Hey El Aleman and Moondog,
Thanks for providing the information. It is great info and I realy appreciate it.
Not going to be there for about 4 weeks so I have so time.
Again thanks.
Suerte,
Stowe
PS. I speak a little spanish-probaby enough to get by. The only problem is the delay with the activation of the SIM card. Sounds like it can take a couple of days.
[QUOTE=El Aleman]
And, to add one thing: Only Argentina uses the same frequencies as the States. Brazil and some other South American countries use the European bands (900 and 1800 MHz) so there you would need a triband phone.
El Alemán[/QUOTE]This is not very important, but this is not entirely correct. Colombia is on exactly the same 850/1900 frequency, as are Ecuador, Peru and Paraguay. Venezuela is 900 Mhz, as is Brazil (but they also have the 1800 band)
[url]www.gsmworld.com/roaming[/url]
Stowe.
I owned an unlocked GSM phone when I went to BA. A good new Siemens A70 which I bought for $ 70.00 Canadian on E bay.
I went to the Personel Store on Florida on the corner about 2 blocks in, you have to go up a spiral staircase, they sold me a SIM card and activated it within 5 minutes, 45 pesos with 60 minutes air time, I think.
It was real handy for local calling but outragiously expensive for calls back to Canada. My big phone problem was, I know no Spanish, so when I got options or an answering machine I was screwed. Used the same phone in Thailand, call to Canada for 20 minutes about $ 4.00. Hope this helps!
Cactus
[QUOTE=Stowe]El Aleman, Moondog, Cactus,
Thanks for the info. I assume that with a completely new SIM card comes a new phone number so the only way to keep the same number is to keep the card charged-correct? Until late next year, my trips to BA will be 6 months apart.
I will be in BA in early April. If any of you are there, I would be happy to buy you some drinks as a thank you.
Suerte,
Stowe[/QUOTE]The credits expire 1 month after you add them. But you have 7 months before the SIM expires and, if you add credits before expiration, you get your expired credits back. Buy an extra recharge card before you leave and charge your phone as soon as you arrive at the airport. However, it might (or might not) take an hour or so before your phone starts to work. It never seems to work the same way twice for me.
Also, if you run out of credits, there can be a delay before a recharge takes effect so try to avoid running out.
The cost of calls varies depending on the size of the recharge card so avoid the $AR10 card. Prime time calls (0800-2200, M-F) are 25% cheaper on the $AR20 card and about 33% cheaper on the $AR100 card.
I've never used mine for an international call (I think international calling needs to be activated by customer service) I use Skype or Gizmo Project from my notebook instead as calls using those programs are dirt cheap ($US0.01/ minute for calls to the US on Gizmo Project) If I have to make an international call when I'm out, I go to a locutorio (there's pretty much one on every block)
[QUOTE=Easy Go]The credits expire 1 month after you add them.[/QUOTE]For my pre-pago SIM card that I got from CTI Movil, the credits expire 2 months after your last top-up.
I had a balance of about 56 pesos when I went in to buy 100 pesos more and my expiration was set in late Feb. Which was 2 months from when I initially got the phone, and after the additional credit top-up, my new expiration date is late April, or another 2 months from date of topping up.
I appreciate the information. I think I have all the info I need.
Sounds like the only difficulty will be getting an local address to have them send the paperwork to. One situation at a time.
Suerte,
Stowe
You don't need a local address if you go with CTI Movil.
I don't quite remember about needing a local address when I got my SIM card from CTI on Paraguay and Florida. If I did I must have given them my hotel address.
They did ask for my passport. I did not have it with me at the time and I just gave them the driving license and that was good enough.
[QUOTE=MoonDog]
The credits are good for 90 days, and the card good for six months. After that, you might have to get a new SIM card or have the old one re-activated. [/QUOTE]To MoonDog or any other knowledgable member,
If I need to "reactivate" my sim card that I haven't used in 6 months, is it going to cost money to reactivate? Or is it simply going to the main office and having them reactivate it / buy some more recharge credits?
Thank you in advance.
My information was for Personal Light and comes from their web site. Each carrier has its own policy which it may or may not follow closely.
I didn't see anything on the web site about being able to reactivate the card by going to the main office.
[QUOTE=Team Stream]To MoonDog or any other knowledgable member,
If I need to "reactivate" my sim card that I haven't used in 6 months, is it going to cost money to reactivate? Or is it simply going to the main office and having them reactivate it / buy some more recharge credits?
Thank you in advance.[/QUOTE]I think you will have to go to the main office, but I'm not exactly sure.
Moondog
Mongers-
I am coming back to Buenos Aires in a week, more or less permanently, and I want to get my Kyocera KX2 phone hooked up here. I called up Kyocera, and they told me they do business in Argentina and the phone should work. The phone is CDMA based with Verizon service in the USA, and will not work on roaming in Argentina because Verizon has no roaming agreement with any Argentine provider. All the talk about phones in this thread has been about GSM servers, but reliable sources tell me that the CDMA network is more reliable in Argentina, plus I want to keep my phone. I used PhoneRental for the 6 months I previously lived in Argentina and although it was a poor value, the service was good. Any experiences, recommendations on this would be appreciated.
Suerte,
Dirk Diggler
[QUOTE=Hewy300]My tri-band GSM Nokia 3100 worked for me during my February 2005 trip to Buenos Aires. You might consider "unlocking" you phone and purchasing a "local" pre-paid SIM card to avoid the roaming charges. Please see the first web link for more information. The second web link has additional GSM information.
[url]http://www.thetravelinsider.info/roadwarriorcontent/nokiaunlocking.htm[/url]
[url]http://www.gsmworld.com/index.shtml[/url]
Hewy[/QUOTE]Hi,
I never had a chance to respond to Hewy's post and link for The Travel Insider. I had a Sony Ericsson T-226 cell, I had bought cheap and had used the same model last year in Colombia and it worked great (I slipped out of my pocket in a Taxi and was gone. So after seeing this post I thought it would be a great chance to unlock it for my next trip. I sent the PayPal payment and I even took advantage of there offer for a SIM holder, which I thought would be great, as I travel to multiple countries often. I followed the intructions they have and received a confirmation for receiving the Cell Phone and the return reciept. On the return e-mail it stated the SIM holders are back ordered and I would receive it as soon as they were back in stock. I received the phone as promised, from the e-mail. But it was DOA, it would not power on and would take a charge. I tried every troubleshooting method and e-mailed TTI. I received an e-mail asking for more information, PayPal info etc. I never got really angry, as it wasn't like it was a brand new phone, but it was in excellent shape and I had used it with no problems here for several months. I then asked since I had lost confidence in there service could I please receive a refund for at least the extra I paid for the SIM card holder, since they were back-ordered and never received it. I never received another response or my SIM card holder. I do not know if Hewy the original poster had used this company with success, I just wanted everyone to know I don't agree with the way they do business, and to be aware if you choose to use them.
Mongers-
Last Thursday, I went to the main offices of Movistar, Personal, and CTI down on Corrientes and its vicinity. Movistar said that they would not hook up my phone without the "factura", the receipt of original purchase. Of course, I did not bring the receipt with me, the phone was bought over a year ago. So after trips to Personal and CTI, with no success (they claim their networks do not have the technology to use my phone) I returned to Movistar and agreed to just buy a GSM phone, they had Motorolla Razrs, so I said what the hell. Then, they tell me their network is down, and I can come back tomorrow and buy a phone. I leave and on my way back to CTI, I stop at an electronics store on Florida and they inform me that I can only get a prepaid phone, because as a non-resident I cannot sign a contract, and the best part, all the prepaid phones are pieces of shit. So, I buy a shitty motorola (with 50 pesos of credit free) for $100AR, and off I go.
Also, I noticed that my Verizon service DOES work here, with full reception and capabilities, it is just roaming and thus expensive.
Suerte,
Dirk Diggler
DNI, CUIT/L and recent utility bill required (exactly the same for opening a bank acct) to get regular cell phone/plan here. With Movistar at least. 70 pesos/month including 250 "free" nationwide minutes/mo.