Cingular Coverage
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Cingular coverage extends to over the top 100 markets reaching over 270 million people in the United States.
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Street Level Coverage Mapping Tool
Cingular's Coverage Viewer is available to anyone who wants to estimate ground level coverage quality anywhere in the US.
[1]http://63.241.153.180/coverageviewer/B2B.html
New link: [2]http://onlinecare.cingular.com/support/maps.do
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Roaming
I have written the following generic roaming guide based on my own personal frequent experiences of roaming on various GSM systems over 5 continents since 1997. I welcome any tips on how to enhance this. I have written this with an angle for both expense account business roamers as well as for people without deep pockets.
Roaming works well in most overseas countries if you prepare before your trip. It’s really not very difficult and I have prepared answers to some frequently asked questions based on my personal lessons learned over the years.
- Your phone’s frequency support is critical. Not all phones support the same frequencies and work everywhere so it is important to have a phone that supports the correct frequency for the country you plan to visit. If you are unsure which frequency your phone supports please check your user manual or the manufacturer’s web site for the specifications of your cell phone. Please note that some tri-band phones sold in the US market EXCLUDE either the 900 or 1800 frequencies. Most Quad Band phones will work almost anywhere except Japan and S. Korea but you should double check the specs for your phone to be sure. If you are not sure what frequencies (bands) your phone supports post a question in the forums and someone will be happy to help you find out. There are four possible bands your GSM phone will support: 850/900/1800/1900.
Frequency requirements: The Cingular Country list shows which frequency is required for each country so click on your intended destination first to see what is required. http://www.cingular.com/customer_service/roaming_gen
North America: 850/1900 frequency support in most areas. A phone with both is mandatory for maximum coverage.
Latin America & Caribbean: 850/1900 with a few 900 or 1800 exceptions. Check carefully!
Europe, Africa, Middle East, and most of Asia: 900/1800 frequency support is required. Not all countries support both and some only support 900 so again check carefully.
Japan & South Korea: These are two exception countries that do not have any GSM service providers at all so your US phone normally will not work. It is necessary to buy or rent a compatible phone for Japan (UMTS 2100 MHz) or Korea (CDMA 1800)and insert your Cingular sim card in the appropriate handset in order to roam there. Quad Band phones will not work in Japan or Korea.
- You must call customer care prior to your trip (800-335-4685) and ask that they activate international roaming on your account if you have not already done so or you will not be able to use your phone. You only need to do this once. Having international dialing activated is not the same thing as international roaming. There are some discount roaming plans for a monthly fee available. You can always drop the monthly charge after your invoices with all roaming charges are received. Please note that billing for roaming could be delayed by a month or so.
- Be aware of costs. International roaming is very convenient but can be expensive as you will be charged the per min rate for all incoming, outgoing, and unanswered calls routed to voicemail. Local and long distance calls are all the same price. Free Mobile to Mobile does not apply abroad. You can avoid the Voicemail re-route charge by turning your phone off when you can't answer it. The per min charges are the same flat rate for all local and long distance calls made while you are roaming overseas. If calls are re-routed to voicemail while your phone is turned on then you will be billed for 2 calls. One call to deliver the caller to your phone overseas and then a second call is billed when you don’t answer and the call has to be sent back to the voicemail system in the US. To check costs for your destination refer to the chart at: http://www.cingular.com/customer_service/roaming_gen . Cingular must have a roaming partner at your destination or you will not be able to roam. Fortunately they have the most extensive list of roaming partners of any US carrier.
- Dialing. The + sign is your new best friend. It is the universal international access code and even works in the US so program all the numbers in your phone book with this. To call back to the US from overseas always make sure to enter the phone number as +1 area code number. For some models to get the plus sign simply press and hold the zero key on your phone. On other models you must press the * key twice. To check your voicemail press and hold the 1 key until your handset starts dialing. To make a local call simply dial it in the usual local manner or dial +country code followed by the number. For example the country code for the US is +1 while the country code for the United Kingdom is +44. The universal number to dial for 911 or the local equivalent for emergencies in most countries is 112. By dialing 112 in most countries your call will be routed to the appropriate emergency services. Please note that 112 works in many but NOT ALL COUNTRIES. You are responsible for looking up the correct emergency number before you need it!
- Receiving calls. That is the easy part. The obvious part, your phone must be turned on. Then all anyone needs to do to reach you is call your cell phone number the way they do now. No dialing changes are necessary for your callers to reach you.
- Voicemail. A few notes about voicemail. Please see the costs section for possible charges for incoming voicemail. Calling to check your voicemail is also charged at the applicable roaming rate for the country you are in. To check your voicemail press and hold the 1 key until your handset starts dialing. Do not dial your own number from your cell phone to get voicemail. Only use the #1 speed dial key. You will then be connected to a Generic voicemail greeting that will ask you to enter your ten digit cell phone number. Once you enter your cell phones ten digit number you will need to press * when you hear your greeting. You can then enter your VM pin code. If a caller tries to reach you and your phone is turned off they will go to voicemail as usual with no extra cost. If your phone is turned on and a caller tries to reach you and you do not answer, your caller will be re-routed to a generic voicemail greeting and they will need to re-enter your 10 digit cell phone number. They will then get your greeting and be able to leave you a message as usual. Your voicemail waiting indicator on your phone should function normally in most places but note that there sometimes is a delay of a few minutes before it appears when you first turn on your phone when roaming.
- Data and text message charges. Incoming text messages draw from your text message plan if you have one or are $0.10 each without a plan. Outgoing text messages are $0.50 each. Roaming GPRS or EDGE Web browsing and email is not available in every country or even every carrier. It is available in over 80 countries and when it is available GPRS data use is charged at $0.0195 per kb if you use your phone's browser or data email functions. Blackberry devices can qualify for an unlimited international data plan for an extra $19.99 per month. All other devices are on a pay per use basis only. To check if data is available go here http://www.cingular.com/customer_service/roaming_gen and click on the name of the country you plan to visit.
- Customer care: While overseas you can reach Cingular International Wireless Care in the US at +1-916-843-4685. If your cell phone is not working and you need help call them from a landline. Be prepared to give them a number they can call you back on as they will usually do this so you don’t have to pay the cost. If they don’t offer to call you back ask them to. If you are already overseas and your phone does not work the only recourse is to call International Care from a land line at +1-916-843-4685.
- Unlocked phones and local pre-paid sim cards are good option to save money but only if you plan on making or receiving lots of calls. Otherwise don’t bother. A pre-paid sim will assign a local phone number in the country you visit to your cell phone and you will not be able to be reached on your normal Cingular cell number but your VM will still take messages. Callers must dial your temporary overseas cell number to reach you and this will be an international toll call for your callers. Many pre-paid sims include unlimited free incoming calls and text messages, but your caller must dial an international call that may carry a surcharge. Pre-paid sims can be a hassle for novices but for the intrepid traveler they can be a cost savings. For more details go to the HOFO prepaid forum or www.prepaidgsm.net. Cingular will under usual circumstances unlock your phone if you have had service for over 90 days and your account is in good standing. You cannot place a pre-paid sim in most Cingular phones without having it unlocked first. Unlocking is not available to former AT&T customers unless they have migrated to a Cingular plan and phone. If you only plan to make a few quick calls or want to check in for messages, pre-paid Sims are not worth the hassle in my opinion. For extensive talk time they can be valuable but you do sacrifice the simplicity of your normal US cell phone number and shift the cost for receiving calls to your callers.
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