Trip to NYC and Boston
 

Dear American friends, I'll be going to NYC and Boston at the end of April, along with 4 or 5 friends, and so I thought it could be a good idea to get a couple of prepaid cards in advance, on eBay.

I saw it's very easy to get an AT&T or T-Mobile card (there's also some Tuyo, but more expensive) and I think AT&T would suit us better, expecially with the unlimited mobile-to-mobile plan at 1$/day.

One question about data: it seems to be available to prepaid users too, can you access anything? I'm mainly interested in my Gmail and some SMS like mobiSMS or SMSbug. They say that these new simcards are 3G 64k, is it 3G available for prepaid users too? I could use it at 850MHz on my E65.

Any other suggestion?

Yes. AT&T 3G is available to prepaid users too. It's not restricted in any way.

International call rates on AT&T are not bad either. However, Tuyo is the cheapest for international calls and sms. Tmobile should also be the cheapest to get. But as you are already aware, there is no data besides the restricted tzones.

One more question: if I buy the AT&T prepaid kits on eBay, then how it works for the activation? Of course I have to do it once I'm in the US and I guess it's all written on the instructions, but is it needed some sort of registration? Or can I just pur the simcard in the phone and use it?

I believe you just call the CSR number on there and tell them the areacode you want by providing the zipcode. At least that's the way it is with tmobile. It's all automated. No human intervention at all.

Ok, so I can choose a zipcode of NYC and ask for this, directly with the voice prompts, perfect.

Exactly! This particular listing and probably all of them will have instructions regarding activation. It can also be done on the web at AT&T's website. Also, if you want to, I am sure you can find a seller that will mail it accross the pond to you.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-CINGULAR-AT-...QQcmdZViewItem

Thanks Bossman, I bought a couple of AT&T cards on eBay, they are incredibly cheap, also with shipping it's ok. Let's hope they arrive in time.

using an iPhone on prepaid in the US
 

Hello. I recently purchased a refurbished iPhone from AT&T and I do not want to use their prepaid service because it is $.25/minute. Does anyone have any suggestions as to other services that I could use? Also, I would like the ability to port my current number from Page Plus Cellular (Verizon network).

Thanks!

Have you jail-breaked the phone?

Yes I have!

The problem is the data end. Tmobile's prepaid data is incredibly limited. None of the other prepaids seem to have data (you've already rejected ATT).

On contract plans, there are many people using the $5 unlimited T-Zones with an iPhone. There is a specific patch to make it work.

Thanks for the response! I honestly think I can live without the data on my phone. Does anyone recommend a good carrier for just prepaid minutes for my iPhone besides AT&T and T-Mobile?

I like 7/11, but this means buying a junk phone to get the SIM.