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Bruce R Leech
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6796
Registered: 9-20-2004
Location: Ensenada formerly Mulege
Member Is Offline
Mood: A lot cooler than Mulege
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| Quote: | Originally posted by A-OK
Sooooo, some of you seem well educated in cell/telecommunications. Who's in the business? I dabble in the field a bit myself. |
tell us about it A-OK
Bruce R Leech
Ensenada
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A-OK
Nomad
Posts: 162
Registered: 9-11-2004
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
Mood: faded
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We build, maintain, and upgrade sites for Verizon, Cingular, and some T-Mobile in Nevada. Started on the tower crew and worked into a
tech/construction position in the past year.
I was just curious who else was in the same field since a few knew the terminology and sounded like they know whats going on.
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Diver
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4729
Registered: 11-15-2004
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by A-OK
I was just curious who else was in the same field since a few knew the terminology and sounded like they know whats going on. |
We're mostly illiterate but just stayed at a Holiday Inn Express ! 
Nah, just a few technobrains, a few engineers and some old guys who know a lot.
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MrBillM
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 21656
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Out and About
Member Is Offline
Mood: It's a Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Day
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Telco Techs
It seems sometimes that Baja is the primary retirement spot for us old Telecom Folks. The number that I've met over the years is surprising. We fit
in well with the lifestyle since we all "know everything there is to know". Or so it seems.
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Bruce R Leech
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6796
Registered: 9-20-2004
Location: Ensenada formerly Mulege
Member Is Offline
Mood: A lot cooler than Mulege
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I just bought my first cell phone when Mulege put in there new cell towers about a year ago. but I read the whole manual 2 times.
Bruce R Leech
Ensenada
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Diver
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4729
Registered: 11-15-2004
Member Is Offline
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My Telcel manual was in spanish. Can someone tell me what it says ? 
And what is that irritating ringing noise it makes all the time ? 
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bajalou
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4459
Registered: 3-11-2004
Location: South of the broder
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Diver - your manual is ringing????
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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bajarich
Nomad
Posts: 464
Registered: 1-13-2005
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We were trying to decide which phone would work best, both in the States and for my annual trip to Baja. After reading this thread, it looked like
Cingular was probably the one so my wife went down and signed us up. I didn't get a chance to talk to the rep until today, and he said that they have
switched over to GSM/GPRS and the new phones will not work on TDMA at all, so I don't know if I will be able to use it with the Telcel towers in the
rural areas. I asked if an older phone would work and he said there would be no way of activating it with the new Cingular system. I have 30 days
to reject the whole plan, but I won't be in Baja until next winter when I go fishing on the East Cape. Does anyone know if it will work down there
ie. La Rebira or Los Barriles, or along Highway 1 driving down?
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bajabound2005
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2760
Registered: 10-15-2005
Location: Punta Banda, BCN
Member Is Offline
Mood: words cannot describe...
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| Quote: | Originally posted by MrBillM
It seems sometimes that Baja is the primary retirement spot for us old Telecom Folks. The number that I've met over the years is surprising. We fit
in well with the lifestyle since we all "know everything there is to know". Or so it seems. |
Scary, I come from TelComm as well! ANd very glad to be out of it!
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bajacrawler
Junior Nomad
Posts: 41
Registered: 6-12-2006
Location: San Felipe/Sun City CA
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I have not been able to use my Verizonwireless phone in San Felipe for the last 3 years at least. I think it happened when Telcel went from CDMA to
GSM. I buy one of the Telcel card phones which comes with 300 pesos. When that is gone I buy one of the 500 peso cards which get me 400 free pesos for
a total 900 pesos for 50 bucks. The calls cost .20 per minute for incoming calls from the states. Calls to the states are 1.50 per minute. I don't
make local calls very often, but I think it is around .35 per minute. My neighbor's Cingular phone seems to work every place that my Telcel phone
works. My Telcel phone works for a long way down the beach except for a very few dead spots. I think I am going to get a Cingular phone when I go back
to San Felipe in October. Don't like paying for Verizon that I can't use for 3 or 4 months at a time when I am in San Felipe.
Jack
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JZ
Select Nomad
Posts: 10590
Registered: 10-3-2003
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajarich
We were trying to decide which phone would work best, both in the States and for my annual trip to Baja. After reading this thread, it looked like
Cingular was probably the one so my wife went down and signed us up. I didn't get a chance to talk to the rep until today, and he said that they have
switched over to GSM/GPRS and the new phones will not work on TDMA at all, so I don't know if I will be able to use it with the Telcel towers in the
rural areas. I asked if an older phone would work and he said there would be no way of activating it with the new Cingular system. I have 30 days
to reject the whole plan, but I won't be in Baja until next winter when I go fishing on the East Cape. Does anyone know if it will work down there
ie. La Rebira or Los Barriles, or along Highway 1 driving down? |
You will be fine, go with Cingular.
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Natalie Ann
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2819
Registered: 8-22-2003
Location: Berkeley
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by JZ
| Quote: | Originally posted by bajarich
We were trying to decide which phone would work best, both in the States and for my annual trip to Baja. After reading this thread, it looked like
Cingular was probably the one so my wife went down and signed us up. I didn't get a chance to talk to the rep until today, and he said that they have
switched over to GSM/GPRS and the new phones will not work on TDMA at all, so I don't know if I will be able to use it with the Telcel towers in the
rural areas. I asked if an older phone would work and he said there would be no way of activating it with the new Cingular system. I have 30 days
to reject the whole plan, but I won't be in Baja until next winter when I go fishing on the East Cape. Does anyone know if it will work down there
ie. La Rebira or Los Barriles, or along Highway 1 driving down? |
You will be fine, go with Cingular. |
Glad this topic has been resurrected. I was waiting for my Cingular bill to arrive before speaking.
My very new service is Cingular, very new phone is LG. For the time I'm in Baja we pay an additional $5.99 per month to access Telcel towers (I
believe this has dropped to $4.99). This was supposed to give us the all-great rate of something like 60 cents a minute to the U.S. so I didn't plan
on calling home.
I landed in La Paz in the evening and the next morning my phone connected with Telcel. At first it aligned itself with MovieStar, but soon it righted
itself.
In La Paz my connection was good. In Los Barriles it was spotty... first try during late afternoon was a successful connect to home with a strong
signal. Two days later in LB on Mother's Day, when perhaps lots of calling took place, I could not get a signal anywhere. Both places I noted that
the phone batteries ran down much more quickly than in the U.S.
Now the phone bill has arrived and guess what. Those folks at Cingular charged me only 3.5 cents per minute to phone home and no per minute charge
for calls within MX.
I suspect there's any number of places off the beaten path where the Cingular phones do not reach because they're all digital. You can still get an
analog phone for free when purchasing a phone card/service through Telcel in Mexico... they reach the outlying areas and turn your brain to jello all
at the same time. But if ya wanta call the real outback, this would be your best shot without a satellite phone, I think.
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
.....Oscar Wilde
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bajasol
Junior Nomad
Posts: 61
Registered: 4-14-2006
Location: LAX.YVR.SJD
Member Is Offline
Mood: Bajabulous
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Another thing to rattle the mind...some of the newer phones give you the ability to switch the service provider while you are roaming. For instance: I
have a Nokia 6600 with T-Mobile in Los Angeles. Most mobile telecommun. companies have partnerships worldwide so when you travel, the phone auto
switched to whom ever your providers partner is. But sometimes the partner is more expensive depending on what home plan you have.
(international/worldwide/or local plan) Sometimes it is less expensive to switch to another carrier.
All phones are different but new Nokias go as such:
Menu
tools
settings
network
operator selection
automatic or manual
when you hit manual, the phone will search for any or all networks you can choose from.
But in BCS you might only have one to choose from if you are that lucky.
Theres always SATphones for you highrollers. That's a whole other discussion.
Adios
BAJA SOL
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15939
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
Member Is Offline
Mood: Everchangin'
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finally called the cingular guy and with my samsung phone all i have to do is hold down the "0" until a "+" appears and then dial 1+ areacode + number
and it'll connect at the roaming charge. strictly for checking in once or twice during a trip....
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bajarich
Nomad
Posts: 464
Registered: 1-13-2005
Member Is Offline
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Thanks for the info. It makes me feel better about the Cingular decision.
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