Verizon Announces Expanded International Roaming
Rip Off
hahah = "I'm not travelling to see where in the world I can make a call."
My GSM provider (FET Taiwan) has low roaming rates in East Asia, but it is more in the US and Europe than VZW is charging.
I think that is not bad for roaming if its not going to be used alot. If you get a prepaid SIM card, you will have a phone number no one knows and you'll have to "shut" off the # people know so you can use your prepaid...unless you decide to invest in 2 phones and carry both around. So, it is also a HUDGE convenience factor too.
trade offs, trade offs, trade offs.
It's not that hard to tell people, hey, im going out of town, if you need to get a hold of me call me on this number.
That, surely beats 69c a minute in my books.
So, you have 2 numbers? Big deal, alot more inexpensive than Verizon's deal.
Then again, having a CDMA/GSM phone you could do the same, which would also be alot better than their outrageous charges.
Just as with everything else, there are pros and cons. You need to weigh things out for yourself to best fit your needs. It can be cheaper doing other options than roaming w/ Verizon, but it isn't ALL that bad either going that route.
...you also pay for convenience just like everything else in this world!
Roaming is all about convenience. You pay for that convenience. The cheapest route is almost never the most convenient.
It varies from individual to individual, Im only stating what works best for me.
Mexico $0.49
Canada $0.59
Israel $0.69
Western Europe $1.49
Caribbean $1.49
Central/South America $2.19
Eastern Europe $2.29
Africa/Middle East $2.69
Asia/Pacific/Australia $3.49
Inquisitor_Hoth said:
Actually not really. Cingular charges the same amount for intl text messaging. And the basic intl rates run as follows(per minute!):
Mexico $0.49
Canada $0.59
Israel $0.69
Western Europe $1.49
Caribbean $1.49
Central/South America $2.19
Eastern Europe $2.29
Africa/Middle East $2.69
Asia/Pacific/Australia $3.49
Source http://www.cingular.com/customer_service/inte rnational_dialing
I said GSM is cheaper, and if you have an unlocked phone or even getting a phone unlocked and buying a prepaid SIM which you could recharge, it's a helluva lot cheaper.
But in my eyes, whether it's Cingular or Verizon, it's both a rip off.
Especially when there's a much cheaper alternative, whether it be their competition or not.
Remember that the oft stated advantage of having all your phone numbers on your SIM card is negated by using local pre-paids. (Oops, all my phone numbers are on the other SIM)
Prepay rates for London
Carrier: 02 n 3... average rate is 35-40 pence per min... after the conversion you're chattin for 80 some cents a min and you can't call ur silly little family members here in the bugger states.
Prepay rates Europe
Carrier: Orange, T-Mo, VodaFone
Average rate is about 40 cents Euro a min... after the conversion, again, because the American Dollar is lickin its arse, your chattin for about 65 cents a min AND you can't call your bugger family here in the states. Lets also keep in mind that unless your a T-Mo cust, you gotta do alot of monkey trip...
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Unfortunately, we cannot accept orders for mobile phones from outside the United Kingdom.
You'll find this little wacker on just about every co.uk site.
๐ ๐ ๐
Unlocked phones are unsubsidized phones and they are not cheap.
I am in Taiwan where all the phones are unlocked. I can assure you that they are not cheap.
The case ur tryin to make is that .69 cents is too high intl... so you're gonna go out, purchase an unlocked phone for anywhere from $50 to whatever... and then pay convert the weak American dollar to GBP or Euro's, losing more money in the process and then pay a *cheaper* local per min rate...
Thats a lot of money and hassle to try and save some money...
**** DISCLAIMER... This is focused at England and Europe... U wanna travel to the other side of the world be my guest... enjoy the flight.
And it surely isnt a hassle for the people that buy unlocked phones and do as I do. And Im positive there's many of those.
As for the rest, read my reply to your other post.
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That said, I'm not here to prove anything, if I was here to prove anything I would have begun dishing out details a few posts back.
One last thing, you're gonna have to think of me as a stupid Polish-German who lives in America who thinks that the world ends at the the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Just so you wont be so inaccurate when thinking about me! ๐
Anywho, thanks for the chit chat mate! ๐
And if you don't understand a bit of deutsche, I'll know you're more polish than deutsche.
Secondly, GSM is alot cheaper than CDMA roaming, that's a given. I'm sorry you got ripped off yourself, my sympathys.
My prepaid SIM carrrier is Vodafone D2. When I'm over seas and make a call overseas I pay the standard rate as if I lived there. Ya know, cause after all, it's like having the cell phone activated there? Moron.
Also, yes, I am able to call back to the United States, how can I say that? Because I have. It's a simple forumla, I dial my home phone number and press send, viola! The call is being connected.
Monkey trippin to get an unlocked phone? I'm sorry your brain doesnt have the capacity to do it with ease but ...
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Local service whether by pre-paid or post-paid is almost ALWAYS cheaper than roaming, the technology has nothing to do with this.
Bring your D2 SIM over here to Taichung and tell me how cheap it is to roam. I will wager a dinner at my favorite restautant in Taipei that my VZW roaming charges are lower than your D2 charges here.
Roaming = Convenience
Local service = Cheap
I use my local service here mostly because my customers want a local number that they can call to reach me.
There are so many things that you aren't including... like the local money conversion and that the majority of the phones won't work here.
As for VodaFone D2... GSM roaming rates are 45 Euro Cents here... convert... and ur payin 60 cents US... and thats with a 10-20 min Euro Voucher... Intl rates are 1.50 Euro a min... So to call the US you're paying about 1.82 US per min...
What part of this aren't you getting? And don't give me some crap about how I don't know what I'm talking about...
Give me a break, if you're using your cell phone in Europe as if you lived there, you're not going to be paying any sort of ungodly rates like that unless you call long distance FROM Europe to somewhere else, like, the United States.
What part of that arent YOU getting? Are you going to tell me this is wrong when I personally do it when I personally go to Europe? Are you going to tell me it doesn't work when it works for me, and many, many other people?
Maybe those rates would apply is I was using a Cingular SIM and roaming in Europe. But if I'm using a SIM like the citixens of Europe are, I'm paying the same rates as they are. And you're not going ...
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Canada/Mexico $0.79/min
Canada, Mexico
Western Europe $1.29/min
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Guernsey, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK (Great Britain), Vatican City,
Australia $1.69/min
Australia, New Zealand
South/Central America
Caribbean $1.99/min
Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Faroe Islands, Fre...
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This forum is closed.