The need for GSM (was Re: [TriLUG] Re: 802.11 around the fairgrounds?)

[Rick DeNatale]

On 2/8/06, Alan Porter <porter at trilug.org> wrote:
>
> >...since I don't have a Verizon cell phone
> >(need GSM).
> >
> >
>
> I'm not sure how to read this sentence.  It can go
> either way.  So to clarify...
>
> Verizon is a CDMA carrier.
> Sprint is CDMA.
> Cingular (in NC) is GSM.
>
> EVDO is a CDMA standard.
> The GSM equivalent is GPRS.

I'm assuming that he meant that:
1) He pays more for his EVDO service from Verizon than he would if he
also had a Verizon phone.
2) The reason that he doesn't have a Verizon phone is that he needs GSM.

That said, I'm beginning to wonder why, given the state of GSM in the
US, anyone here would NEED GSM for use in the US.  I used to think
that way when I was doing a lot of international travel, so I got a
GSM phone so that I could roam overseas.  Problem was, none of the US
GSM providers (at least the ones available in NC) seem to agree with
the "normal" GSM business model.  They all lock the phone to their SIM
card which limits you to their expensive international roaming rates. 
T-Mobile might be different but they're not available here in NC.

You might be able to get a US GSM phone unlocked via a third party,
but it's dependent on which phone you have.  Some of the folks I
travelled with preferred having a CDMA phone for use here, and an
inexpensive GSM phone which they could populate with a SIM card
obtained locally where they were traveling, and if they wanted to set
up forwarding from their US number to the overseas number, which
turned out to be cheaper than using the US providers overseas roaming.

For whatever reason, not having thought all this through, when ATT got
out of the mobile business, I switched to Cingular to keep GSM, rather
than getting defaulted to SunCom.  This was unfortunate, since
Cingular still hasn't built out their GSM network to the point where
it works everywhere I need it. For example I've got no coverage at our
second home in Rutherford County.

--
Rick DeNatale

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