Phone questions
 

Hi,

Two quick questions related to phone coverage in the US.

-Can I bring in my GSM phone (which uses a SIM card) and purchase a prepaid SIM card for use domestically within the USA?. If not, are there any other options for cheap prepaid mobile phones. I have a credit history and a social security number etc. in the U.S.A. Its been a while since I have been out of the country

-Which is the cheapest/best way to call domestically state to state for example. I presume there are a lot of phone cards/access numbers etc. that one can purchase?.

Thanks
RJ

1) depends on the bands your phone covers. Our GSM here is mostly 850 or 1900. The rest of the world is of course a bit different.

2) Not sure about prepaid Sims

3) State to state and even state overseas, I use onesuite for all my long distance calls. As low as 2.5 cents per minute, with $10 minimum purchase. Full details at www.onesuite.com. I've been using them for years.

T-Mobile has some good prepaid GSM packages. If you need a new phone (i.e. if your foreign phone doesn't do the 1900 band) I've seen new Nokia 3390s with US SIM and a small amount of starter airtime for $49 to $59.

Your local T-Mobile store should be able to hook you up with a new prepaid SIM for $20 plus airtime, around 40 cents per minute for USA calls. Top-up cards are readily available at gas stations, convenience stores, newsstands and the like.

T-Mo's postpaid plans are much cheaper if you make a lot of calls (my plan is 1000 daytime domestic weekday minutes + unlimited domestic night & weekend minutes for $39.99/month plus tax) but they all require a one-year contract.

~
 

The biggest problem with most prepaid plans, IMO, is that the airtime expires if you don't add more money within 30-90 days. One exception I know of is Tracfone, who sells an annual card with around 250 minutes for ~$95. This isn't really much cheaper than other carriers' 30-90 day cards, but you have a much longer time window between chargeups.

Once in awhile I've seen Tracfone phones for around $60 with a year of service (but no minutes), but maybe only at places like Sam's Club.