Cellphone Question

[patrickt]

I live in Oaxaca, Mexico, and higher powered cell phones are expensive. If I buy a phone in the U.S. that is "unlocked" and an international model, can I bring it to Oaxaca, put in a local SIM card, and use it here with a local service provider?

 

[isdaako]

Should not be a problem. Just find out if the towers there are cdma or gsm.

 

[mikedt]

Should not be a problem. Just find out if the towers there are cdma or gsm.

That's very much it. Need to find out if the carrier is GSM or CDMA. GSM should be ok.

 

[patrickt]

Thanks. I'm very new. I checked and carriers serve both GSM and CDMA in Mexico. GSM has better coverage especially in remote resort areas. CDMA seems to have good coverage in larger cities.

Here's a site for information about cell phones in Mexico that was informative:

Mexico Cellular

 

[gtbarry]

If you have the choice, always choose an unlocked GSM - so you can use it anywhere in the world you may travel to.

Make sure your GSM phone you are bringing back is truly unlocked before you bring it back.

Make sure the data frequencies of the phone you bring back match those of the carrier you will be using.

(I wish to be back in Huatulco right now!)

 

[patrickt]

Thanks.