get a similar deal in Thailand.
Alternatively, as its only for 2 weeks, stay in contact by email. Internet
cafes are both cheap and plentiful.

Jan

On Apr 10, 6:09 am, Alfred Molon wrote:

The funny thing is that a standard call from Thailand to Europe only
costs a few cents/minute at wholesale rates.

From a mobile phone?

If you try your hotel room phone they'll charge you several times
that, although perhaps not as outrageous fees as in the US.

jrk

--

Alfred Molonhttp://www.molon.de- Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe

In article ,
says...

The funny thing is that a standard call from Thailand to Europe only
costs a few cents/minute at wholesale rates, so VOIP in reality does not
have a cost advantage. The intercontinental cables have huge capacities.
--
Hmmmm.... Knowing that domestic phone calls in Finland cost a few cents per
minute and in Germany supposedly many times more than in Finland (and that
telecommuncation networks aren't that fancy in Thailand), the claim above is
perhaps untrue. Many teleoperators do offer rates similar to those you
suggest but voice is digitally packed and you may have a wild guess where
they might traverse between the sending and receiving ends. I don't know
what cables go out from Thailand but for instance in Europe the EU authority
is stepping on the toes of evil teleoperators who practice banditry in the
name of roaming. And this has little to do with the band width of phone
lines.

The claim is true. See the below link for cheap rates:
http://www.teltarif.de/festnetz/

Choose the destination in the Tarifcheck Box.
--

Alfred Molon
http://www.molon.de - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe

In article .com,
says...

If you try your hotel room phone they'll charge you several times
that, although perhaps not as outrageous fees as in the US.

Don't use the hotel phone to make calls, unless they are local. The best
option when travelling is to get a local GSM prepaid card, or use Skype
if you have a notebook with you and a room with a good Internet
connection.
--

Alfred Molon
http://www.molon.de - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe

"Alfred Molon" kirjoitti
s.com...
In article .com,
says...

If you try your hotel room phone they'll charge you several times
that, although perhaps not as outrageous fees as in the US.

Don't use the hotel phone to make calls, unless they are local. The best
option when travelling is to get a local GSM prepaid card, or use Skype
if you have a notebook with you and a room with a good Internet
connection.
--
Prepaid cards are possibly the best option for those who are frequently in
contact by phone in one or two countries. Otherwise their use is not
necessarily very practical a business. As a leisure traveller I don't need a
phone at all. Actually I try to keep the stock of electronic gadget in
minimun (in Europe when cruising by car there is only a phone, a laptop, two
gps-navigators, lots of rechargeable batteries and cords ... and a coffee
maker).

In article ,
says...

Prepaid cards are possibly the best option for those who are frequently in
contact by phone in one or two countries. Otherwise their use is not
necessarily very practical a business. As a leisure traveller I don't need a
phone at all. Actually I try to keep the stock of electronic gadget in
minimun (in Europe when cruising by car there is only a phone, a laptop, two
gps-navigators, lots of rechargeable batteries and cords ... and a coffee
maker).

Only two gps-navigators? How do you manage not to get lost?... ;-)
--

Alfred Molon
http://www.molon.de - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe