Need some info on using mobile in LA

thor

My sister will be travelling to Los Angeles at the end of this month and would like to be able to use her noika 3410 to call home and recieve calls from the UK while she is out there. I've heard that it would be best to buy a sim out there but I don't know why or which ones. Is it true that she will be paying at a high rate even if she ie recieving a call and this is the case whether she buys a local sim or uses her current O2 one? Has anyone any experience of using mobiles from that part of the USA?

drahcir_2

dont know about the cheapest way to use a sim but i think you would need a tri-band phone for usa whereas 3410 is only dual band

margaret_3

Not only would she need a tri-band but it's hugely expensive!
What I do is phone home and let the phone ring twice and then my husband phones me back using 18866. If I don't have the U.S. number, I use a $10 phone card and phone home with the number and my husband then phones me back as before.
The phone cards are freely available at the airport, in shops and garages etc.
Margaret

andy88_2

drahcir is right. USA GSM networks use 850 and 1900 MHz bands where we have 900 and 1800. Tribands available here will add 1900; ones over there have 850, 1800, 1900. There are also phones using different systems such as TDMA; never mind the details - they're not compatible.

Call charges are different there. The extra cost of mobile operation is paid for by the receiver paying for incoming calls, and calls to cellphones are the same cost as landlines. There are some roaming issues within the country, that I do not quite understand, but if you are in only one area you will have a local area code number and this would not affect you.

You can get a phone and SIM deal from T-mobile USA on 1900. I've also heard 7-11's Speakout, also phone and SIM, on Cingular, recommended for foreigners.

SIM only deals have been thinner on the ground, although you can probably find T-mobile and others on eBay, but the forthcoming Oxygen/O2 SIM which also roams on Cingular looks very interesting, especially as it counts 51 countries as the same price as local, 14c flat rate

Keep an eye on theright-hand side of this page (links not yet live)
http://www.ecallplus.com/

also O2 and Locus GSM at
http://www.icallplus.com/callplus.html#

ps I suspect the int'l calls at that price use a callback system, as there is a higher direct dial tariff on a page off the Locus site.
Edit - no, it looks like a call-through number is used.

andy88_2

I just read of someone buying a Nokia 3595 (like 3510i) in Costco for $30 ($60 with mail-in rebate) on T-mobile with $15 worth of calls for 60 days. Probably 50 minutes at their tariffs.

I also emailed eCallplus about the Oxygen SIM

margaret_3

It seems rather drastic to buy a mobile phone when phone cards are so cheap.
Margaret

thor

Thanks to all who replied. It seems that it is going to be even more complicated than I thought originally.

andy88_2

andy88 wrote:

I also emailed eCallplus about the Oxygen SIM

Thank you for your interest in Oxygen Wireless, which will go live on 6/15.
In order to make a free international call, you will be asked to dial a
10-digital number, before dialing the number you're trying to reach.

We are unable to ship overseas for security reasons