sibercor said:I would like to purchase a cellular telephone for a resident in the Dominican Republic. However, I need to know what service providers are there so I can l determine what type of phone to buy here in the USA.
Thanks for your help.
Darryl
ride2hard said:just curious, what model fones can be purchased for US$30?
sweetdbt said:There are 2 major carriers in the DR; Verizon and Orange. Verizon operates on CDMA, which as the same as US Verizon, Sprint, Altel and many others. Orange is a GSM carrier, so AT&T wireless, and I believe Nextel phones will work with them.
You should definately consider buying in the DR, as any phone you bring down, you will have to pay at least for activation, and if it isn't unlocked you'll pay more for that. Cost of phones in the DR has gone down dramatically in the last couple of years. Both Verizon and Orange will sell you a basic full-function dual-band tri-mode phone (nokia, Qualcom or Kyocera) with activation for under 30 dollars. A motorola Startac flipfone at Verizon is about 80.
sweetdbt said:I can't remember the model number of the Qualcom I bought. These are basic phones, but mine works great and gets better reception than a much more expensive one I brought from the states before. If (as I suspect) this is to be a gift for a young female, I would advise spending a bit more for a flip-phone or something smaller and "sexier". Fashion is often more important than function in that "market".
sibercor said:Are photo phones available? If so what is approximate cost?
ricktoronto said:Are you going to go there with the phone vs. mail it? If so just buy one from Verizon or Orange for guaranteed compatibility and they will activate it and so forth - they are as low as $20 US for a perfectly good phone. You can be in and out in 30 minutes at an Orange shop with a new phone. While other people will tell you this or that GSM phone will work, some are locked and most if not all cost more (without a contract/commitment) anyway so why have the hassle?
sibercor said:Can you send a contact numer for Verizon in DR?
sibercor said:Can you send a contact numer for Verizon in DR?
ride2hard said:try 809 571 3438. they will take care of you.
sweetdbt said:Is this a customer service # where you can actually order a phone?
sibercor said:Are photo phones available? If so what is approximate cost?
Thebes said:I've been looking for one in Sosua for a few days. The only one I found was a Sanyo, new, asking price $9,000 pesos. He eventually offered a 10% discount. This is a phone that would have been maybe $160 in the US, not a really nice one. He said a computer cable would take him at least 3 weeks to get, if he could, so you have to use the service to email yourself the pictures. He said he could probably find a used one for about $5000 pesos if given a few weeks.
I asked there (he does Verizon) and he said they could do a GSM phone at 800 or 1900 mhz (800 is 850, they are the same)
Orange said they could do them on 1900 mhz.
Do be sure that the phone is unlocked for any GSM provider. You will most likely need to buy a SIM card from the Orange or Verizon dealer too.
If you are looking for a nice camera phone you might consider importing it. Otherwise there are plently of phones ranging from cheap to nice at prices that are better than the States. I checked three other shops and the Sanyo was the only camera phone I could find in Sosua. I found dozens of nice cheap phones though.
Hope this helps.