more on ITU Telecom World 2003

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Delivered-To: dfarber+ () ux13 sp cs cmu edu
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 13:34:11 -0800 (PST)
From: Chris Kantarjiev <cak () dimebank com>
Subject: Re: [IP] more on ITU Telecom World 2003
To: dave () farber net


> It seems that
> Vodaphone modifies the Nokia phones that they sell so that
> competitor's SIM cards won't work.  So much for interoperability
> and standards.

This is common across the GSM world; carriers sell you a cheap
phone, and make back the subsidy they have given you by insisting
that you use their network and their fee structure. This is called
"locking" or "SIM locking".  It happens in the US, too (and France,
and Spain, and Germany, and ...)

It is sometimes the case that you can get the carrier to unlock the
handset after a period of time (6-12 months), but often not. Better,
if you plan to use per-country pre-pay SIMs, that you should buy
an unlocked handset at the beginning.

The problem with "local only" credit cards is foolish, but also
duplicated across Europe (at least). 

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