T-Mobile roaming agreements

[jackm3]

Did T-Mo change their roaming agreement with ATT? I ask because The T-Mo coverage map shows I am supposed to get some type of coverage where I live (very weak signal) and until last week, I was unable to roam. I look down at mt 8900 and voila...I was on ATT network. I immediately changed my mobile network settings to NOT use data while roaming so I wouldnt be smacked with a charge.

[heyitsbailey]

for what i understand is, the roaming agreement between att and tmobile isnt national but through certain regions. i am guessing before it said "sos" when you didnt get cell phone signal through tmobile?

i guess it means that att and tmobile did a roaming agreement for your area

[fjerske]

Roaming agreements are regional. But they are also mandated by fcc(voice only)on a like system as your carrier. But most add data to an agreement as it generates more revenue for the roaming partner. You will not roam where you home carrier owns spectrum in that area.

Posted from my BlackBerry using BerryBlab

[jackm3]

Originally Posted by fjerske

Roaming agreements are regional. But they are also mandated by fcc(voice only)on a like system as your carrier. But most add data to an agreement as it generates more revenue for the roaming partner. You will not roam where you home carrier owns spectrum in that area.

Posted from my BlackBerry using BerryBlab

Thats the thing... look at T-Mos coverage map for zip code 22620 and you will see that they have coverage for the area, yet my 8900 will switch to ATT when the weak T-Mo signal dies out intermittently. To save myself any possible financial headache, I have set my network selection to Manual so it only looks for T-Mobile.

[Artemis68]

Roaming agreements are regional. you won't connect to AT&T unless they have a roaming agreement.

You shouldn't worry about any added cost because there is none.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[heyitsbailey]

@fjerske
you are both corrrect and incorrect about the fcc mandating it.
the fcc mandates it for emergency (911) calls only. "Sos" as in "help". that is why it shows "sos" instead of "x"
.
and to be honest i wouldnt mind if att and tmo had a roaming contract where i am from. i get better tmobile service than att when i am outside (dont know why) but when i am at my friends house, i get no cell signal. but there is full sprint signal and like 3 bars for att.

but hey no worries about getting charged. just set it up to where it says "data" and set it to "off when roaming" so you dont get charged. also if there is a router (if your phone has wifi), then use wireless router (UMA) instead of having to worry about roaming.

[Artemis68]

The data "off when roaming" applies to stop charges from international use. This is the only time you'll be charged...

T-Mobile says that they don't charge for roaming and this holds true for the data as well. I roam on AT&T a lot at college.