Cellular Tips from Oz

If you’re stuck in the US using Cingular, this affects you…
If you happen to be travelling overseas (saaay Australia for example) and you happen to have a phone with your Cingular SIM card turned on and you receive an SMS or your phone rings (but you dun answer), guess what?
YOU GET HIT WITH INT’L ROAMING CHARGES! Frakkin’ rat bastards!
US$0.50 for each SMS received! US$1.75/minute for each call that rings! What is this?
This is the first time I’ve been hit with these kind of charges. Normally, if my phone rings and I’m awake, I take note of who called me on my Cingular SIM and then call them back on my locally sourced prepaid SIM card. You know the one, the one with the great deals…

But now Cingular charges even if your phone rings and you dun answer it overseas!! My bill this month is US$30 more than it usually is…
So lesson of the story: If you got Cingular, call in from overseas to check messages. And don’t even THINK of turning on your phone!
Also, if you have an US Triband phone (GSM 850/1800/1900) and you are mucking about in Sydney, be advised that your phone will become useless once you leave Sydney because the networks switch over to GSM 900. Solution: Quad-Band phone, world Triband phone (GSM 900/1800/1900) or a Dual-Band GSM 900/1800 phone.