I'm traveling to Asia and am looking for a phone that'll work there, including Japan & Korea (which I've learned operate under UMTS 2100 MHz). I currently use ATT/Cingular, but the only phones they offer with that kind of frequency are bulky, expensive PDAs with extra stuff I don't want.
Question: If I bought an unlocked 3G (w/o 2100 MHZ) phone, could I buy a SIM card in Japan/Korea that would allow that phone to operate there? Or do I have to buy a phone that already operates under UMTS 2100?
Thanks!
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Texas Hold'em Posts: 217
Sun Jun 10, 2007 11:50 am
The phone needs to be compatible with the 2100 MHz band.
elmo01 Posts: 2342
Phone Model: Samsung SPH-M510
Service Provider: Bell Canada
Mon Jun 11, 2007 7:06 am
klem42 wrote:
I'm traveling to Asia and am looking for a phone that'll work there, including Japan & Korea (which I've learned operate under UMTS 2100 MHz). I currently use ATT/Cingular, but the only phones they offer with that kind of frequency are bulky, expensive PDAs with extra stuff I don't want.
Question: If I bought an unlocked 3G (w/o 2100 MHZ) phone, could I buy a SIM card in Japan/Korea that would allow that phone to operate there? Or do I have to buy a phone that already operates under UMTS 2100?
Thanks!
in japan (and presumably Korea) right in the airport there are rental kiosks that you can rent while there.just put in your sim
chase4557 Posts: 10
Phone Model: Blackberry Pearl
Service Provider: at&t
Tue Jun 12, 2007 1:16 am
The phone cannot just be umts 2100 Mhz. It has to be a wcdma2100. The kind of they use in japan and korea. Those people are way ahead of us.
elmo01 Posts: 2342
Phone Model: Samsung SPH-M510
Service Provider: Bell Canada
Tue Jun 12, 2007 7:22 am
chase4557 wrote:
The phone cannot just be umts 2100 Mhz. It has to be a wcdma2100. The kind of they use in japan and korea. Those people are way ahead of us.
hence the rental from said country.the cingular/att world connect people can rent / lease you a phone or you can get one there
this is the infor you see at the website.(for a japan location)
Roaming with DoCoMo in Japan requires a phone/device with UTMS 2100 MHz frequency and an AT&T SIM chip. If you don't have a compatible phone/device, you can go to www.cellhire.com/cingular to rent a phone before you travel or rental phones can also be obtained at DoCoMo kiosks at Narita and Kansai airports
klem42 Posts: 2
Tue Jun 12, 2007 10:27 am
Thanks for the input. I was trying to avoid rentals because of the price. I guess there's no inexpensive way to go about it.
They're not ahead of us, 3G has been here for years, also having 2g and 2.5g networks here allows for less expensive devices. IMO we're ahead of them. Also you have to think about the size difference the US is much larger than both of those countries, therefore it takes longer for them to approve bands and technologies for use, not to mention the setup to get it live
elmo01 Posts: 2342
Phone Model: Samsung SPH-M510
Service Provider: Bell Canada
Wed Jun 13, 2007 7:30 am
Malibu21 wrote:
They're not ahead of us, 3G has been here for years, also having 2g and 2.5g networks here allows for less expensive devices. IMO we're ahead of them. Also you have to think about the size difference the US is much larger than both of those countries, therefore it takes longer for them to approve bands and technologies for use, not to mention the setup to get it live
actually true 3g service has not been here very long.
internally the GSM network was referred to as 3g. its 2.5g actually.
a 3g (UMTS or Wcdma) is capable of simultaneous data and voice. on a non umts device (GPRS or EDGE) you can download OR talk .not at the same time on a UMTS device you can do both and at a higher speed for the dload
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