Text 9231, 123 rader
Skriven 2010-07-11 17:58:13 av Roy Witt (1:387/22)
   Kommentar till text 9146 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
Ärende: Cellphone woes
======================
11 Jul 10 09:09, Robert Bashe wrote to Roy Witt:

 RB> Roy Witt wrote to Robert Bashe on Friday July 09 2010 at 11:32:

 RW>>>> You're obviously getting your information from people who don't
 RW>>>> know what they're talking about.

 RB>>> No, you're obviously thinking of something else, probably
 RB>>> cellphones on contract to a provider, and simply assuming the same
 RB>>> system as that you know applies everywhere.

 RW>> Actually, I have a bunch of pamphlets from many providers in front
 RW>> of me that I use to make sure the information I talk about is
 RW>> correct.

 RB> All of that information naturally in English from American providers,
 RB> naturally worthless outside the USA. Such a pity that your
 RB> information is so limited.

Oh, there's info on international cell phone service as well. Which is
what is so funny, it shows you to be pretty stupid when it comes to the
whole picture of cell phone operation world wide.

 RB>>> The subject was _prepaid_ cards, Roy. You're obviously talking
 RB>>> about phones that are locked to a specific provider, with a
 RB>>> contract.

 RW>> There is no such freedom of roaming without a provider here.

 RB> The term "roaming" means that you use a phone/SIM set up for one
 RB> country in another.

LOL! Phones and SIMS are not required to roam in other countries.

Your version of 'roaming' isn't what we called it here. Roaming used to be
the term used to describe when you were out of your calling area, what
with the advent of 'Nationwide calling' is obsolete now. I suppose there
are some paygo cell phones out there that still have to pay for being out
of their calling area, but they aren't the norm.

 RB> In the States, you may mean that the phone/SIM was purchased in one
 RB> state and you want to phone in another state.

Wrong. When my old cell phone (before V3s) died in Illinois, I bought a
paygo from Radio Shack there and used it until I got back to Texas.

 RB> As for having a provider, naturally you need one. No provider, no
 RB> radio towars, no reception and no phone connections.

 RW>> If you buy a prepaid card, it will have to be one from the provider
 RW>> from whom you purchased your phone.

 RB> Now, that may be the case in the States, but it certainly isn't in
 RB> Europe, and if we're talking about a GSM phone with a SIM card, where
 RB> the phone has not been "locked" to a specific provider (rare in
 RB> Europe, and then only on subsidized, cheap phones), you can put any
 RB> SIM card from any provider you like into it.

Except for the phones that require someone to program the SIM software
module.

 RB> The only explanation I have for your claim is that either things are
 RB> different in the States, or that you're thinking of GSM phones locked
 RB> to a specific provider.

Most providers wish they could keep customers by locking their phones to
their service, but there are way too many people in the business of
unlocking phones. i.e. AT&T no longer provides Motorola phones to their
customers, yet I have used one since day one with them, c2004.

 RB> CDMA phones are out of the running anyway, since they're
 RB> automatically locked into one single provider.

They too can be unlocked, but what for?

 RW>>>>>> You conveniently overlook that my minutes (airtime) continue to
 RW>>>>>> add up rather than go away.

 RB>>>>> So what? Do you get paid for the unused balance when you switch
 RB>>>>> providers? If not, my above comment stands.

 RW>>>> Your comment is from outer space.

 RB>>> You conveniently avoid answering the question.

 RW>> Let's see if I can make one from outter space then. If you drop one
 RW>> provider for another, you lose any minutes you have with the
 RW>> former...

 RB> So the answer to my question is "no", you simply lose the unpaid
 RB> balance.

 RW>> ...and are given new minutes from the new provider.

 RB> And now all you need to do is tell me whether the number of these
 RB> "new minutes" is _identical_ to what you lost at the former provider.

Ummm, a minute is still a minute, no matter where it came from.

 RB> If so, you're not getting screwed by changing providers. If you have
 RB> to start all over again, you are - and this is the way a provider
 RB> tries to prevent you from switching to another provider.

As the history of Verizon shows, they've done some crooked things in the
past and I've been a victim. Before them, MCI (also a victim) was even
worse and was put out of business by the feds. Thus, I wouldn't ever go
back to Verizon, nor would I use any of the other major providers, as
their service isn't up to par with AT&T.

When I was popping locked doors for a living, when I entered the Guadalupe
river canyon (see River Road in Comal County TX), the only service that
had a steady signal was AT&T, or my phone. The company provided phones,
one on Sprint's Nextel and one on T-Mobile (a Blackberry), lost signal in
most areas. T-Mobile, aka the Blackberry was spotty, while the Nextel
phone couldn't be used until I emerged from that canyon. Nextel is a PTT
phone service which is connected to private group calling and may also be
used to place/receive a cell phone call.

                R\%/itt

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