Cellular GSM Technology - PrePaid in Cancun

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PrePaid in Cancun

Newby

2008-02-17, 12:33 pm

Has anyone in the group used their pre-paid T-mobile phone in Cancun? Was
the coverage good or bad? How much to call back to the USA from Cancun?
How much to receive calls from the USA.

If T-mobile service is not satisfactory, what SIM would you buy? I will be
looking for SIMs for my unlocked tri and quad band phones for use in Cancun
and vicinity. I want to be able to call within Mexico and make and receive
calls to and from the USA. My WorldSIM is no longer an option. Seems as
though they have closed their operation.

Thanks for any help and suggestions.

Todd Allcock

2008-02-17, 3:33 pm

"Newby" <nobody@nowhere.net> wrote in message
news:13rgulm8iurv718
@corp.supernews.com...
> Has anyone in the group used their pre-paid T-mobile phone in Cancun? Was
> the coverage good or bad? How much to call back to the USA from Cancun?
> How much to receive calls from the USA.

I've used it. You roam on Movistar with T-Mo prepaid, as opposed to Telcel
(a larger carrier with more coverage) on T-Mo contract service. Either
works fine in Cancun.

It's $1.49/minute, incoming, outgoing, local or to the US, same as on
contract.

I have an old "Gold" account with a high balance I don't use anymore, so I
used that in Mexico instead of my contract service, figuring I was better
off "spending" money I'd already spent on my prepaid account rather than
incur new charges on my contract phone.

BIG WARNING!!!!: Any calls that roll to voicemail while you roam get charged
one minute of roaming- so factor that into what you expect to spend.

> If T-mobile service is not satisfactory, what SIM would you buy? I will
be
> looking for SIMs for my unlocked tri and quad band phones for use in
> Cancun
> and vicinity. I want to be able to call within Mexico and make and
> receive
> calls to and from the USA. My WorldSIM is no longer an option. Seems as
> though they have closed their operation.

Either Telcel or Movistar local SIMs might be a better option. They both
offer a "per call" option where you can call the US for 20 or 30 minutes for
11 pesos (about a $1.00) from your home area. Depends on how much you'll
use the phone- I was on vacation, so a few calls at $1.49 was cheaper and
easier than buying a local SIM for $30 to get a cheaper per minute rate.
Besides, last time I was there, my hotel (Ambiance Villas at Kin Ha) had
free wifi in the lobby so I made most of my calls there using VoIP (my
Windows Mobile phone has a Voip client so I can switch between cell service
and VoIP at will) at $0.02/minute.

If you want a US number with cheaper airtime, you might consider AT&T
GoPhone temporarily- they claim to work in Mexico now, roaming under Telcel
at $0.99 minute. You can get an AT&T prepaid SIM with $10 starter airtime
in any retail packaged GoPhone.

> Thanks for any help and suggestions.

Last suggestion- consider texting whenever possible. It's $0.35 outgoing,
$0.05 incoming, which beats $1.49/minute.

>

bruceR

2008-02-17, 3:33 pm

Newby wrote:
> Has anyone in the group used their pre-paid T-mobile phone in Cancun?
> Was the coverage good or bad? How much to call back to the USA from
> Cancun? How much to receive calls from the USA.
>
> If T-mobile service is not satisfactory, what SIM would you buy? I
> will be looking for SIMs for my unlocked tri and quad band phones for
> use in Cancun and vicinity. I want to be able to call within Mexico
> and make and receive calls to and from the USA. My WorldSIM is no
> longer an option. Seems as though they have closed their operation.
>
> Thanks for any help and suggestions.

In adition to what Todd Said, all of which is good info, Ive found that EVEN
IF YOUR PHONE IS OFF, you can be charged for forwarding to voice mail at the
foreign rate if you've turned the phone on in a foreign country within the
previous 24 hours. In fact, I've always seen the charge be at least 2
minutes - one for the call from the US to ring the phone and one minute for
forwarding back to voicemail from the foreign country. TMo says this
normal.
To counter this problem, I set my forwarding to "immediate" so that all
calls go directly to voicemail. Then, at my convenience, I check the
messages and return the ones that need to be taken care of. I tell people
who really may need to reach me to send a text if they want me to call them.
However, if I am in one place for more than a few days, I'll usually just
get a local pre-paid SIM and enjoy the lower rates.

Todd Allcock

2008-02-17, 10:33 pm

At 17 Feb 2008 14:49:48 -0600 bruceR wrote:

> In adition to what Todd Said, all of which is good info, Ive found that
EVEN
> IF YOUR PHONE IS OFF, you can be charged for forwarding to voice mail at
the
> foreign rate if you've turned the phone on in a foreign country within
the
> previous 24 hours. In fact, I've always seen the charge be at least 2
> minutes - one for the call from the US to ring the phone and one minute
for
> forwarding back to voicemail from the foreign country. TMo says this
> normal.

Thanks for the addition- I forgot to specify the charges happen if the
phone is off.

> To counter this problem, I set my forwarding to "immediate" so that all
> calls go directly to voicemail. Then, at my convenience, I check the
> messages and return the ones that need to be taken care of.

Unfortunately, T-Mo prepaid doesn't allow call forwarding, so the OP is
likely stuck.

> I tell people
> who really may need to reach me to send a text if they want me to call
them.
> However, if I am in one place for more than a few days, I'll usually
just
> get a local pre-paid SIM and enjoy the lower rates.

Yeah, but again it depends how much you plan to use your phone. If a local
SIM costs $30 US that's 20 minutes of airtime. In two weeks in Cancun (one
week each of the last two years) I've used less than 10 minutes of cellular
airtime.

Dan

2008-02-22, 4:33 am

Todd Allcock wrote:

> Unfortunately, T-Mo prepaid doesn't allow call forwarding, so the OP is
> likely stuck.

But can you turn off the voicemail completely? That would solve that
problem. I did that with my contract line when i went to sweden. Not
sure on prepaid if turning off the voicemail is an option. I don't see
why not.

Todd Allcock

2008-02-22, 12:34 pm

At 22 Feb 2008 02:27:24 -0600 Dan wrote:
> Todd Allcock wrote:
>
>
> But can you turn off the voicemail completely? That would solve that
> problem. I did that with my contract line when i went to sweden. Not
> sure on prepaid if turning off the voicemail is an option. I don't see
why not.

That's a good question. I've never asked. My T-Mo prepaid phones are
"backups" that I couldn't resist buying when T-Mo ran a promo a few years
ago (a $25 airtime purchase gave you "Gold" status with one-year
expirations) so nobody calls those numbers anyway, other than the rare
wrong number. I used them in Mexico to run down their airtime a little
rather than incur new charges on my postpaid phone.

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