Think twice about a Verizon World Edition
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The first thing I want too say is I have no dog in any fight. I am merely reporting my real world experience so that nobody else gets burned like me.
I am an overseas contractor. Before I deployed to Iraq I got myself a Verizon World Edition Blackberry. Since then I have been paying almost $200 a month for unlimited date service
Upon arrival in Iraq the BB unit seemed to work fine. The problems began 3 weeks ago when I left Iraq. Upon arrival in Amman the BB had no service. A day llater, upon arrival in Paris, the BB did not have service. The same day, upon arrival in Malaga, the BB had no service. This went on for a week. Then back to Amman, where upon arrival the BB had no service. 5 days llater, when I arrived at the Dead Sea suddenly the BB started working again (interestingly I got one of those welcome to Israel mesages even though I was in Jordan). The moment I left the Dead Sea, once again, no service. Arrival in Amman, no service.
Upon return to Iraq, no service.
Verizon was simply unable to fix whatever the problem was. At first they tried to blame the BB unit but the fact that the unit worked at the Dead Sea that 1-day makes that a disingenuous argument (to any booger eating moron at least).
Ultimately I had to terminate the service. Verizon was never able to fix the problem. And clearly the problem was with Verizon and not the BB unit. Every tiime they told me to go too thhis screen or that screen, the screens all said the same thing. NO SERVICE.
The word has spread very quickly here in Iraq. Verizon is not a BB service provider that you can rely upon here. And certainly when you are operating in an environment where your very life might depend upon your comms.
I highly recommend anybody considering a global type BB service go to another provider. Verizon's Global Edition simply does not deliver. And all I have now is esentially a $200+ alarm clock.
Avoid Verizon like the plague.
The above is simply fact.03-20-09 09:35 AMLike 0 -
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Well it certainly is a fact that verizon isn't the carrier in iraq, paris, amman or anywhere else outside the USA.
It is however completely false that you could be paying $200 per month for the data service as the most expensive data plan for a blackberry is $69.99 and that's unlimited anywhere the phone works.
Maybe you'll be happier with an iphone paying $60 a month just to get 50MB a month outside the USA.
Did you know Verizon Wireless has been voted to have the best international service by the readers of International Traveler Magazine? Its happened two years in a row now....
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com03-20-09 10:37 AMLike 0 -
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Anywhere in the USA that it works.......he is speaking obviously of an international data plan.
Gee, they gave someone a discount to vote for them.......advertising money at work.03-20-09 10:42 AMLike 0 -
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Sat phone or local pre-paid. The areas mentioned are very diverse - even quad-band will have issues. When we were over there, we carried 3-4 devices in some areas, just to assure coverage.
It is a pain, but there are no quad-band QWERTY BlackBerrys and none that will work reliably in all areas there - it is no fault of any domestic carrier.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com03-20-09 10:48 AMLike 0 -
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Folks, cast aside the dollar figures and put yourself in the place of these people who are all over the world. If you have no communications whatsoever, you are more than likely to be dead - simple as that.
And if you feel that I am wrong than I challenge you to communicate to anyone without any type of device, hand or finger movements or writing. Unless you can communicate with your mind, you are screwed. Now again put yourself in their position and see how you feel. In the Corps, we had an acronym which when written vertical was
S
M
E
A
C
It stood for S - Situation, M - Mission, E - Execution, A - Adminstration and finally C - Communications. The point here is you can't do any of the above without COMMUNICATIONS. You can actually put this acronym to use in your civilian life. Sorry for the Soapbox, but I can't stand when people have no clue what its' like to place ones life on the line.
Kudos to those who find other measures to communicate.03-20-09 11:06 AMLike 0 -
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Why would you not have tried switching out the phone? Given, im not sure how to or where you would go to switch out phones while over seas, but I still would have at least tried that route once.03-20-09 11:31 AMLike 0 -
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Except that would not explain why it worked in Iraq up until the time I left but ceased to work in the same place in Iraq when I returned.03-20-09 11:39 AMLike 0 -
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Oh so I am a liar. I see.Well it certainly is a fact that verizon isn't the carrier in iraq, paris, amman or anywhere else outside the USA.
It is however completely false that you could be paying $200 per month for the data service as the most expensive data plan for a blackberry is $69.99 and that's unlimited anywhere the phone works.
Maybe you'll be happier with an iphone paying $60 a month just to get 50MB a month outside the USA.
Did you know Verizon Wireless has been voted to have the best international service by the readers of International Traveler Magazine? Its happened two years in a row now....
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
You must either be a Verizon employee, Verizon stockholder, or up to your gills in the Verizon Kool-Aid.
To those not on the Kool-Aid, I simply relate to you the very real world experience I recently had. Accpet it or reject it. It does not matter to me. I merely report a fact.
Oh and for those who have never been to Baghdad, yeah...there's not really a Verizon store down the block to go to.03-20-09 11:44 AMLike 0 -
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If the phone "broke"" then it wouldn't have suddenly started working for the day I was in the Dead Sea, as stated in the original post, and suddenly stopped working when I left the Dead Sea.
No it's pretty clearly a service by Verizon issue.
I go back to the original title of the thread. Think twice about a Verizon World Edition Blackberry. It would be one thing if they were the only show in town but there are other service providers out there.
I plan on going with ATT next. I will report on how that works after I get it.03-20-09 11:55 AMLike 0 -
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Consider TMobile as well. My best friend was in Iraq and his Side Kicked work well in the Green Zone. On occasions he venture out in the bigger sand box and he mentioned he had moderate success. But for sure a Sat Phone is probably your best beat, provided you are not in a building. And sorry for the soapbox rant.Last edited by jrod3055; 03-20-09 at 12:11 PM.
03-20-09 12:02 PMLike 0 -
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Advertising money? Lol. Is that your explanation for the results of JD Power, Consumer Reports and their churn rate too? I'm sure its all a conspiracy.....
Actually I was talking about international. The Global Email for Blackberry plan is 69.99 per month and gives unlimited data anywhere the phone works, worldwide.
Also the 8830 being dual band would not stop it from working in Iraq, France or Jordan.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.comLast edited by vatothe0; 03-20-09 at 02:07 PM.
03-20-09 01:56 PMLike 0 -
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I guess I don't see how this is VERIZONS fault. I was unaware that Verizon provided service in Iraq? Am I wrong? I don't think I am. So maybe JUST MAYBE it's not Verizons fault.03-20-09 02:22 PMLike 0 -
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Right. Verizon does not own any towers outside the US.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com03-20-09 02:34 PMLike 0 -
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just to play devils advocate.. one of my best friends just got back from iraq last november. he spent 10 months there. he bought a brand new laptop before he went and the thing performs like crap now thanks to dust getting in it.If the phone "broke"" then it wouldn't have suddenly started working for the day I was in the Dead Sea, as stated in the original post, and suddenly stopped working when I left the Dead Sea.
No it's pretty clearly a service by Verizon issue.
I go back to the original title of the thread. Think twice about a Verizon World Edition Blackberry. It would be one thing if they were the only show in town but there are other service providers out there.
I plan on going with ATT next. I will report on how that works after I get it.
im not saying this happened to you, but its always a possibility and with any electronics device, when something gets damaged things can work sporadically.
also, he was stationed at camp victory and worked indoors most of the time, so its not like he was chilling outside in a dust storm with his laptop.. the dirt/dust just gets in everything over there.03-20-09 03:44 PMLike 0 -
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My Storm "broke" when I was in Munich in January and I couldn't place or receive any calls. The SIM wasn't making proper contact; when I removed it, it appeared to be bowed. I flexed it in the opposite direction for a bit, reinstalled it, and it was fine.If the phone "broke"" then it wouldn't have suddenly started working for the day I was in the Dead Sea, as stated in the original post, and suddenly stopped working when I left the Dead Sea.
No it's pretty clearly a service by Verizon issue.
I go back to the original title of the thread. Think twice about a Verizon World Edition Blackberry. It would be one thing if they were the only show in town but there are other service providers out there.
I plan on going with ATT next. I will report on how that works after I get it.
All I'm saying is that your problem could've been a temporary condition unrelated to Verizon's coverage or roaming agreements . . . perhaps similar to the one I had.03-20-09 11:06 PMLike 0 -
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in my experience, verizon isn't the best carrier for international travel. because most of the world is on the gsm track, and verizon lacks fleets of towers internationally, it gets tricky. they may have awesome coverage here in the united states (and i wouldn't dream of switching carriers here!), but when traveling abroad (particularly around asia), i'd just go for an unlocked gsm phone and a prepaid sim card from a carrier of choice.
or at least that's what works for me
sorry to hear about your troubles, hope you get them resolved.Last edited by redsoxrocker; 03-21-09 at 02:43 PM.
03-20-09 11:53 PMLike 0 -
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VZW global phone portfolio which is growing fast will work in numerous countries, including those countries that support CDMA. VZW is pertnered with VODA phone in europe, which if I am not mistaken is the LARGEST carrier over there.
VZW offers voice service in over 210 countries utilizing GSM, Quad Band GSM and UMTS services. (quote from the VZW site)
So in in the long run, any gap between VZW and ATT will none to over taking ATT coverage. While meeting with the VZW southwest region president yesterday, we were informed when VZW rolls out LTE and since we are partnered with Voda phone, whom is also rolling out LTE. I think VZW global be a force to be recond with. Keep in mind this is not an over night conversion.03-21-09 08:29 AMLike 0
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Think twice about a Verizon World Edition
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