CNG software does not have "Select Network" in the menu, but you still should be able to roam internationally, provided Cingular did not screw up your account.

Might be true for Cingular but not the case with TMO. They actually want their clients to have intl roam activated...fyi, parent company is deutsch telekom :)

My entire family has it activated, and it was a simple call each time to TMO CS.

To the OP - are you sure you don't have the phone in a fax/data only mode?

Even with Cingular and former AT&T locked phones I was able to select the network when out of the US. Within the US the option was blocked.

GPRS is simply a speeded-up version of GSM. GPRS uses the GSM frequencies and pretty much all GSM networks in Europe have GPRS coverage in major cities. You should have had no issue at all in BCN.

I have 1.15- CNG
Firmware 01.31
Hardware: A

Was able to see "Select Network" option (Which I don't always, for example when I am in Mexico) and choose my network while in BCN.

Vodafone would give me straight access to my voicemail by dialing "1". Other networks, I had to punch in my cell phone number after being connected.

But in any case, no major problem.

Cingular CSRs are notoriously incompetent in some regions. The vast majority of customers in those regions don't even leave the state, much less go int'l! So invariably they'll either just flat out not provision the phone properly or misprovision it. Contrary to what they tell you, int'l dialing capability DOES NOT denote roaming capability. Many confuse the two. So likely you simply didn't have the feature turned on. What you describe is exactly what happens when you don't have int'l roaming authorized/provisioned properly.

As for the network select, that's a combination of the software and the SIM. It's actually driven by the SIM card. Some Cingular SIMs didn't have network select disabled and the option will be there. With any other sim, you'd see the feature if the phone weren't SIM locked. Why you see it when you go abroad is that the SIM is intelligent; if it doesn't see a Mobile Country Code of 310/311 (which are the US codes), it allows network select. ALL US carriers begin with 310/311. Go to canada and you'll have net select, same in Mexico.

I am not sure I am following.

I have the 64K Cingular SIM card, and the phone is unlocked.

I get a "Network Selection" menu in Europe, every single time. I cannot get it in Mexico.

I actually yelled at Cingular the other day and got $400 back on my last bill because I was 7 miles on the US side of the border and was still catching Mexican Movistar, with no way of selecting Cingular as my network. Basically, my US call from the US had to be international.

They looked at my previous bill and credited me the $400.

I am in Mexico at the moment and cannot choose my network. I had no problem in BCN last week. What gives?

I figured out I think.

The CSR that activated the feature had INTL long distance confused with INTL roaming which is a whole different beast. Standard INTL roaming is free and only required that A) you have good credit(if new account) or B) that you have been a Cingular customer for some time. If you opt for the $5.99 optional plan you can benefit from discounted INTL roaming rates but the discounts are not huge.

Dan

*dingdingding* That's a winner. They do that ALL THE FLIPPIN' TIME! For anyone on Cingular. Don't leave it to chance. DEMAND to speak to a supervisor. Even that may not work. Before you leave, make sure you have the non-800# to call Cingular customer service.

Has this happened all over mexico or only near the border? If it's only near the border, you're getting locked out by the fact that the phone can still 'see' a US network even if it can't register to it. If it sees a 310 network (ANY US network, not just Cingular's) when it searches, the SIM is going to think it's in the US. They MAY have expanded it to North America, but I'm doubtful. My last trip down there, once I was away from the border, I could only see TelCel and Movistar and could select as I wished.

If you have a Moto phone...you can make changes to the software(via a process known as seem editing)to allow for network selection even though the SIM instructs the phone to do otherwise.

Dan

Yes, I agree. I have had the same problem with TMo not activating the right feature. Got to LHR and turned on my new TMo BB a few years ago and nada. No email, but it saw networks. Called TMo (on another phone) and had it fixed by the time I got off the HEX. It really doesnt sound like the OP is having a hardware/software problem on the device since it sees the network, its that their account isnt provisioned to roam on those networks.

They did it to me too, except it wasn't a simple fix because the first time I was out of the country with my new Blackberry was on Thanksgiving. The CSR couldn't do anything without the "provisioning department," which was closed for the holiday. :rolleyes:

I was not happy with Cingular during that trip.

I think that this is a major problem with Cingular. Last time I heard about this their CS and Tech service had limited hours. When I had my problem with my TMobile Blackberry it was 3 or 4 AM east coast US time (I was in London) and they fixed it literally between the time the HEX came out from under LHR and the time it got to the station in London.

It absolutely is a major issue and is why I will never leave T-mo for them completely and will dump them as soon as T-mo rolls out 3G/HSDPA. I had an issue recently in Houston at 3:30 AM where I couldn't get access to my voicemail. Called customer service... not only were the reps all great, but they still had top-tier support staff on duty.

They were able to go in and figure out that the problem wasn't me, that my home market was having HLR (Home Location Register) issues, that I was able to register as the VLR (Visitor Location Register) had me cached but incoming calls weren't going to work, that they were on the problem and that ETR was ~5:30 AM. I don't even think Cingular picks up the phone at that hour.