possible to buy cell phone in u.s. and switch over to local

[hope2bdoc]

from all i've read it seems the best thing to do is just buy a cell phone in gc but with all that will be going on and also the initial difficulty with transportation and knowing where stuff is, i would really like to take care of this issue before arriving.

can i just buy a cell phone here and get service and then switch it to local service after going there?

[gebbils]

the best thing for you to do is to buy an AT&T phone which is SIM ready. And just bring it with you to the island, where you will get a caymanian SIM card and set up the service. Don't set up the service in US, just buy a phone. I bought my phone off ebay, but you can get a GOPHONE plan from AT&T, this way you wont pay alot for the phone and there is no contract, its prepaid.

[khamilton]

It is not necessary to have a GSM phone with a SIM card. A TDMA phone will work with the Cable and Wireless system and they are much cheaper to purchase and cheaper to get working once you are here. You won't get feature like e-mail or pictures on your phone but is just as good for making calls.

[hope2bdoc]

i definitely prefer cheap so i would like to go with tdma, but the question can i get one cheap without signing up for service here in the u.s.

if you don't sign up for any service at all, even the crappiest phones are quite costly.

and gebbils, are you saying i can buy a gophone att, and switch it over to regular billed service? because i do not want to be watching minutes and constantly buying cards.

what exactly is tdma, i just threw away a nokia 3560 and a 3360 in the garbage yesterday, i hope it doesn't turn out to be the type of thing that i could have used down there.

[gebbils]

Phones used primarily for calling and text messaging use a technology are called TDMA.

But as far as I know, your TDMA phone will not work down there, because of simply the fact that most of the cellular service on the island is GSM, which is popular all over the world.
Alot of people were telling me that phones with SIM card will only be able to work.
Go phone from AT&T can be used with regular plans, all you will need to do is get a SIM card and thats what we'll get when we sign up with service on the island. I know that only GSM phones brought from US will work, and I know that AT&T is available down there, but thats not the same as US AT&T

I hope Im not confusing you :D

[khamilton]

TDMA phones will and do work on the island. You are limited in plan choices and only have the Cable and Wireless option. You can get either a pre-paid (buy phone cards) or post paid (pay monthly and billed per minute used). Either way you go, incoming calls are free and I would not use them to make long distance calls.

[AmericanIMG]

phones here are cheap. you can get a decent one for 20CI through Digicell

:wink:

[MedSter]

Yes TDMA phones DO work on the island. Though GSM are more popular and offer you different plans, Cable and Wireless offers TDMA service which is great coverage but the SIM capabilities are more popular at the time so GSM is more widely used. Options for calling home include calling directly from your cell, payphones, vonage(.com), internet options and callback services (americaonemd.com and/or cards4students.com).

If you do get a phone from the US to bring over to Grand Cayman make sure its UNLOCKED (your cell dealer will know what youre talking about) and preferablly at Tri or Quad Band phone (if youre gonna use the GSM Service). I have an ATT Wireless phone and bought it in the US, but I put my US service on "vacation" and activated my cell as prepaid there in Cayman with ATT Wireless. Other students buy cell phones there, you can buy from students or from the actual stores themselves, not expensive at all.
PS The ATT Wireless in the Cayman Islands is NOT the same as the ATT Wireless in the US. NOT THE SAME RATES or FEATURES!! for more infor about attwireless in cayman go to www.attwireless.ky (notice the .ky NOT .com).

Good luck newbies and get ready to bust your butt off and do some major work!!! Enjoy the rest of your summer while you can!!

[Sebastien Guilbard]

The deal with Digicell at 50KYD for a prepaid phone with free incoming calls is great. Do not bother bring your phone from the US. If you choose a regular plan, you will need to pay deposits and so on.
My advice is go with the easy and cheap plan...

S.G