Travel to south africa

[dashrender]

I might be traveling to SA soon and was wondering if any knows if the TP2 will work there?

Also, would it be best to just use the Sprint SIM card, or should I SIM unlock my phone purchase a local prepaid SIM card.

Finally, What kinds of data network will I have access to? Is there any type of unlimited plan?

Thanks.

Sim unlock your phone and use a local prepaid service, will be much cheaper that way. As far as data network it will depend on what networks are available in SA and what frequency band they use for data.

[HBOOT]

am up North, local SIM IS THE way to go. Also, you can find out about pay as you go carrier there, and get hooked up with data as well. Foret Sprint man. No need to unlock jack isht.Just pop a Sim and you are on as I did. I am only using wifi for now until i settle more to get into some type of prepaid sce..

[austerville]

You can purchase a startup package (SIM and some included minutes) at either of the airports. Refill minutes are easily purchased at most stores and gas stations so there's no problem with that. I haven't travelled internationally with my TP2 yet, but from what I understand there's no need to SIM unlock the phone if you use it outside of the US. The 3 major carriers in SA are Vodacom, MTN and Cell C. Check out their websites for more info. to help you choose which one works better for your needs (their coverage is pretty much the same so it's really their pricing that's different).

[acerhater]

Originally Posted by dashrender

I might be traveling to SA soon

You aren't by chance a 501st member are you?

[Mojary]

Originally Posted by HB

am up North, local SIM IS THE way to go. Also, you can find out about pay as you go carrier there, and get hooked up with data as well. Foret Sprint man. No need to unlock jack isht.Just pop a Sim and you are on as I did. I am only using wifi for now until i settle more to get into some type of prepaid sce..

+1 on what HB said. NEVER use carrier int'l roaming. they'll charge you your soul for the service! your phone is already sim unlocked for international use (but will not work while you're in the USofA). just make sure you switch your network settings on your phone to GSM. the data would depend if the carrier runs on 3g. but sometimes, even if that is the case, you may not be able to get 3g because of where you are locationwise.

and if you want to save your family and friends stateside in contacting you, you can check this website out http://www.celtrek.com for their SIMs for roaming (waaaay cheaper than Sprint roaming). it's a pre-paid and you still get a local US number so family/friends can call you at no charge to them. you can use this to get in contact with your peeps in the US (check their rates) and then get a local pre-paid SIM for calling with in S. Africa.

hope this helps....have a safe trip!

[DLCPhoto]

And +1 on what Mojary said regarding celtrek.

I will be traveling to Costa Rica in a month, and Greece a few months after that, and just purchased a SIM from them. Their customer support has been excellent, and their SIM installed on my SIM-unlocked Verizon TP2 without any problem, some test calls couldn't be easier, etc.

I just need to figure out why it keeps asking for the SIM's PIN every time I turn on my phone in the morning!

ETA:
Nevermind - I just had to go into the GSM settings, and uncheck the box requiring entering the PIN to use the phone, it asked for the PIN then, and when I reset, it no longer asked for it. Sweet...

[HBOOT]

Hands free activation is what I d like to disable that isht even if it only asks once if the phone is coming from a total shutsdown.
I checked Celtrek.. site and rates, in my case I dont see why I would pay higher rates with them opposed to going with a local carrier.
People can just "page me" so to speak on my local number, and I call back. Again it depends on what type of settings the person have, you cant have customers paging and waiting and the whole 9....

[DLCPhoto]

Originally Posted by HB

Hands free activation is what I d like to disable that isht even if it only asks once if the phone is coming from a total shutsdown.
I checked Celtrek.. site and rates, in my case I dont see why I would pay higher rates with them opposed to going with a local carrier.
People can just "page me" so to speak on my local number, and I call back. Again it depends on what type of settings the person have, you cant have customers paging and waiting and the whole 9....

Different solutions for different people with different needs.

In my case, Costa Rica's cell infrastructure is such that there's little chance I could actually get a SIM there, so that wasn't an option. And since I'm going to a couple of different countries, it was just easier to have a single SIM, set up and tested before I leave the U.S., that will work in both. The rates were reasonable for both of these countries ($.10/minute incoming, $.32/minute outgoing in Costa Rica, $.23/minute incoming, $.47/minute outgoing in Greece), at least for my relatively limited needs to call home and check in with the family from time to time, so this seems to be the best solution for me.

And now that I've permanently entered the PIN, I no longer have to do anything different from normally.

(Ironically, I found that TMobile's GSM signal is stronger in my home than Verizon's CDMA! - TMobile is what it picks up when I switch to GSM mode.)

[HBOOT]

very cool man, way tmo