[Slash82]

Hey friends!

I'm going to move to california for an internship next year.

I will stay there for 6months and after that I move back to Germany.
But I want keep in touch with my friends and family.

So I need some help considering phone contracts.

Can anyone tell me if it's possible to get a 6-six-months contract or so?
I wanna take my GSM Bold with me.

I'd be great if you could recommend me something for that.
I have no clue about US carriers.

Thank you in advance!!

Best wishes,

Slash

[_StephenBB81]

Sorry about your misfortune having to go to California

Make sure you get your BlackBerry unlocked

as for Carriers your best bet is AT&T or T-Mobile both are GSM carriers

When visiting the carriers site, use Zipcode 90210

[GingerSnapsBack]

Depending on where you move in California, check in to MetroPCS.

They don't require contracts and their service is pretty good. Several CA friends of mine have MetroPCS and they don't have any complaints.

[_StephenBB81]

Depending on where you move in California, check in to MetroPCS.

They don't require contracts and their service is pretty good. Several CA friends of mine have MetroPCS and they don't have any complaints.

MetroPCS I am almost sure is a CDMA carrier

[Slash82]

Hey there!
Thank you for all your fast replies!!

My internship is in Oxnard, it's in the north of Los Angeles.
(Between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara).

Oh, CDMA won't work with my GSM bold.
Over here we have the GSM standard, no CDMA is avalible for me.

But it would be great to have "no contract carrier" with access to the BB Servers.

The problem in Germany is only to get 2 year contracts with that.
So I don't know how this works in the states.

But I will check out AT&T and T-mobile for that.

Thank you for beeing there!

[Slash82]

Oh and my bold is unlocked.

[Denise in Los Angeles]

You can get T-Mobile with no contract.

[Slash82]

Thank you!!! Gonna look at that!

[clvrbas]

you could also look into getting a pre paid 9310 from Boost mobile for 99 and pay monthly.

IF you want to keep using the same phone get it unlocked and you can get no commitment pricing from AT&T with a SIM card.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9800 using Tapatalk

[GingerSnapsBack]

MetroPCS I am almost sure is a CDMA carrier

I know that but their phones are pretty cheap and resellable.

[raino]

Sorry about your misfortune having to go to California

Wait a minute, Mr. Canada. That's slanderous.

OP, sorry about your misfortune having to go to California

Signed,
California RESIDENT

Hey there!
Thank you for all your fast replies!!

My internship is in Oxnard, it's in the north of Los Angeles.
(Between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara).

Oh, CDMA won't work with my GSM bold.
Over here we have the GSM standard, no CDMA is avalible for me.

But it would be great to have "no contract carrier" with access to the BB Servers.

The problem in Germany is only to get 2 year contracts with that.
So I don't know how this works in the states.

But I will check out AT&T and T-mobile for that.

Thank you for beeing there!

A couple of points:

1. What 3G bands does your phone have? Is it the AT&T set, or the T-Mobile set?
2. AT&T doesn't offer BIS for prepaid customers. T-Mobile does, but if your phone has the AT&T 3G bands, most likely you won't get better than 2G on the T-Mobile network.

T-Mobile's network is pretty decent in the LA area.

[robsteve]

Not to ask the obvious, but doesn't AT&T offer month to month plans? All the carriers in Canada do. It is the same as the three year contract plans, but you do not get a discounted phone or have to stay under contract for a predetermined time. You just need to give 30 days notice of termination. On Rogers, there is also a $35 one time fee to setup the account. You will need to pass a credit check to get such a plan, as they are post paid.

[_StephenBB81]

Wait a minute, Mr. Canada. That's slanderous.

OP, sorry about your misfortune having to go to California

Signed,
California RESIDENT





A couple of points:

1. What 3G bands does your phone have? Is it the AT&T set, or the T-Mobile set?
2. AT&T doesn't offer BIS for prepaid customers. T-Mobile does, but if your phone has the AT&T 3G bands, most likely you won't get better than 2G on the T-Mobile network.

T-Mobile's network is pretty decent in the LA area.

The BlackBerry 9900 I believe has both AT&T and T-Mobile Bands

[CHIP72]

Not to ask the obvious, but doesn't AT&T offer month to month plans? All the carriers in Canada do. It is the same as the three year contract plans, but you do not get a discounted phone or have to stay under contract for a predetermined time. You just need to give 30 days notice of termination. On Rogers, there is also a $35 one time fee to setup the account. You will need to pass a credit check to get such a plan, as they are post paid.

Beat me to it, but unless I'm missing something, the easiest solution is to 1) unlock the Bold phone and 2) sign up for a month-to-month contract with either AT&T or T-Mobile. Usually there is a fee to add/create a line, but otherwise things should be pretty straightforward because you (Slash82) are bringing your own device. It is the equivalent of buying a device off-contract and adding/creating a line for the smartphone on a compatible carrier.

Here are links to AT&T's and T-Mobile's websites:

AT&T: Cell Phones, Cell Phone Plans, & Wireless Accessories from AT&T

T-Mobile: Unsupported Browser (I have no idea why the link says "unsupported browser" - the link still works though)

[raino]

The BlackBerry 9900 I believe has both AT&T and T-Mobile Bands

That's true only for 2G. For 3G, there are two variants: 850/1900/2100, and 900/1700/2100. 1700 MHz is T-Mobile's 3G (and above) frequency. They did receive some 1900 MHz from AT&T, but the list of those markets isn't public afaik.

robsteve and CHIP72, you guys are right. I don't know what I read.

[Hgouck]

Since both AT&T and The-Mobile offer the 9900 as part of there line of phones wouldn't the 9900 from Germany work on either carrier without problem?

[raino]

Since both AT&T and The-Mobile offer the 9900 as part of there line of phones wouldn't the 9900 from Germany work on either carrier without problem?

The 9900s they offer are supposed to get the best data speeds on their (or similar networks.) T-Mobile, for example, mostly uses the 1700 MHz for 3G and "4G". In these areas, an AT&T 9900, which does not have the 1700 MHz band, will not get 3G.

So to answer your question..yes, a 9900 will work with either AT&T or T-Mobile. But how well depends on your needs and expectations.

[robsteve]

robsteve and CHIP72, I was told that AT&T does not offer BIS to prepaid customers. They do have prepaid data plans for smartphone users, but not a prepaid BIS plan.

I was referring to a post paid account; ie they bill you monthly, not a cod or prepaid account.