persia said:Hi
I would like to know if its better to buy a cell phone in dr or bring it with me?
and do they have prepaid cards to the phone?
can forenger make contract with phone comany?
br Persia
Wales said:WOW! I was there in April, I took a Roadpost Tri-band because Telus here don't have them - They say it is OLD TECHNOLOGY ???? and yet my Telus 'phone only works in Canada and US. When I got my bill, it was over $1,000.00 Canadian. Never again. I had to buy the thing to-boot and it was around $250.00 Can. From what I understand - buy one there with pre-paid cards. What does everyone else think.
Wales said:Sorry ! Forgot to ask : What is a FORENGER ? Maybe they have special 'phones.
Wales said:WOW! I was there in April, I took a Roadpost Tri-band because Telus here don't have them - They say it is OLD TECHNOLOGY ???? and yet my Telus 'phone only works in Canada and US. When I got my bill, it was over $1,000.00 Canadian. Never again. I had to buy the thing to-boot and it was around $250.00 Can. From what I understand - buy one there with pre-paid cards. What does everyone else think.
ricktoronto said:Here lies the secret of the value of searching the threads. There are maybe 100 threads on this subject and they all say this: don't roam with your cell phone and especially don't pay $1000. Buy an Orange phone for US$25-40 and use it with Orange cards starting at RD$100 (US$2).
Wales said:I realise (OED) that now for Dr. but my Roadphone works World wide but my Telus doesn't and they say their technology is more advanced!!!!
Wales said:Sorry again. Should have been DR not Dr. Black Label is still OK.
Another option is Verizon. Both Orange and Verizon cards can be bought almost anywhere, including by vendors at stop lights, etc. I actually took a phone from the US (ended contract) down to the DR with me, and had it activated by Verizon for about $300RD. Now I just buy cards when I need them.ricktoronto said:Buy an Orange phone for US$25-40 and use it with Orange cards starting at RD$100 (US$2).
Wales said:I realise (OED) that now for Dr. but my Roadphone works World wide but my Telus doesn't and they say their technology is more advanced!!!!
Fiesta Mama said:I want to purchase a cell phone in the DR in the next few weeks also. I have a cell phone in Canada and I pay a monthly fee for a certain number of minutes so this whole issue of buying phone cards to keep your phone running is new to me.
So from my understanding, I will need to pay for the phone in the DR outright. Then I will buy phone cards to make outgoing calls? What I don't understand (since I've never had this type of account before) is when I am buying orange cards is that just for the minutes I use or how does it work for people calling me because would that not count as my airtime too? Do I not have to pay some sort of monthly charge for having an orange phone and using their signals, etc.
If anyone can fill me in, I would be greatly appreciative.
Fiesta Mama said:perfect. thank you.
one more thing - should i buy the phone in the city i plan to spend most of my time so it will be a local number? is there any place in the DR that is a long distance call from somewhere else on the island? does this apply to cell phones or just land lines?
for example, if i buy the phone in SDQ but plan to live in POP, will the number be long distance for people calling me from POP even though that is where i will actually be?
sorry, i know that was a little confusing.
toneloc24 said:I agree with the other posters. It's much cheaper to just buy an Orange phone in DR, than using your home country's wireless phone and service in DR. I bought an Orange phone there, got my SIM with my own 809-xxx-xxxx for RD$300 or RD$350, and can get prepaid cards for RD$275 whenever I am there.
These costs are miniscule in comparison to using your wireless services international rates, or any worldwide phones and service. Even better, local people can call you at the regular local rate, as opposed to the higher international rate. And you can call your home country from your Orange service for close to nothing.
One other option: if you currently have a GSM phone with a 1900mHz frequency range capability (dual or Tri-band) with a SIM card, you can probably get your phone unlocked. By unlocking your phone, you forego having to purchase another phone and use your regular phone in the DR. (Just put your regular SIM card with your passport for safe-keeping.) You would have to go to Orange or wherever to get an Orange SIM card and have it activated. Costs about RD$300 for the SIM card and activation. Unlocking the phone in DR costs about $5-15 USD, depending on where you go, and can take a few hours or a few days, again depending on where you go.
Just my experience.
lizzyjl80 said:You only get charged for the calls you make if your card runs out you can still recieve calls but you cant make any calls until you put it another card.
ricktoronto said:Yes you can receive calls all the time for free and when the card runs out (for making calls) you can continue to receive the calls. however at some point and pinning Ornage or Codetel down on this time period is not easy, if you don't put in another card (and it is RD$100 so two bucks) they will drop your phone number. At that point you won't be able to receive calls nor will you be able to reactivate the phone with a new card without going to Orange or Codetel and paying for reactivation. So it is not a permanent thing.
I think Codetel/Verizon is 90 days and Orange may be 6 months. This becomes an issue for the infrequent visitor who buys the phone on the advice here then returns a year later to find it has to be paid to reactivate and a new number has to be obtained.
Frankly if you are not returning at least every 3-6 months give the phone to someone needy as a gift and buy a new one next trip. Or leave it with someone there to add cards for you and keep it charged.
chuckuindy said:Question,
I have never had this happen to me but I do visit the DR often. Let?s say that Orange cuts me off completely, but I have an unlocked phone. What prevents me from simply purchasing a new SIM from Orange or another carrier and continuing to use my world phone both in the US and the DR? Sure I will loose my original number for the DR but that is no big deal.
I don?t remember giving even my name when I purchased my Orange SIM. I bought it from some small cell phone store in La Romana, and paid around $300RDP for it, including the $100RDP card that came with it.