Travel Technology - a phone to use in UK

hi all,

I am in singapore now and would be staying in uk for quite a bit.

are the cell phone technologies/services in both countries different, sucj as CDMA, GSM and so on.

Can i just buy a phone in singapore, bring it over to Uk , get a SIM card and use it.

thanks

and how is the E71, is it a good phone.
^

Get any unlocked GSM phone and it'll work fine in the UK with a pay-as-you-go SIM you can buy here.

hi all,

I am in singapore now and would be staying in uk for quite a bit.

are the cell phone technologies/services in both countries different, sucj as CDMA, GSM and so on.

Can i just buy a phone in singapore, bring it over to Uk , get a SIM card and use it.

thanks

and how is the E71, is it a good phone.
^

Yes you can buy a GSM phone and use it in the UK. I have a E71 and it is a great phone. Just put a sim card in it and talk away. Used my E71 in Dubai, Afghanistan and the UK.

Any phone that works in Singapore will work in the UK. Both countries use GSM 900/1800 and UMTS 2100.

Any GSM or WCDMA phone that will work in Singapore will work in the UK. They also have an incompatible 2g CDMA network.

Any GSM or WCDMA phone that will work in Singapore will work in the UK. They also have an incompatible 2g CDMA network.

MobileOne closed its CDMA network in 2001, if that's what you were thinking of.

Wirelessly posted (most likely from a Qantas Pub: Mozilla/5.0 (SymbianOS/9.2; U; Series60/3.1 NokiaE71-1/100.07.76; Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 ) AppleWebKit/413 (KHTML, like Gecko) Safari/413)

Calling all E71 fanbois...yes the E71 you buy in Singapore has all the UK GSM and 3G bands as noted earlier. Mine works just fine there.

are the cell phone technologies/services in both countries different, sucj as CDMA, GSM and so on.
Yes, all the mobile phone providers use GSM 900/1800 as well as UMTS 2100. Sometimes you will see it as Dual/Automatic/3G depending on the phone.


Can i just buy a phone in singapore, bring it over to Uk , get a SIM card and use it.
As long as the handset is unlocked, you can use any SIM card in it. Most mobile companies in the UK will sell you a cheap handset with a SIM and some credit on Pay As You Go/Talk/Use (PAYG). With using a UK SIM, be aware that there are many different tariffs around which offer different rewards so I advise you to shop arround to find the best one for you. If you are over for several months, you could also look at doing a SIM only contract which is a 30 day rolling contract but you would need to pass a credit check for this.


and how is the E71, is it a good phone.
^

The E71 is a very good phone and is Nokia's answer to RIMs BlackBerry

MobileOne closed its CDMA network in 2001, if that's what you were thinking of.

I'll have to defer on this one. I knew that there was a CDMA network when I was there in 2000 and I remember a Hong Kong CDMA provider listing roaming in Signapore after that which reinforced my misbelief. I also saw a couple of CDMA sets for sale in Singapore last year, but they were unlocked and could have been met for other places (e.g. China, Indonesia, and India).

I'll have to defer on this one. I knew that there was a CDMA network when I was there in 2000 and I remember a Hong Kong CDMA provider listing roaming in Signapore after that which reinforced my misbelief. I also saw a couple of CDMA sets for sale in Singapore last year, but they were unlocked and could have been met for other places (e.g. China, Indonesia, and India).

If I remember rightly, the CDMA network lasted two or three years before they realised they needed the spectrum for 3G. They closed it down and gave the subscribers GSM phones instead.

Interesting to hear they were selling CDMA phones though - I wonder how that worked? I thought one of the defining points of CDMA was the lack of SIM, meaning networks could much more effectively control the supply and use of handsets... I'm very out of date with my CDMA handset knowledge though. Not even seen one in four years!

The US implementation of CDMA is simless (except for a paired roaming SIM in some CDMA worldphones). The implementation that is used in China and many other countries has a SIM card. Google on "RUIM."

You could also get any two-band Moto that's made in two versions for North America/Europe and switch it to 900/1800.

You could also get any two-band Moto that's made in two versions for North America/Europe and switch it to 900/1800.

If you get a dual band phone made for North America, it won't be 900/1800.
(assuming you're talking about GSM)

Motorola makes some entry-level handsets, like the T720 and C168i, that only do two bands (850/1900 or 900/1800) at a time, but can be switched to do the other two.

Motorola makes some entry-level handsets, like the T720 and C168i, that only do two bands (850/1900 or 900/1800) at a time, but can be switched to do the other two.

Sorry I think you're incorrect (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-technology/747609-international-cell-phone-15-a.html)

Motorola makes some entry-level handsets, like the T720 and C168i, that only do two bands (850/1900 or 900/1800) at a time, but can be switched to do the other two.

Like willyroo, I've never heard of such a thing. Can you provide any evidence that that is even possible?

Like willyroo, I've never heard of such a thing. Can you provide any evidence that that is even possible?

There's a lot of incorrect info in the thread willyroo links (first page at least, I didn't read the whole thread). You need different components in the RF paths to do the different frequencies. It's possible (and likely) that the handset manufacturers can use the same PCB but make two versions using different components in the same footprints. If the phone's hardware could do all four bands, why would they not market it as a quad-band phone?

I tend to use ORANGE http://shop.orange.co.uk/shop/payasyougo

Several different packages, depends whether you are more into talking or more into texting which is the better one.

There is one package where you can call Singapore for just 5p a minute - so might even be a good idea to get 2 different SIM cards - one for UK calling only, and the other to call Singapore.

Also in UK (unlike is USA) you only use up your minutes when YOU make the call - when you receive a call its 100% FREE. So you can try and keep your costs down by getting people to call you back who have lots of minutes in their pay monthly packages. I always find that a bit of a pain in USA, that I get "charged" when someone calls me.

There is a reason for that. For the UK it's called CPP (calling party pays), when a mobile is called. Yes, it's free to receive calls, but it costs close to 6 - 12 times more to call a UK mobile vs a UK landline. More like 2 -3 times more in other GSM countries with CPP. On the other hand, it does not cost more anybody anywhere in the world to call a US mobile vs a landline. Because we pay to receive calls. (receiving party pays). Hence, the reason why it's so cheap to call a US number from other countries. The US does ot differentiate between landlines and mobiles like the other countries.

Most calling cards will charge 1 -2 p to call a UK landline (heck! it's even free with some carriers like vonage), but you will pay at least 20p to call a UK mobile.

Also in UK (unlike is USA) you only use up your minutes when YOU make the call - when you receive a call its 100% FREE. So you can try and keep your costs down by getting people to call you back who have lots of minutes in their pay monthly packages. I always find that a bit of a pain in USA, that I get "charged" when someone calls me.

Sorry I think you're incorrect (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-technology/747609-international-cell-phone-15-a.html)
Thanks for that link. CessnaJock's insight - all of it - is correct. I know, because I've done it with T720s. I'll send one to anyone who doubts me.

Manufacturers build "dual 2-band" designs (my terminology) to minimize R&D expense. I think the reason they don't simply make them quad-band is probably so both models doesn't have to pass both FCC and European certification before it can be sold in either place.

http://forums.mobiledia.com/topic18927.html tells how to do it (second post).

Manufacturers build "dual 2-band" designs (my terminology) to minimize R&D expense.

Any manufacturer selling a phone with $0.50 to $1.00 worth of unused components in it (for the RF components for two bands) is not going to survive very long when the total parts cost of a low-tier phone is now in the $20 range. Maybe that's why Motorola are going down the pan.

Even a not very successful phone will sell in the hundreds of thousands. Multiplied by $1, that would pay for a lot of R&D time.

I've been designing mobile comms devices for more than 10 years so I like to think I know what I'm talking about. But I work mostly with Asian companies now, I suppose American ones might be different. It would explain a lot.

There is a reason for that. For the UK it's called CPP (calling party pays), when a mobile is called. Yes, it's free to receive calls, but it costs close to 6 - 12 times more to call a UK mobile vs a UK landline. More like 2 -3 times more in other GSM countries with CPP. On the other hand, it does not cost more anybody anywhere in the world to call a US mobile vs a landline. Because we pay to receive calls. (receiving party pays). Hence, the reason why it's so cheap to call a US number from other countries. The US does ot differentiate between landlines and mobiles like the other countries.

Most calling cards will charge 1 -2 p to call a UK landline (heck! it's even free with some carriers like vonage), but you will pay at least 20p to call a UK mobile.

Very valid points - its something the mobile companies in UK call end termination charge I think. There is some sort of proposal to get rid of this and make calling mobiles and landlines very similar in price - but that will probably take a long time until it becomes reality.