GPRS roaming in the USA

[Zax]

My son is currently touring in the USA and is having difficulty getting GPRS running. The two roaming networks (for Vodacom) are T-Mobile (this is working OK) and Cingular. I got the following settings off the internet, but they don't work on the roaming phone: Cingular Access Point = ISP.CINGULAR User Name = ISP@CINGULARGPRS.COM
Password = CINGULAR1

Vodacom says both Cingular and T-Mobile must work but that is about all I can get!

Anyone out there been down this road?

 

[vodacom3g]

My son is currently touring in the USA and is having difficulty getting GPRS running. The two roaming networks (for Vodacom) are T-Mobile (this is working OK) and Cingular. I got the following settings off the internet, but they don't work on the roaming phone: Cingular Access Point = ISP.CINGULAR User Name = ISP@CINGULARGPRS.COM
Password = CINGULAR1

Vodacom says both Cingular and T-Mobile must work but that is about all I can get!

Anyone out there been down this road?

If you roam, you still use your local, SA settings. (internet apn)

If you use one of their sims you'll need their settings.

 

[noswal]

US phones dont have sims - certainly not the one I got there, the assistant in Radioshack looked at me blankly . As internet is so cheap there it would be worth his while to buy a prepaid phone there, as his bill will be high here for his international connections.

 

[mancombseepgood]

Some do some dont

some providers are CDMA and some are GSM... GSM uses sim, CDMA doesn't. He should source his internet that side certainly - cheaper to rent in the US than to use SA SP's roaming, thats for sure!

 

[Zax]

Thanks for the input - some things to try.

I know that he did quite a bit of research on local (USA) GPRS rates and found that it is far from cheap there. Our R2/mb here is very cheap by comparison! A lot of it can be attributed to the very cheap fixed line bandwidth, so mobile data is not a major player. Anyway, even at their rates it is still very economical for comms via internet/Mxit etc as opposed to SMS and telephone.

 

[noswal]

Yes, still R2/meg local charge but you have to add roaming fees to that R2.

If he has a laptop with him, get a wireless card there are plenty of hotspots

 

[ic]

US phones dont have sims - certainly not the one I got there, the assistant in Radioshack looked at me blankly . As internet is so cheap there it would be worth his while to buy a prepaid phone there, as his bill will be high here for his international connections.

Yes, still R2/meg local charge but you have to add roaming fees to that R2.

If he has a laptop with him, get a wireless card there are plenty of hotspots

IMO very good advice - international roaming for data or voice [regardless of cellular network] is simply not something the average South African can afford - it might be cheap by international comparison but you're still going to be bankrupt very quickly...

 

[jarr]

...As internet is so cheap there it would be worth his while to buy a prepaid phone there, as his bill will be high here for his international connections.

or maybe just a prepaid 'starter pack' - would be cheaper than buying a new phone...

 

[ic]

or maybe just a prepaid 'starter pack' - would be cheaper than buying a new phone...

Strangely enough, the USA is allegedly the home of the disposable cellery phone [or so I've seen on a CSI:NY? episode] - presumably this is to make it easier for Usama Laden with a rubbish Bin and his merry Al Qaeda men to communicate with one another...

Anyways disposable cellery phones probably cost about the same as a disposable camera - heck maybe one could get a disposable cellery phone with an integrated 1Mpx camera .

 

[jarr]

interesting, but still, the guy already has a phone there, so why buy another one if just a sim will do?