Text 9230, 127 rader
Skriven 2010-07-11 16:09:20 av Roy Witt (1:387/22)
   Kommentar till text 9145 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
Ärende: Cellphone woes
======================
11 Jul 10 08:55, Robert Bashe wrote to Roy Witt:

 RB>>> Strange system. For one thing, why did you haave to "register" the
 RB>>> phone?

 RW>> To use the service, they have to program the system with the serial
 RW>> number of the phone.

 RB> OK, that's CDMA then.

In his case, probably. Most of the paygo phones are still CDMA, although
that mode is being phased out for GSM phones.

 RB> With a GSM phone all you need is the SIM.

That's old school. I like it because I can change phones at will, but it
is going the same way as CDMA.

 RB>  Nothing has to be programmed, you just have to buy the SIM and have
 RB> it activated

Tell that to Joe Bruchis. As he told and then proved to me, his GSM phone
has no SIM card.

 RB> (the last one I bought, for EUR 5 on the Internet, had
 RB> to be activated by using it one single time, either for a voice
 RB> connection or a text message - cost to you exactly EUR 0.09). GSM
 RB> phones that are unlocked (presently most of them except the
 RB> subsidized cheapies sold by some providers) can be used with any SIM
 RB> from any provider for as long as you want.

GSM is old school, i.e. 2G. The newer versions, UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ are 3G
and it takes the place of GSM on the same frequencies. The use of SIM
cards has been slowly being phased out while virtual SIM memory is part of
the cell phone software now.

 RB>>> Or was this not a prepaid phone, but one on a provider contract?

 RW>> Tracphone is a prepaid system.

 RB> But obviously CDMA, and that's where the hassle comes in. GSM is much
 RB> simpler: that's the reason why it's becoming the main system even in
 RB> the States, whereas CDMA phones are slowly dying out.

Not so. CDMA is being phased out. Some of the earlier paygo phones no
longer work, you must have a newer one that works with the UMTS etc. and
GSM is also slowly being phased out.

 RB>>> And another question would be how the **** they had any knowledge
 RB>>> of your "contacts" (I assume names and phone numbers)? This really
 RB>>> is wierd, must have been a CDMA phone too, since you have all that
 RB>>> data on the SIM with a GSM phone.

 RW>> I asked this question a couple of years ago. It seems that some
 RW>> providers and their GSM phones store the phone book on the providers
 RW>> system. And not all GSM phones have a SIM card these days.

 RB> The first point (storage of your personal phone book at the provider)
 RB> is totally unknown in the case of a GSM phone, and the second one is
 RB> simply
 RB> wrong: the whole principle of GSM phones is the use of a SIM module.
 RB> If it doesn't have a SIM, it isn't a GSM phone.

SIM modules can and are being replaced by SIM software uploaded to the
cellphone. I like the SIM card modules, but they are slowly being phased
out by the carriers. I suppose to keep users from buying cheap phones and
inserting a SIM card to use them. Mine is a Cingular cell phone which was
locked for use only on Cingular. Cingular bought AT&T around 2006 and my
phone still works on the system, while former AT&T users had to upgrade to
new phones. Cingular is now called AT&T Mobility.

 RB>>> This would make people here pretty unhappy - the emphasis on
 RB>>> private information is pretty strong here.

 RW>> Don't use Verizon or any of their non-SIMed GSM phones as your
 RW>> provider then.

 RB> Well, Verizon doesn't operate in Germany and there are no GSM phones
 RB> without a SIM, so I'm in no danger on that point.

Wrong on one and 1/2 counts. Verizon is majority owned by Vodaphone (I
think that's their name) based in GB...not only do they operate here, but
they operate from England to Siberia and some places in South Africa.

 RB>>> As for the "minutes" (for incoming calls), well, this is something
 RB>>> apparently only Americans really understand. Things here work
 RB>>> completely differently: you pay for a call you make and that's
 RB>>> that.

 RW>> Same here.

 RB> All I can do is shake my head at such obstinency. And of course
 RB> you're dead wrong.

I think you're closer to being dead than I am. I'm not stuck in the past
hoping someone will believe what I tell them.

 RB>>> Nobody pays to receive a cellphone call any more than you would on
 RB>>> a land line. And any "minutes" you might buy or have given to you
 RB>>> for signing a contract are _sending_ time minutes here, i.e. how
 RB>>> long you can call.

 RW>> I have no contract, but get 8800 minutes/month free.

 RB> You don't get zilch free, Roy, and if you believe that, I've
 RB> obviously overestimated your intelligence.

Whether I believe it or not is for me to know and you to take a hike.

 RB>>> They have nothing to do with receiving a call, since that's always
 RB>>> free in Germany.

 RW>> Same here.

 RB> Bullshit. Are you really that naive, misinformed or just plain
 RB> resistant to facts?

It's too bad you don't have a copy of my cell phone bill so you can show
me a charge for incoming calls. I can't find any and I'm well versed in
the English language and have yet to find what you claim to be fact.


                R\%/itt

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