Cell Phone Use

[mariomuscat]

Hello, I am visiting BKK later this week and would like to know if my US based cell phone will have service in BKK. I have a Treo 600 GSM phone that uses AT&T service. I would like to be able to call my office number to check voicemail. Is this a viable option or should I purchase phone cards when I get to BKK?

Thank You

Mariomuscat

[Phil Conners]

Check with AT&T if they have a roaming agreement with any of the Thai operators (DTAC, AIS or Orange ... others?).

If not you'll probably have to purchase a prepay card here. They're cheap though, about 250 baht for the number incl. 50 baht worths of call time, with additional time available in 200, 300 and 500 baht blocks.

[dfwbkk]

Mario,

Your phone will work just fine. Even though GSM Service state-side uses 1900 MHz whereas you'll find 900 and 1800 MHz in LoS, you're covered since your Treo actually is a quad-band gadget (850/900/1800/1900).

What you need to be aware of is the excessive costs AWS will charge you. I got myself a bill last month where 173 minutes of roaming in Thailand at $1.49/minute cost me $258 (plus the normal plan charges of course). That's 60 bath/minute. You can find various cheaper ways of calling back home to check your voicemail without using your own cell over there. I've seen street-side mini-stalls offering usage of cellphone to call the US at 10 bath/minute (VoIP based calling I think).

SMS-ing is equally more expensive using your AWS service (14 bath/ea vs 1-2 bath local service).

Getting a prepaid SIM-card (Thai number) and stuffing that into your Treo is probably the best way for you to go. They'll drain you a small set-up fee and then airtime in the 10 bath/minute range. It's also a great way of not having people calling your US number and incurring the US level costs - as well as encouraging any newfound local friends to *call you*...

Cheers /// DFW

[stumonster]

get youself a local sim card when you get here. sms your new number to whoever you want to be able to call you. ( unless of course you don t want them to know you are in thailand)

you can also buy calling cards , which you can use from a mobile phone and make overseas calls that are reasonably inexpensive.

[dfwbkk]

you can also buy calling cards , which you can use from a mobile phone and make overseas calls that are reasonably inexpensive.

Hi Stu,

The problem with that is that he will still be charged the airtime by AWS (or any other US Service provider for that matter) at the rate of 60 bath/minute - in addition to the calling card fee! They charge you a flat rate, regardless of what destination you call. This trip I had calls placed in Thailand to Sweden, Canada, the US, the UK plus of course domestic calls: All charged at the same rate.

If he gets a calling card he should use a pay-phone - not his cell.

I still maintain that our initial recommendation (your's and mine alike) to get a prepaid card is the way to go.

/// DFW

[john b good]

get youself a local sim card when you get here. sms your new number to whoever you want to be able to call you. ( unless of course you don t want them to know you are in thailand)

you can also buy calling cards , which you can use from a mobile phone and make overseas calls that are reasonably inexpensive.

Might be wrong (often are it seems) but from my experience I don't believe that you can send SMS out of the country if you are using a prepaid like One2Call etc.

[dfwbkk]

get youself a local sim card when you get here. sms your new number to whoever you want to be able to call you. ( unless of course you don t want them to know you are in thailand)

you can also buy calling cards , which you can use from a mobile phone and make overseas calls that are reasonably inexpensive.

Might be wrong (often are it seems) but from my experience I don't believe that you can send SMS out of the country if you are using a prepaid like One2Call etc.

I'm not sure myself about that, but if it doesn't work he can still pop in his US SIM-card and send SMS's at 14 bath each...

By the way, Mario, how do you like that Treo? Pretty nifty semi-little thing, huh?

/// DFW

[stumonster]

sorry I did not take into account the fact that his phone might be sim locked. am Not sure how it works in the usofa but if you have fulfilled your contract you may need to ring your service provider and ask for the unlocking code before you can install a new sim. ( or the kind people at MBK could unlock it for you though I am not sure how you will go using it back in the states)

with the calling card I meant it to be used in conjunction with a local sim card.

the other option is to buy a phone while you are here in bangkok( at MBK ). for new phones prices start at 3000baht. it can be a present for someone back in america when you go back.

[stumonster]

I sms regularly from my AIS pre paid sim to england,australia, indonesia and singapore.

no probs.. costs about 9 baht

[britmaveric]

Def SMS out of Thailand using 1-2Talk- done it thousands of times!

Best bet buy prepaid sim card and then use that in your mobile, assuming its unlocked and actually has a sim card in it. Yanks havent gotten around to placing removable sim cards in all of their mobiles yet- might be unlucky enuf to have such a phone.