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AT&T Cell Phone Service?
https://forum.costaricaticas.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=23735		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  BondTrader [ Mon Jun 09, 2008 11:20 pm ]
Post subject:  AT&T Cell Phone Service?
Does AT&T cell phone service work in Costa Rica? Thx.
Author:  Jdd [ Mon Jun 09, 2008 11:32 pm ]
Post subject: 
Yes, but it depends on the phone. Not sure of the cost without signing up for a plan.
Author:  Blanco [ Tue Jun 10, 2008 12:21 am ]
Post subject: 
If ur phone is right it will but will cost u over $2 per min. Also its best to cut ur phone off and just check it occasionally because everytime someone from the US calls and gets the spanish voicemail they usually hang up and call again. And thats $2 for them to call and hang up on ur voicemail. If ur phone is off it wont cost u and they can leave a message. Save the money and spend it on a chica!!
Author:  Travelman [ Tue Jun 10, 2008 7:11 am ]
Post subject: 
ATT works well.

You need what is called a quad phone. I love it while there. Call ATT and you will get an international plan for 5.00 a month which reduces the per minute charge to something like 1.29 still very expensive. But if your like me and use it for business and want piece of mind well worth it. As of January this year the internet function now works in CR which means I get my emails on it as well.

It is expensive but works well.
Author:  Prolijo [ Tue Jun 10, 2008 8:26 am ]
Post subject: 
Unless you have an old phone, most newer AT&T phones have world phone capability, meaning they are either tri-band or preferably quad band GSM phones. Quad band will work in a wider range of countries. For CR, the important thing is that it works on the 1800mhz band.

I'm not sure what plan Travelman is on. MY understanding of AT&T policy is that their "World Traveler" plan is $5.99 per month (PLUS taxes) and NOT just $5.00. Also, their "discounted" World Traveler per minute rates for CR is $1.99 per minute (PLUS taxes) and NOT just $1.29. On the plus side you don't have to sign up for the full month. You can call and ask them to activate it for just while you're down in CR and only get charged the pro-rata portion of the $5.99 for while you actually have the plan active (plus any per minute usage of course). OTOH, their regular international roaming rate is only $.30 more (or $2.29/minute). So you only save if you call at least 20 minutes or more (admittedly not that difficult) or spend at least $40 (PLUS the pro-rata monthly rate AND taxes)
http://www.wireless.att.com/travelguide/coverage/coverage_details.jsp?CIDL=188&MNC=CING

If you only make rare trips to CR (which many of us don't) and if you plan to rarely use your phone (keeping it only for emergencies (such as making it possible for the folks at home to reach you at any time) then the "World Traveler" plan MIGHT be your best option. HOWEVER, there is another option which might be even better.

It involves "unlocking" your phone and getting a different SIM chip. AT&T tries to make this very difficult if not impossible because, obviously, they'd rather you use their expensive service. However, its your phone and you should be able to use what ever carrier you want with it. Here's what you have to do. If you've been a AT&T customer for a long time (at least a couple of years or more), you can call to ask them for the unlocking code. IF they won't give it to you you can also find out what the unlocking code is for your particular model of phone by going on-line. Typically, this will cost you ~$8.

Once it is unlocked you can open up the back of the phone and switch SIM chips, which brings me to step 2. You need to get a SIM chip that will work in CR and ICE is not particularly good about sharing their access to phone service in CR. However there are chips that will work in CR. One that has been recommended to me is Celtrek (http://www.celtrek.com). Their chips start at $74 and those include 25 minutes of airtime. After that their per minute rates are just $.37/minute in CR, $.29/minute to the US and $.19/minute for incoming calls. Still not super cheap but a hell of a lot better than anything else we've been talking about up to now. Granted, if this was a one time trip, with all the overhead of unlocking the phone and the $50 base charge for the chip, this still not be for you, but I calculate (assuming 50% calling in CR and 50% to the US) you'd break even after about just 45 minutes of calls (~$90). After that your AT&T charge would continue to compound dramatically, but the SIM chip would only grow at the $.29-$.37 rate (did I mention you can also reload the SIM chip with more minutes at any time).

There are some other negatives. For example, with a new SIM you will have a different cell phone number. This might actually be a good thing if you plan to give out your number to any chicas. It might also be a good thing if you plan to limit who can call you from the US as you can just share your traveling number with those who you want to be able to reach you. It is also possible to set up your regular number to forward to your new number (perhaps others can detail what is involved with that). The other drawback is that there may be a more complicated connecting procedure such as connection codes that you have to prepend to the number your are calling. With CelTrek you place the call just as you normally would but then it gets queued for connection and you hang up the phone and a second or 2 later you get a callback when your connection is ready.

Does all of this sound too confusing for you? There are also cell phones you can rent in CR or you can just wait until you get to a public phone (which are still fairly common in CR) and use a prepaid card. Both of these will probably get you lower rates than your AT&T service depending on how much you plan to use the phone.
Author:  JazzboCR [ Tue Jun 10, 2008 11:03 am ]
Post subject:  re: cell phones, etc.
I believe you can now rent cell phones through ARCR, making an even more compelling reason to join this fine organization. Check with them for details at: www.arcr.net
Author:  Travelman [ Tue Jun 10, 2008 11:05 am ]
Post subject: 
Looks like Prolijo knows all the details. I do not pay that close of attention. From reading his response I assume he is 100% correct on the actual costs.

I just know it works and it works well if you need your phone while out of the country.
Author:  Spanky [ Tue Jun 10, 2008 12:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: re: cell phones, etc.
JazzboCR wrote:
I believe you can now rent cell phones through ARCR, making an even more compelling reason to join this fine organization. Check with them for details at: www.arcr.net


There are lots of places that rent them in CR. I use http://cellulartelephonerentals.com/ to get a SIM when I am in town. It is $9 a day with unlimited local calls (and texting!) and $1.25 a minute to call the States which isn't bad compared to my Verizon phone which is $2.49.
Author:  CR777 [ Sun Jun 15, 2008 12:23 pm ]
Post subject: 
Does anyone know how to avoid the unusual ring that the caller hears when they call you on your cell phone in CR?
Author:  TheMadGerman [ Sun Jun 15, 2008 12:44 pm ]
Post subject: 
Yes, turn off your phone.

Other than that, not much you can do.
Author:  Prolijo [ Sun Jun 15, 2008 1:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: re: cell phones, etc.
Spanky wrote:
There are lots of places that rent them in CR. I use http://cellulartelephonerentals.com/ to get a SIM when I am in town. It is $9 a day with unlimited local calls (and texting!) and $1.25 a minute to call the States which isn't bad compared to my Verizon phone which is $2.49.
That $9/day may not be that bad if you were only talking about their 3 day minimum on one trip to CR. And their unlimited calls is great but who doesn't make any calls to the US except out of necessity due to that still high $1.25/minute rate? I still think that using your own phone and sim card is a better way to go for guys that travel to CR with any frequency and who call the US even just a little. Even if you don't call the US at all, you have to pay that $9 every day you have the phone, whether you use it a lot, a little or not at all and you have to keep paying it for however long you keep going to CR and want to have a cellphone with you. In contrast that one time $50 set-up fee for a SIM card can be amortized in as little as a week or just one trip to CR and then you never have to pay it again. Of course, you'll still have those per minute charges for local calls with the sim card but even with those you won't come out ahead with a rented cellphone unless you talk for at least 25 minutes per day every day (personally, most of my calls are of the 1-2 minute meet you at such and such place in 2 hours variety). And if you talk even just 10 minutes per day back home to the US you'll come out WAY ahead with your own SIM card vs. a rented phone.

Frankly, unless you're on some UDMA network (like Verizon, Alltel or Sprint), if you travel to CR a lot and want to have a cell you should really look into unlocking the phone you already have and getting a SIM card as it will probably save you a lot of money over time.
Author:  Spanky [ Sun Jun 15, 2008 2:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: re: cell phones, etc.
Prolijo wrote:
Frankly, unless you're on some UDMA network (like Verizon, Alltel or Sprint), if you travel to CR a lot and want to have a cell you should really look into unlocking the phone you already have and getting a SIM card as it will probably save you a lot of money over time.


My normal cell is unlocked on the Verizon network. It is $2.49 a minute to call the Stats and hauling around a $500 phone in CR isn't something I really want to do. I don't pay for any of the minutes as it is my work phone. However, I prefer to have a local number for that I can give out and use without the worry of some chica calling my work cell (early rookie mistake) and having to deal with that. I have a second unlocked cell phone that I picked up off of Ebay that I use when I'm traveling that isn't flashy but gets the job done. The local SIM goes into that one.

Finally, as you pointed out, your cell usage dictates how much a local number is worth to you. For those that have seen me in action, they can attest I have a phone in my hand often in CR. The unlimited minutes come in handy for me. I am either calling or texting on it a few hours a day. So for me, $9 a day is a bargain. For someone like yourself, the way you describe is perfect.

Cheers!
Author:  Prolijo [ Sun Jun 15, 2008 2:29 pm ]
Post subject: 
Spanky,
It doesn't matter whether your Verizon phone is locked or not. You couldn't use it in CR anyway. I agree that I wouldn't want to bring a $500 phone to CR either. However, there are plenty of cheap (or even free with a 2 year contract) world phones and even if you didn't want to get one of those for primary phone there are also plenty of inexpensive world phones that you can get as a secondary specialty phone for your trips to CR, as apparently you have done. Really, the only difference we're talking about here is not whether to rent the phone or not but whether to rent or buy the SIM card that goes in it.

In that regard, you're absolutely right that it is entirely dependent on personal circumstances. For you calling the States is not at all an issue. For most people that would be at least part of their calling profile (e.g. that daily 10 minute phone call back to their wife letting her know that they're behaving themselves on their golfing vacation in Miami and oh BTW, how are the K*ds?). Even if it weren't, I don't think most guys really spend nearly as much time on the phone as you apparently do.

And I should re-emphasize that point about having a local number to hand out to chicas rather than the one you use at home. You get that either way whether you rent the SIM card as you do or you buy it as I propose. The only difference is that with a SIM card that you buy the number that you choose to go with it becomes YOUR number and remains the same on all future trips to CR.
Author:  Spanky [ Sun Jun 15, 2008 3:48 pm ]
Post subject: 
Prolijo wrote:
The only difference is that with a SIM card that you buy the number that you choose to go with it becomes YOUR number and remains the same on all future trips to CR.


I have done a lot of research into CR numbers, and I was under the impression you did not get a CR number when you bought an international SIM. Can you give out the link again for the company you are using.

Thanks!
Author:  Prolijo [ Sun Jun 15, 2008 5:06 pm ]
Post subject: 
Sorry, I sort of mispoke. You don't get a "local" CR number. You actually get a choice of US, UK or French phone numbers and, if you choose US, you can also choose the area code. That is probably why their per minute rates for CR to CR calls is higher than their rates to the US. However, my real point was that a) for purposes of protecting your regular cell phone number from falling into the hands of some chica, you're still covered and b) you can use the same number whatever that might be on every subsequent trip. I suppose on the possible downside that means there is an extra cost to others in CR for them to call you. OTOH, you might not want to encourage some people to call you or speak too long or alternatively, want others back in the US to be able to call you with no international charges to themselves and possibly no awareness that you are even outside the US. Again, everyone's situation is a little different.
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