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Cellular forums Home > Archive > Sprint PCS > December 2006 > Re: TechWeb: "GSM Based phones can usually be used in many non-U.S.
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Re: TechWeb: "GSM Based phones can usually be used in many non-U.S.
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| Joel Kolstad wrote:
> "SMS" <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote in message
> news:4578a722$0$8261
5$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net...
>
> "Usually" is probably rather overstated: Unless someone specifically purchased
> an unlocked phone from their U.S.-based GSM carrier, I'd say the odds of the
> average person having such a phone is perhaps... 1 in 10?
True, but the frequent European or Asian traveler has probably figured
it out.
> Granted, trying to use a CDMA phone outside the U.S. is probably a 1 in 1000
> shot; I'd be surprised if we could find anyone who has successfully taken,
> e.g., a Sprint phone and gotten it to work in, say, Japan. But perhaps I'm
> horribly mistaken...
No, you're not mistaken. However the story is different in Korea, where
it's relatively easy to use a CDMA phone, as well as in China, India,
etc. New CDMA networks are being deployed in a lot of countries, and
coverage is expanding in existing countries. It's not that these
countries were so keen on a second standard, but in the densely
populated countries, they needed the higher efficiency of CDMA.
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| SMS wrote:
> No, you're not mistaken. However the story is different in Korea, where
> it's relatively easy to use a CDMA phone, as well as in China, India,
> etc. New CDMA networks are being deployed in a lot of countries, and
> coverage is expanding in existing countries. It's not that these
> countries were so keen on a second standard, but in the densely
> populated countries, they needed the higher efficiency of CDMA.
Also note that you can get a combo CDMA 800/1900 & GSM 900/1800 handset
from Verizon. This gives you the best of both worlds. You get Verizon's
superior U.S. network, and you can roam on CDMA and GSM in other countries.
Personally, I prefer buying a prepaid GSM SIM card when traveling, as
it's much more cost efficient. Even when I can claim the cost on an
expense report, it just galls me to pay the international roaming charges.
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