If you have cingular, t-mobile, or at&twireless GSM service in the U.S., you can obtain service by Orange in the Dominican Republic. Here is what you need to do:
1. Make sure your cell phone is unlocked. This is easy because a lot of the U.S. phone resellers will unlock your phone for a fee, like $10.
2. Make sure your cell phone is a tri-band phone. That is, it can work on the 1800 or 1900 band. As far as I know, both Cingular (most of it) and T-mobile work on the 1900 band in the U.S.
3. Bring your cell phone and your passport to an Orange dealer. The dealer will be able to sign you for the Orange card program. It cost 300 pesos and includes a 100 pesos card. You then get an Orange Sim card with the orange phone number. You (or the dealer) just remove the U.S. service Sim card and insert the Orange Sim card.
4. The whole process should take an hour or so, depending on how enthusiastic is the dealer.
The advantage of having a Dominican cell phone number is great. You are no longer tied up to your hotel room phone or the non-functional public phone. The cost of calling the U.S. is the same as a domestic call. While the Orange card program is not the cheapest, it is comparable with a phone call using a public pay phone.
Hope this helps.
1. Make sure your cell phone is unlocked. This is easy because a lot of the U.S. phone resellers will unlock your phone for a fee, like $10.
2. Make sure your cell phone is a tri-band phone. That is, it can work on the 1800 or 1900 band. As far as I know, both Cingular (most of it) and T-mobile work on the 1900 band in the U.S.
3. Bring your cell phone and your passport to an Orange dealer. The dealer will be able to sign you for the Orange card program. It cost 300 pesos and includes a 100 pesos card. You then get an Orange Sim card with the orange phone number. You (or the dealer) just remove the U.S. service Sim card and insert the Orange Sim card.
4. The whole process should take an hour or so, depending on how enthusiastic is the dealer.
The advantage of having a Dominican cell phone number is great. You are no longer tied up to your hotel room phone or the non-functional public phone. The cost of calling the U.S. is the same as a domestic call. While the Orange card program is not the cheapest, it is comparable with a phone call using a public pay phone.
Hope this helps.