[Q] Which Network ???? - Networking

Hi All
I am visiting the USA in September for holiday and am doing a bit of travelling while i am out there. I was going to buy a prepaid sim to use with my SGS II which is sim unlocked. I am visiting Los Angeles, San Francisco and Vegas what network would you guys recommend for coverage and costs ?? it would have to be a GSM network.
Thanks

I would say T-mobile because they have a awesome pay as you go plan

I would say T-Mobile

T-Mobile and AT&T are the only ones compatible with your SIM. However the SGS2 is only going to get EDGE on T-Mobile if you're wanting data. It's compatible with the HSPA for AT&T however. From what I understand there really isn't a difference in price between the two for prepaid. Nothing to make a difference when you're taking an international trip anyway.

Hydroshock said:
T-Mobile and AT&T are the only ones compatible with your SIM. However the SGS2 is only going to get EDGE on T-Mobile if you're wanting data. It's compatible with the HSPA for AT&T however. From what I understand there really isn't a difference in price between the two for prepaid. Nothing to make a difference when you're taking an international trip anyway.
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European 3G bands are different than US ones. In Europe the UMTS band is operating on 2100MHz. AT&T operates it's 3G service on 850 and 1900 MHz.

cajunflavoredbob said:
European 3G bands are different than US ones. In Europe the UMTS band is operating on 2100MHz. AT&T operates it's 3G service on 850 and 1900 MHz.
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Yeah but the SGS2 has the 1900MHz band in it, so it would work on AT&T's 3G network, but only on T-Mobile's EDGE.

Longcat14 said:
Yeah but the SGS2 has the 1900MHz band in it, so it would work on AT&T's 3G network, but only on T-Mobile's EDGE.
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You need both bands for AT&T 3G. 850 provides downlink. 1900 provides uplink. In Europe, 2110 is downlink and 2150 is uplink. It is normally just included in one spec of 2100MHz. The 850MHz band in this device would only provide 2G speeds.

AT&T is your best bet.

Related

Touch Dual on Sprint in the US?

I have been using the Touch Dual here in the US for a few months, and love it. I need to switch carriers. Will the Touch Dual work on the Sprint network in the US? What other carriers will work?
Thanks.
GSM networks only, so your only option is AT&T.
acwyau said:
GSM networks only, so your only option is AT&T.
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T-Mobile and AT&T are the only GSM carriers in the US. I don't know if Boost Mobile is or not.
I just picked a phone up unlocked on ebay and am using it on the AT&T network, only issue i've learnt of just now is AT&T uses a different band for the 3g than the touch dual does so i only recieve edge no 3g since its a different band, from what i've been told tmobile is offering it on the same band.
erandhawa said:
I just picked a phone up unlocked on ebay and am using it on the AT&T network, only issue i've learnt of just now is AT&T uses a different band for the 3g than the touch dual does so i only recieve edge no 3g since its a different band, from what i've been told tmobile is offering it on the same band.
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ATT operates on both 850 and 1900 bands. I had my niki working on it until I recently switched to TMobile. You're SOL if the ATT signal in your area is 850 because the Niki doesn't support it. TMobile doesn't us the 850 band so you would be better switching to them. I get a much stronger signal with them.
eyecrispy said:
ATT operates on both 850 and 1900 bands. I had my niki working on it until I recently switched to TMobile. You're SOL if the ATT signal in your area is 850 because the Niki doesn't support it. TMobile doesn't us the 850 band so you would be better switching to them. I get a much stronger signal with them.
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Niki doesn't support 1900 for 3g either though, how were you getting 3g if you don't mind me asking, maybe you have one of the Australia Versions? Probably gonna have to take your advice on switching, just on such a good rate plan only paying 24.99 for unlimited internet, hopefully a radio patch can help us soon or maybe AT&T and T-Mobile will share towers i know its been discussed between the companies in the past to help increase coverage (usually leads to merger though so i doubt it'll happen with such large corporations)

i9000 with 3g on AT&T? And where to buy?

I was looking at expansys and the Galaxy S page...
http://www.expansys-usa.com/d.aspx?i=198627
...shows 3g on 900mhz and 2100mhz. Does this mean that I wouldn't get 3g data on AT&T in the US?
If I'll need to buy an unlocked Captivate instead of the i9000, where can I buy that? Expansys doesn't list the Captivate.
Thanks.
cryptyk said:
I was looking at expansys and the Galaxy S page...
http://www.expansys-usa.com/d.aspx?i=198627
...shows 3g on 900mhz and 2100mhz. Does this mean that I wouldn't get 3g data on AT&T in the US?
If I'll need to buy an unlocked Captivate instead of the i9000, where can I buy that? Expansys doesn't list the Captivate.
Thanks.
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The Galaxy S runs on 900/1900/2100 for 3G and AT&T has two bands for 3G which are 850 and 1900. You'll have 3G coverage on AT&T just not as much as you would've had with both bands. The 1900 spectrum has a wider reach, but low building/wall penetration, whereas the 850 is the opposite. At least, that's what I know. I have the Galaxy S and running it on AT&T just fine, with 3G in my area on the 1900 band.

Bell's Vibrant is tri-band HSDPA!

Alright, I saw it on the box, so I can confirm with certainty: Bell's Vibrant is tri-band HSDPA 850/1900/2100. I think I'm gonna get me one right away. (Might it be smarter to wait for deals from FS?)
Before seeing it on the box, noone could confirm that: I had called Bell tech support (highest tier), Samsung Canada tech. support, noone! I just can't believe how incompetent these guys (and gals) can be! Samsung tech support didn't even know what HSDPA is! Go figure! Who pays these guys?
yes 3 band data as mentioned above
and quad band voice 850/900/1800/1900
who cares about the voice, the 850/1900/2100 range is what we wanted anyways
now i can go to Brazil visit my >beeep< or go to europe and still have good data reception (using local sim cards of course)
Is the bell's vibrant different from t-mobile's???
felipehcampos said:
Is the bell's vibrant different from t-mobile's???
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Yes, it's a full-on I9000 complete with FFC and physical Home button.
confused about Bell's Vibrant 2G and 3G networks
For reference the Samsung I9000 Galaxy S has:
2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100
What about Bell's Samsung GT-I9000M Galaxy S Vibrant? Which 2G Network? Which 3G Network?
I'm asking that because I'm confused:
Aqua1ung said:
Alright, I saw it on the box, so I can confirm with certainty: Bell's Vibrant is tri-band HSDPA 850/1900/2100
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But both Best Buy and Future Shop says "3G 900/1900/2100" for Bell's SGS specs?!
AllGamer said:
yes 3 band data as mentioned above
and quad band voice 850/900/1800/1900
who cares about the voice, the 850/1900/2100 range is what we wanted anyways
now i can go to Brazil visit my >beeep< or go to europe and still have good data reception (using local sim cards of course)
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Is it like AT&T's (and supposedly Rogers') Samsung i897 Captivate:
2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100
Does that means Bell's SGS has GSM quad band built-in? But Bell's network is CDMA, not GSM?!
It's a pretty big deal if it has 2G GSM network compatibility, because as you said that means it's possible to use it with both European and Canadian cell phone carriers (once unlocked).
The 3G 850 / 1900 is necessary for Canada, and 2100 for France but that's assuming you stay in big cities where 3G networks are deployed. But what about going to the countryside? In that case we need to rely on the GSM 2G networks to get voice and data connection, am I right?
gaelynx said:
It's a pretty big deal if it has 2G GSM network compatibility, because as you said that means it's possible to use it with both European and Canadian cell phone carriers (once unlocked).
The 3G 850 / 1900 is necessary for Canada, and 2100 for France but that's assuming you stay in big cities where 3G networks are deployed. But what about going to the countryside? In that case we need to rely on the GSM 2G networks to get voice and data connection, am I right?
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actually that's why for some people like myself the 850 is a pretty big deal, so that we can get 3G on the country side, otherwise we'll only get Edge or 2G
gaelynx said:
But both Best Buy and Future Shop says "3G 900/1900/2100" for Bell's SGS specs?!
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The 3G 900 in the specs must be wrong. Only Australia, New Zealand and maybe Iran use that band (src). And Future Shop is a sub-division of Best Buy so maybe that why they both have the same error?
AllGamer said:
actually that's why for some people like myself the 850 is a pretty big deal, so that we can get 3G on the country side, otherwise we'll only get Edge or 2G
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So 3G 850 and 1900 are enough to cover cities and countryside for voice+data in Canada? There is no CDMA technology in the Bell Vibrant?
And we have a good 3G coverage for worldwide use thanks to the popularity of the 2100MHz band.
Some part of the countryside in France (including where my family lives) doesn't have 3G coverage. So I would like to know the 2G Network capabilities of the Bell Vibrant.
if it has Quad-band GSM then its only difference with the I9000 is the 850 3G band instead of the 900 3G band?! and the difference with the Samsung i897 Captivate is the external design and the front camera?
After additional google-ing I found an official news from Samsung (June 30th) that says:
The first Samsung Galaxy S™ device to launch in Canada will be the Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant™ and it is scheduled to launch this summer on Bell Mobility’s state-of-the-art HSPA+ network – the fastest and largest wireless high-speed network in Canada.
Canadian consumers can anticipate the release of additional Galaxy S™ smartphones throughout the rest of 2010.
[..]
Network: HSPA/Quad Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
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and I could find one confirmation on XDA (without source):
Croak said:
Quad band GSM and 850/1900/2100 UMTS.
Sent from my GT-I9000M using XDA App
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So that means the Bell Vibrant doesn't relies on Bell's CDMA network, only on its HSPA+ network.
I see no point in waiting for Rogers to release the Captivate, unless we don't mind the lack of Front Facing Camera and prefer the other external design...
the Canada version of Vibrant operates at all those bands on both 2G and 3G also for Voice, so you got it all covered.
the only thing left is to get it unlocked after you buy it.
it is also compatible with the i9000 firmware upgrades without any changes

[Q] question for 3G frequencies in Canada

I have a tmobile vibrant phone (hardware only). According to the phone specs i SHOULD be able to get 3g signal with my fido sim card since the phone seems to support all the same frequencies as the Canadian i9000.... but i only get edge.
If you guys are getting 3G with fido or rogers sim cards, did you have to set anything special in the phone settings?
Thanks!
Vibrant T-mobile 3G runs on 1700
that is why you only get EDGE (2G)
Fido, Rogers & Bell runs on 850 & 1900 for 3G
On my way to work today this is what i saw in the network box.
inside my house - EDGE
Outside my house - 3G
back country roads to work - i saw just G or no signal (normal i loose signal with my iphone and blackberry on there)
at work - back on edge
So i DO get 3g somehow! or is it just teasing me by showing 3G?
i read somewhere that the t-mo vibrant does have 1900 as one of its 3g bands, so this is why your phone has been able to pick up 3g at times. the problem for you is that rogers/fido mainly use the 850 band. i had the nokia n97 mini that had the 1900 but no 850 and while driving around most of the gta i would get 3g, but when i went into buildings, houses, etc, it would drop to edge.
Maybe your phone supports 1900 and not 850 MHz? Or the oposite? That would explain why you would get bad UMTS coverage.
@hondaguy you were faster than me
boravr6 said:
I have a tmobile vibrant phone (hardware only). According to the phone specs i SHOULD be able to get 3g signal with my fido sim card since the phone seems to support all the same frequencies as the Canadian i9000.... but i only get edge.
If you guys are getting 3G with fido or rogers sim cards, did you have to set anything special in the phone settings?
Thanks!
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To my knowledge the T-Mobile Vibrant does not support the major Canadian 3g bands. It is quad band 2g, which is why you are able to get edge but it is only 2 band 3g, at least according to this spec sheet:
http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&id=2439&c=samsung_sgh-t959_galaxy_s_vibrant
T-mobile uses the 1700 and 2100 UMTS bands for 3g, Bell/Rogers/Telus/Virgin/Fido use 850/1900 UMTS bands for 3g. Therefore the 3g radio on the Vibrant is not compatible with these networks.
However, WIND mobile uses the 1700/2100 UMTS bands for 3g and you can use unlocked T-Mobile phones to their full ability on Wind's network. Wind is only in major urban centres though so this may not help you if you're not in the city. Hopefully you are as Wind has a pretty sweet unlimited data plan!
http://shop.windmobile.ca/
On the other hand according this this article from Engadget:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/22/confirmed-galaxy-s-unlock-codes-are-stored-in-your-phone-vibra/
If they're right that the Vibrant is somehow capable of AT&T 3g, it would mean the phone has to be tri-band UMTS: 850, 1700, 2100 (or 1700,1900,2100) as AT&T uses the 850/1900 bands like Rogers/Bell/Telus.
This doesn't make sense to me why T-Mobile would do this. The 850/1900 bands are really only used in North America on competing carriers, so it doesn't give the phone "world" capabilities, the 2100 band does that. Why they would add a feature who's only purpose is to make the phone work on competitors' networks is a mystery to me but Engadget seems to have a picture that confirms it. If this is true than an unlocked Vibrant should technically be able to work on Rogers/Bell/Telus/Fido/Virgin 3g, but only if it is unlocked. I'm pretty sure that T-Mobile sells their phones SIM locked to their network, have you unlocked yours?
~Edit if it does have 1900 as the third band the above posters are correct in that you will get minimal 3g coverage as 850 is the primary in Canada.
yeah i wanted to switch to Wind Mobile for the $35 true unlimited data plan, until i found out they don't work with normal 850/1900/2100 phones
only 1700 / 2100

[Q] Will Euro Tab work on US 3G?

I haven't seen any specs for North American Galaxy Tab so I don't know if the AT&T version will have UMTS 850. I have ordered a Euro version that has UMTS 1900 so I presume it "should" work on AT&T 3G but I'm worried because what I can find on this subject implies UMTS 850 is essential for AT&T 3G. Can anyone with experience in US tell me how well the UMTS 1900 only works? Thanks.
Yes
To be more specific, it will if your city still has the 1900 mhz band. Check here: http://www.cellularmaps.com/att_850_1900.shtml
Funk2641 said:
Yes
To be more specific, it will if your city still has the 1900 mhz band. Check here: http://www.cellularmaps.com/att_850_1900.shtml
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Thanks for the quick response and the maps (first time I've seen coverage maps by frequency, since AT&T no longer offers them) Very helpful and I feel better about haven ordered the Euro version.
Are there any owners of cellphones using the Euro 900/1900 UMTS frequencies on US 3G networks who can share their experience?
I live in the SF Bay Area and here the network is mainly 1900Mhz so the device works very well.
If you live in a market that got 3g fairly early, your network in probably 1900Mhz.
If you live in a market that only recently (1-2 years) got 3G, you might be on a 850Mhz network.

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