Cell phone coverage East Coast

[Larry M]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

Do any of the pre-paid and/or less expensive retailers support both GSM and CDMA?

-Chris

We have an unlocked Moto 4G plus and we use prepaid plans. I was just in Costco the other day and they had the unlocked Moto 5G plus for $159. It looks like it'll work.

https://www.costco.com/Moto-G5-Plus-...100360682.html

CDMA (850, 850+,1900 MHz)
GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
UMTS/HSPA+ (850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz)
4G LTE (B1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 25, 26, 38, 41, 66)

[caltexflanc]

Originally Posted by Larry M

We have an unlocked Moto 4G plus and we use prepaid plans. I was just in Costco the other day and they had the unlocked Moto 5G plus for $159. It looks like it'll work.

https://www.costco.com/Moto-G5-Plus-...100360682.html

CDMA (850, 850+,1900 MHz)
GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
UMTS/HSPA+ (850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz)
4G LTE (B1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 25, 26, 38, 41, 66)

Yes, it does work. I have one of those models, very nice phone and terrific value. It is a single SIM unit so if to switch you have to open the little SIM tray with a pin or the little tool provided and switch out. Then a small bit of reconfiguring and restart and voila!

I originally got it to check out the "Amazon Prime" version and find myself using it 80% of the time.

[caltexflanc]

Originally Posted by caltexflanc

Not sure what you mean, but the Trac Fone family of brands have offerings using each carrier network, as do other MVNOs like Red Pocket. Some of the new Motorola international unlocked phones, with two SIM slots, will take a GSM SIm as well as a Verizon SIM. Or the US version like sold on Amazon Prime, with a single SIM slot, you keep one SIM in your wallet and switch them out when need be, doesn't take but a minute. The whole CDMA/GSM thing is slowly disappearing as an issue, as the carriers switch to voice over LTE, and users opt for apps like SKype which use the data network. Slide an ATT SIM into a verizon iPhone sometime, it'll probably work, all newer Verizon phones are unlocked, network wise.

Someday, phones will come with a built in "Universal SIM" access to all networks built in, similar to what Apple does now on its iPads, where you select your carrier. At some point, someone like Google or Apple will do this on phones, and everyday you will be to conduct an "auction" amongst the carriers for who gets your business that day, which you can base on rate or coverage. Then threads like this one will become obsolete.

I was just talking to the head tech of a client of mine and he advised me that the international dual SIM Motos he'd seen, including the dual sim version g5plus, are NOT Verizon compatible.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by caltexflanc

Not sure what you mean, but the Trac Fone family of brands have offerings using each carrier network, as do other MVNOs like Red Pocket. Some of the new Motorola international unlocked phones, with two SIM slots, will take a GSM SIm as well as a Verizon SIM. Or the US version like sold on Amazon Prime, with a single SIM slot, you keep one SIM in your wallet and switch them out when need be, doesn't take but a minute. The whole CDMA/GSM thing is slowly disappearing as an issue, as the carriers switch to voice over LTE, and users opt for apps like SKype which use the data network. Slide an ATT SIM into a verizon iPhone sometime, it'll probably work, all newer Verizon phones are unlocked, network wise.

Someday, phones will come with a built in "Universal SIM" access to all networks built in, similar to what Apple does now on its iPads, where you select your carrier. At some point, someone like Google or Apple will do this on phones, and everyday you will be to conduct an "auction" amongst the carriers for who gets your business that day, which you can base on rate or coverage. Then threads like this one will become obsolete.

I probably wasn't clear...

We have two (Samsung Galaxy 5) phones, one on AT&T and one on Verizon, therefore two separate contracts. What I'm wondering is if there's a way to make that one contract with one company, using these two existing phones (at least for a good while)... still being able to use one phone or the other when we're in Europe or the islands or wherever.

And ideally to reduce our monthly cost by about half or whatever.

Most of the contract offers I see seem like good deals for families with at least two kids who all yak on the phone a lot, browse endlessly, and stream mega-movies every three minutes. We don't have those pesky young encumbrances, and we don't yak/stream/browse much.

-Chris

[knotheadcharters]

I sail as a Merchant Mariner and most of us use T-Mobile as there International coverage and charges beats the crap out of any other carrier. I have seen signal as far as 20NM of the coast. I saw that in Iceland, England, Scotland, South Korea and the Philippines. No enhanced signal boosters. I don't sail off the East coast but that is what I have experienced.

[caltexflanc]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

I probably wasn't clear...

We have two (Samsung Galaxy 5) phones, one on AT&T and one on Verizon, therefore two separate contracts. What I'm wondering is if there's a way to make that one contract with one company, using these two existing phones (at least for a good while)... still being able to use one phone or the other when we're in Europe or the islands or wherever.

And ideally to reduce our monthly cost by about half or whatever.

Most of the contract offers I see seem like good deals for families with at least two kids who all yak on the phone a lot, browse endlessly, and stream mega-movies every three minutes. We don't have those pesky young encumbrances, and we don't yak/stream/browse much.

-Chris

Don't get a contract, use pre-paid plans instead.

Or just go with one carrier and carry a spare phone for use as needed.

For instance, we use ATT as our main carrier. They have a feature you can add to any of your lines that extends your US contract terms to the foreign country you are in, IF you use your phone on a particular day. Costs 10 bucks for each day you use it. I always have a spare phone or two with me. We lost one of our phones in Italy. I went to a nearby cell store and bought a Vodafone SIM for about 25 bucks that had more than enough minutes and data for the rest of the trip including some minutes for calls to the US. So each of us had a cell phone still.

On other trips, I've carried an unlocked dual SIM phone, with my ATT SIM in one slot and a local SIM (Orange, Telefonica, whoever) in the other. Gave me a local number for colleagues and friends to call. The variations these days are endless depending on what your needs are.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by caltexflanc

Don't get a contract, use pre-paid plans instead.

Sure, that would be OK. Are there companies that can handle both of our current GSM and our CDMA phones?

Barring water damage or some such, we usually get about 10 years out of a cell phone... and these are only about 2-3 years old each...

-Chris

[BandB]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

Sure, that would be OK. Are there companies that can handle both of our current GSM and our CDMA phones?

Barring water damage or some such, we usually get about 10 years out of a cell phone... and these are only about 2-3 years old each...

-Chris

You are really bad for business. lol. You don't realize that you're supposed to trade and move up every 2-3 years? You're right about the lives of them but that's not the way most people do it.

[catalinajack]

Originally Posted by caltexflanc

I was just talking to the head tech of a client of mine and he advised me that the international dual SIM Motos he'd seen, including the dual sim version g5plus, are NOT Verizon compatible.

Not true, at least as to my unlocked US version LG G6. I just switched from AT&T to Verizon. Worked just fine. My wife has a Moto x4 for her Google Fi service that will also work on Verizon and AT&T. There are plenty of Android options now available such that one no longer must be locked to a specific carrier.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by BandB

You are really bad for business. lol. You don't realize that you're supposed to trade and move up every 2-3 years? You're right about the lives of them but that's not the way most people do it.

Our computers usually last 10-15 years or so, too...



-Chris

[caltexflanc]

Originally Posted by catalinajack

Not true, at least as to my unlocked US version LG G6. I just switched from AT&T to Verizon. Worked just fine. My wife has a Moto x4 for her Google Fi service that will also work on Verizon and AT&T. There are plenty of Android options now available such that one no longer must be locked to a specific carrier.

I should have made it clearer than I already did that if you have VoLTE it will probably work. I haven't used a Moto Google Fiber. I'll have to take a look at one.