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pacificobob
Super Nomad
Posts: 2308
Registered: 4-23-2006
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best cell phone service?
im sure this topic has been beaten to death here, but being a new guy i will ask for you patience in bringing it it up again. is there a domestic us
cell service that will work well in b.c.s.? without international roaming charges? or, do i just need to get a mexican cell service for 3 monthes use
each winter. here in alaska we can call canada or the lower 48 with our nationwide minutes....anything like that going on for b.c? thanks for the
help, bob
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bancoduo
Banned
Posts: 1003
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Location: el carcel publico mazatlan sin.
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Verizon North America plan.
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pacificobob
Super Nomad
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anyone using verizon in bcs?
i checked out the verizon website, it didnt show coverage in bcs, have any of you been using it there with good luck?
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Roberto
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Verizon does have a good plan cost-wise, but the coverage with verizon is pretty limited in Mexico, when compared to Cingular. You can get an
international roaming plan that reduces roaming costs significantly, but it does cost money. On the other hand, a cheap call that you can't make is
not that great a deal, right? I switched to Cingular recently and found coverage to be excellent in the North. We'll see what BCS coverage is like
later down the road.
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jeffg
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Location: Vista, CA
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| Quote: | Originally posted by pacificobob
im sure this topic has been beaten to death here, but being a new guy i will ask for you patience in bringing it it up again. is there a domestic us
cell service that will work well in b.c.s.? without international roaming charges? or, do i just need to get a mexican cell service for 3 monthes use
each winter. here in alaska we can call canada or the lower 48 with our nationwide minutes....anything like that going on for b.c? thanks for the
help, bob |
I think it really depends on where you plan to be. I have Verizon and in the East Cape it doesn't work at all. But in the airport at San Jose it
works great. Others in the East Cape use Cingular / ATT with good results, personally I use a Telcel cell phone while I'm there but it isn't exactly
cheap.
Jeff
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Reeljob
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Posts: 235
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Location: Durango, CO
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Have both. Cingular is by far the best, cheapest and has the best coverage. I have used it all over Baja (Mulege, El Roasario, San Quintin, Guerro
Negro, La Paz, Loreto, Cabo etc. no problem and no roaming charges. Also on the Mainland side, Guaymas etc.
Verizon works in some areas, Cabo and La Paz, but you pay a roaming charge on top of everything else.
For what its worth, my wife uses the Verizon in CO & is really peeed I won't let her turn it on for continious phone calls while in MX.
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Stickers
Senior Nomad
Posts: 571
Registered: 4-12-2006
Location: SoCal
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cellphones
Verizon works great in Todo Santos and La Paz but you should have an older phone that can still use analogue towers to get coverage in smaller towns
that have not yet installed new digital equipment.
The Verizon plan that covers Mexico and Canada increased my cost about $30 a month but that is with more overall minutes and free calling from Mexico
(if coverage is available).
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JZ
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Cingular is by far the best, coverage wise. Cingular is GSM/UMTS based technology which is more predominate in Mexico (i.e. same technology as
Tecel). Verizon uses CDMA, which is 50/50 in the US and some in Asia. I was just down on the Mainland with a friend and his Verizon coverage was
super hit or miss.
The Cingular NA plan was the best ($57/month 450 minutes, and really no roaming or long distance charges anywhere in NA). But seems like that
specific plan may be gone.
One good thing about Verizon is that caller ID works and doesn't seem to with Cingular. Which is kinda a pain when working remotely.
[Edited on 5-11-2006 by JZ]
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Bruce R Leech
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Mood: A lot cooler than Mulege
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Cingular is the only one that will work every where telcel is
Bruce R Leech
Ensenada
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Bruce R Leech
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6796
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Mood: A lot cooler than Mulege
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If you buy a phone that works on telcel you will get the phone free with 400 pesos of time you cant beat that . you can toss it when you go north or
give it to a kid.
I don't know why people spend so much time and money trying to get things from the U.S. to work here in Mexico.
Bruce R Leech
Ensenada
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pacificobob
Super Nomad
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Registered: 4-23-2006
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thanks!
well......thanks to all!
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JZ
Select Nomad
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| Quote: | Originally posted by lencho
| Quote: | Originally posted by JZ
Cingular is by far the best, coverage wise. Cingular is GSM/UMTS based technology which is more predominate in Mexico (i.e. same technology as
Tecel). Verizon uses CDMA, which is 50/50 in the US and some in Asia. |
Baja cell service started out with Telcel running TDMA and Baja Celular running CDMA. A Verizon (CDMA) handset would talk to Baja Celular towers,
other companies running TDMA would work with Telcel towers. At that time Telcel had a lot more towers than Baja Celular making Verizon a bad choice
down here.
The recent picture: Telcel is TDMA and over the last few years has been supplementing that with GSM; I believe there are still areas where they
haven't got GSM running yet, so the best coverage with them is a standard TDMA phone-- GSM works in main city areas but won't cover as many rural
areas. Baja Celular got swallowed up by Movistar (an international monster out of Spain, I believe), I don't know if they're running GSM now but I
assume they're still behind Telcel in coverage-- everybody I know uses Telcel.
--Larry |
The history of Telcel and Baja Celluar regarding TDMA, CDMA, and the movement to GSM mirrors what happened in the US to a degree. Europe went GSM
from the start for digital.
Based on my personal experience, Cingular works awesome on the Mainland in cities and rural areas all the way from Nogales to Guaymas. I've also seen
it work great in TJ, Mexicali, San Felipe, Loreto, San Rosalia, Mulege, and Guadajara. On the mainland you have full GSM/GPRS capabilities, i.e. your
Cingular Blackberry will work.
Yes, Movistar is part of Telefonica Moviles and they are head quartered in Spain. We just sold some products to them. Telefonica is a GSM/UMTS
carrier.
Verizon coverage is very spotty. I have personally observed that also.
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JZ
Select Nomad
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Bruce R Leech
I don't know why people spend so much time and money trying to get things from the U.S. to work here in Mexico. |
If you lived in the US, but visited Mexico often (say once a month), and sometimes worked remotely, you'd have a different opinion.
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Roberto
Banned
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Bruce R Leech
If you buy a phone that works on telcel you will get the phone free with 400 pesos of time you cant beat that . you can toss it when you go north or
give it to a kid.
I don't know why people spend so much time and money trying to get things from the U.S. to work here in Mexico. |
If I lived in Mexico, full or even much of the time, I would doubtless have a Mexican phone. I do not, and don't want to carry more than one phone.
Makes sense, right?
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
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i've noticed that while my cingular phone will pick up the telcel towers and i can recieve calls normally but i can't figure out how to dial
them!!! trying to dial a number from the sim card stored as a fone entry
doesn't work, direct dialing 011.......... doesn't work either.
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MrBillM
Platinum Nomad
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Location: Out and About
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Mood: It's a Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Day
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Right On, Bruce.
I keep giving people here and in person the same advice, but few seem interested. Of course, I can see not wanting to carry more than one phone.
They are so BULKY. Pity me, I have three phones to lug around. Actually, though, I put my ATT phone in the center console when I cross into Mexico
and never take it out until crossing again Northbound.
All you have to do to keep your Prepaid Telcel service current is to add 100 pesos to it each 60 days and any unused minutes rollover. Even if you
forget, you still don't lose the service, simply the unused minutes. Put a new card on and you're good to go.
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Roberto
Banned
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| Quote: | Originally posted by woody in ob
i've noticed that while my cingular phone will pick up the telcel towers and i can recieve calls normally but i can't figure out how to dial
them!!! trying to dial a number from the sim card stored as a fone entry
doesn't work, direct dialing 011.......... doesn't work either. |
011 should definitely work for calling the U.S. Have you enabled international roaming with Cingular? Give them a call if not.
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
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| Quote: |
Have you enabled international roaming with Cingular?
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nope. never remember, or i secretly subconciencly (nice try, huh!) don't want to get a call whist in the bush. but i can make outgoings when we start
the drop into tj along the fence. probably getting a us tower even though i do see it on the bill as originating from tj.
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Reeljob
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Posts: 235
Registered: 12-1-2004
Location: Durango, CO
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From MX to US dial 001 then the area code & Number. From US dial 011 52 to get into MX
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A-OK
Nomad
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Registered: 9-11-2004
Location: San Diego
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Mood: faded
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Sooooo, some of you seem well educated in cell/telecommunications. Who's in the business? I dabble in the field a bit myself.
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