WCDMA in Korea and US (Cingular)

[squallino]

So I'm in Korea for several months, and I'm trying hard to find a phone I can use here and back in the US. Assuming I can find one that uses 1900Mhz both both upstream and downstream (a big if I know), should there be any other barriers to me using this on the Cingular WCDMA network?

Anyone by chance know of any phones that might fit this bill?

Alternatively, any word on upcoming smartphones/PDAs (esp pocketpc) to be released in the US that should be compatible with the Cingular network (esp the WCDMA part).
And I'm not talking about the HP iPAQ h6300 series here...

Thanks.

[carcomptoy]

After some quick research, you still need to get a different 3G phone for Korea...although you can just put your Cingular SIM in it. The problem with the UMTS here in the US is that it uses different frequencies, and so in order for you to take advantage of 3G services elsewhere, you'll need a 3G device to suit it.

[squallino]

So actually I don't know of any Korean WCDMA phones that will take GSM phone cards. Do you? SKT makes a couple cdma2000 1x EVDO phones that can read SIM cards, but these basically have no features.

But you're saying that a Korean WCDMA (ie. 1900MHz up/2100MHz down) phone will definitely not run on a Cingular WCDMA (1900MHz both up and downstream) network, unless I can find a special version manufactured for a network using only the 1900MHz frequency band, correct?

My other option I guess is to try and find something I can use on cdma2000 1x EVDO here and then on GSM back in the states. Any ideas here?

cheers.

[carcomptoy]

Um not currently...there's no way you're gonna be able to use your Cingular UMTS phone anywhere else but the US, so be resigned to the thought of having to use another phone. If you positively absolutely love your phone, there're Eurasian versions of the UMTS phones Cingular/AT&T offered with service. Apparently, though, you can use your SIM card over there...I always though they only had CDMA2000 and thus not be compatible...I would say just go for that SKT phone you're talking about

[squallino]

Thanks, and HAHAHA.

Who would ever love a cingular phone in Korea?!

If I have to get another one here anyway, I might as well just get one of the tons of CDMA2000 1x evdo or wcdma phones on the market here and make up for the fact that I cant travel with it by recording some digital video and messanging it to my friends, or video chatting with them. Or maybe I should get one of the 5-7 megapixel camera phones, or one with a big 'ole multi-GB hard drive for mp3s, or a pda/cameraphone, or maybe......

Seriously though, thx for your help.

:) :) :)

[Box215]

guys, korea uses the 3G form of CDMA. There are no gsm networks in korea. I believe they use EV-DV.

[carcomptoy]

That's what I thought too, but I looked on both Cingular and T-Mobile and looks like we can use our SIMs there:cool:

If you do happen to get a phone there, you'd have to make sure it has GSM 850/1900MHz frequencies cause otherwise it won't work back here in the states...as to how you'd find a phone like that there, idk

[squallino]

Korea is actually on 1x EV-DO not EV-DV except for one test market in Seoul.

But yes, there are phones here specially designed for foreigners which allow gsm chips to work over these networks, and then the fees get sent back via the US (or european, etc.) carrier.

I think some Korean manufacturers are beginning to market EV-DO phones in the US (Verizon, etc) as well.

[carcomptoy]

That's neat I didn't know that they would accomodate foreigners. I just noticed I did forget to correct him about Korea using EV-DV...yes there are carriers who support EV-DO here in the US, although currently it's only Verizon. SprintPCS is barely gonna pick it up...btw, doesn't EV-DO mean "Evolution Data Only"? On the Sprint website, they say it's "Evolution Data Optimized"...

Sprint's Mistake :p (http://www.sprint.com/business/products/products/wirelessHighSpeedData.jsp)

[iGambit]

One additional problem is that Cingular relies heavily on the 850Mhz band here, but there are no UMTS 850 handsets yet. Europe, however, uses UMTS 2100; the U.S. uses UMTS 1900. A European UMTS handset will not do UMTS here, and the only UMTS 1900 handsets I've heard of are the Nokia 6651, Motorola A845, and the PCMCIA card (Novatel U520).

[Box215]

The FCC is auctioning of 2100 bandwith next year...finally we'll be the same as the rest of the world.

[carcomptoy]

Hopefully though, T-Mobile will be aggressive and win them all...giving T-Mobile a huge edge over Cingular:p

[jmax577]

Hopefully though, T-Mobile will be aggressive and win them all...giving T-Mobile a huge edge over Cingular:p

in your dreams :cool: don't forget cingulars' umts network is pretty much done....so no matter what tmob gets in next years spectrum auction they are still going to be behind because the soonest they will be able to build will be in 2006-2007

[Box215]

Their umts netork is done where? Where ATT already had deployed UMTS on the 1900 band?

[jmax577]

no....cingular umts is going to be lauched this winter in the 100 largest us markets in the us...the purchase of at and t gave them the spectrum allocation required for the build. they have been updating gsm towers with umts software for a year plus now. the six existing markets are feeble compared to what is getting ready to happen.

[Box215]

o, ok...i think they need to fix the major integration issues they have here in new york before they think about deploying umts, but thats just me

[Box215]

Hopefully though, T-Mobile will be aggressive and win them all...giving T-Mobile a huge edge over Cingular:p

DT had better use their purchasing power to get all of the spectrum or else T-Mobile will be in a bad place. And hopefully the FCC doesnt postpone the auction

[iGambit]

o, ok...i think they need to fix the major integration issues they have here in new york before they think about deploying umts, but thats just me
Don't worry...they'll have time to fix it, since they don't plan on deploying UMTS until 2007 (http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh1677 7_2005-05-29_15-08-53_l29708888_newsml)

[jmax577]

cingular will have umts deployed this winter. you must be thinking tmob because that is when they are planning umts, after the spectrum auction next summer.

[Box215]

Don't worry...they'll have time to fix it, since they don't plan on deploying UMTS until 2007 (http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh1677 7_2005-05-29_15-08-53_l29708888_newsml)

yeah, i was talking about cingular...the T-Mobile network here is fine (after all, it was the network that Cingular and T-Mobile worked on for the last few years to make better, and now it belongs entirely to T-Mobile). It been happening in California too...Cingular sold their shared newotwrk to T-Mobile and now T_mobile owns it entirely, and Cingular is in the process of putting everyone on the crappy Att network while trying to fix and improve it at the same time (note: this isnt meant to knock cingular...just stating whats going on)

[Box215]

Althought i hear Cingular now covers northern new jersey a lot better than T-Mobile, which isnt hard to do cause T-Mobiles service across the western part of northern NJ especially is pretty crappy. It just that along with that improved service, those cingualr people are dealing with dropped calls and switch lines on a normal basis, but it should be fixed soon

[carcomptoy]

What I meant was, if T-Mobile is aggressive for next year's auction, and buys all of the 2100MHz band, that means T-Mobile will have an advantage in that its customers can use Eurasian UMTS phones:D Since Cingular's UMTS network's gonna run on 1900MHz, that means once again we'll have to put up with American versions of some phones, preventing us from getting the same selection as Europe and Asia!

[Box215]

You mean preventing Cingular customers from using phones from europe and asia

[carcomptoy]

Well, yeah...I didn't say it right, but what I meant to get across is if T-Mobile isn't aggressive in getting that bandwidth, then we won't be getting Eurasian phones either:(

[jmax577]

at and t's network was actually in better order than cingulars. cingular actually did not build a single faction of hte edge network, that all came from at and t. same with any of the newer technology sets. any merger is going to result in some temporary dissaray and i think cingluar is doing a damn fine job of maintaining it. imiaginne how hellish its going to be for all the nextel people when having to switch to cdma....

[carcomptoy]

I thought Cingular did have EDGE before AT&T...

[jmax577]

nope

[carcomptoy]

at and t's network was actually in better order than cingulars. cingular actually did not build a single faction of hte edge network, that all came from at and t. same with any of the newer technology sets. any merger is going to result in some temporary dissaray and i think cingluar is doing a damn fine job of maintaining it. imiaginne how hellish its going to be for all the nextel people when having to switch to cdma....
Just found out today that Nextel people aren't gonna have to switch to CDMA:cool:

[jmax577]

they aren't?

[carcomptoy]

Read the Sprint-Nextel article...it outlines how the two will work. Sprint obviously will be the major one, but their logo will say "Sprint, together with Nextel" and vice-versa. Nextel will still be alive to keep the iDEN customers who rely on it greatly.