AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Talk Belize Travel Cell Phones

you guys could just call cingular, have them unlock your phone, then buy another sim card when you arrive at BZE.

I already have an international roaming phone ( for work use ).. but before I had this, I would just buy the prepaid sims in whatever country I was visiting.. for 20 or 30 bucks, you can make and recieve just about all the calls you desire ( unless you are truly a chatty kathy )

I have Cingular...Pay $3.99 per month for International call plan...Disconnect after 2 months .40 a minute and have your own ###. the problem is calling a number in Belize...very expensive

I found an unlocked cell phone online for a very cheap price. Will bring it with me and have a SIM card put in when I get there, then when I get home, toss it in a drawer for the next time. No contract, incoming calls are free...only cost is the SIM and any dialed calls. Just a bit of security, and under $100, so I'm happy. Thanks to all of you and your help.

ok.. just got off the phone with cingular. Here's the info.

The first package they offer is called "international Dialing"

3.99 international dialing/ .49 minute

this plan allows one to dial international numbers while IN the USofA for a discounted rate.

The second plan is International Roaming.

5.99 international roaming/ .65 minute

This plan allows one to send and recieve calls while outside the USofA.

The rates i've posted are a monthly fee for the rate plan, plus a per minute charge for each call, whether sent or recieved.

Like others have said, it's cheaper than a straight 3 bucks a minute.

Now that cingular has finally implemented international roaming, I guess I can toss the "travel" phone.

so if you're purchased the 3.99 plan, I'd suggest calling up and reconfirming that you can make and recieve calls IN belize. The operator said that is a common mistake.

You need to qualify what you have said.

To receive/send calls from outside the US you need a GSM phone, which all/only Cingular's are. This is why Cingular is popular for international travelers. GSM service is offered in 207 countries. But, and a big but, is that your phone has one of the four frequencies that a particular country uses. Check on the website of your cell phone manufacturer to see which frequencies your model phone supports. These days, they support three of the four or all four.
US GSM cell phones work on 1900 MHz (and sometimes also 850 MHz). Most other countries have GSM networks on 900 or 1800 MHz. It just so happens that Beilize uses the 1900 Mhz which any Cingular phone/manufacturer they use has.
Any reference to "an international phone", simply means you have a GSM phones that will operate on all four frequencies...most of the world does not use our(The US's) 1900 Mhz. They mostly use 900 or 1800 Mhz.
You can either use Cingular's service/fees, and your phone supports the frequency of the country you are in, or you can have your phone unlocked so as to utilize another's SIM card/service.
The Cingular phone will be locked. You have to go through the simple process of having it unlocked. There is no reason why Cingular will do it for you.That is one of the ridiculous things about unlocking which makes the whole thing so unnecessary.
You have already signed a one or two year contract with your cell phone service provider, you are committed to spending a monthly minimum amount with them every month, whether you ever turn your phone on or not! Indeed, in a way, it is probably good for them if you never use the free minutes included in your plan - that way, their monthly fee becomes pure profit!
So, why should they care if your phone is locked or unlocked? Apart from hoping you'll use more than your free minutes, it is all the same to them, one way or the other.
As far as I am aware, all GSM phones can be unlocked. But if your phone is not a GSM phone, then it probably can't be unlocked.

Alot more than any of you probably want to know, but it's between NCAA hoops at this time...

Sandb, Thanks for the info. Now another question. I was thinking I was so smart by buying an unlocked phone (used, but that's OK) and then I read the fine print...it said it was OK to use with the 32k sim cards, but not the 64k sim cards. What does that mean? I have an older Cingular phone that I had when I switched carriers a year or so ago that is in perfect condition but I'm with Nextel now. If I brought that one with me, could they "unlock" it at digicell and put in an appropriate sim card? I don't have a current plan with Cingular. The phone charges, but can't make calls with it because of no server.
You all have been such a great help with this. I'm not very cell phone savvy, and this information is wonderful. You all are the greatest.

ok.. in town and my cingular ( locked ) gsm phone ( palm treo 650 ) is making and recieving calls fine ( all at .40 cents a minute. )

i use my cingular us# in Belize now no problem. send and receive, text messages fine too.

like philly todd said, i have the international roaming. 5.99 /month, plus roaming charge varies depending on the country you are in. just do that long enough to get settled.

my phone is gsm, i had digicel unlock it when i was in town, once its unlocked you can use a belize sim. probably says that somewhere above but i just thought i'd throw in my two cents

sun&sand, 32k sim cards are very common, more common these days than 64k. i would think digicel can take care of it for sure...

wanna see spendy, make a collect call from cuba
:>

i thought that bill was a mistake for sure. never dreamed it was accurate, til i chatted a bit with the phone company, and i slowly came to the hideous realization that i was gonna have to pay that sucker!!!!

must have been $15us a minute. 2 20 minute calls were $600us