Advantages of Unlocked Cell Phones

Overview

I used to manage wireless shops for T-mobile, Cingular, and AT&T in Las Vegas Nevada for about 5 years. AT&T used to be strictly (TDMA) Time Division Multiple Access then they switched over to (GSM) Global System for Mobile Communications. The first company to implement GSM was Bellsouth which then became Cingular Wireless .

GSM

Now with the GSM system established here in the United States came freedom to choose handsets and readily switch to a different cell phone without calling up customer care and registering a new (IMEI) International Mobile Equipment Identity number. All you would have to do was take out the small (SIM) Subscriber Identity Module card and transfer it to your new handset. One problem with that though, since there are a few carriers now carrying GSM handsets service providers would order handsets locked to their service, for the reason that when you upgraded to a new cell phone you would have to purchase the handset through them, and thats how they also extended their contracts for their customers keeping them with their service for an additional 1 to 2 years.

Unlocked Cell Phones

GSM Cell Phones have lock codes you can put into the phones by pressing a certain sequence of numbers on the key pad. These codes can be used to Unlock phones as well, and now there are ways to do it tethering your phone to your computer. Being able to unlock GSM phones gave you the flexibility to buy handsets from retail outlets and other carriers without their service and continue to carry your current service with-out signing a new contract which came in handy when you did not have handset insurance, lost or stolen phone, your 1 year upgrade was a few months away or you just simply wanted a new handset. I always proffered the later as I loved the Sony Ericsson P800 Smartphone when it came out and the all so cool windows IPAQ made by HP. As administrator to Wireless Internet Education back in 2002 it was my job to teach sales staff, and customers how to use their wireless internet ready Handsets.

Impressions of Unlocked Cell Phones

GSM is a Global Communications standard and the benefits of using GSM handsets are that you can use them in many nations. Most handsets are either Tri-band or Quad band and work in many frequencies most commonly in the wireless spectrum range from 800-1900 MHz. I traveled to Canada and Mexico and was able to to put a pre-paid SIM card into my phone for calls in those countries without incurring roaming fees and international calling rates. I have had water damage that insurance would not cover and of course new handsets came out that I must have and as a teacher of wireless internet services it came in handy when I switched out my SIM card to test out a new handset or demonstrate features of a phone, unlocked cell phones came in handy. So my advice is to always buy unlocked cell-phones, if you have a great handset and you want to trade, sell or upgrade to a new one they hold their value more with their flexibility to be used on other GSM carriers.

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