cell phone while in colombia

DiegoDelNorte says on Nov 19, 2004, 05:59:

Comcel GSM Prepaid Hi -- I have a Comcel GSM Prepaid phone. It is a Nokia 1100.

I paid around $184.440 pesos including tax. This is about $75. This price included 100 minutes of talk time. The minutes are good anywhere in Colombia. You can also use them to call the US, but they burn at about four times the rate for domestic calls.

Prepaid is a good solution if you're only going to be there a short time or you're back and forth a lot, or for whatever reason don't want a contract.

I bought mine at CMV in the domestic terminal of Bogota airport. If you are facing the check-in counters, it is on the far right end of the terminal on the same side as the check-in counters.

I normally just pick up a 50.000 peso card when I arrive, and that gives me a couple hundred minutes, depending on what promotions they have going on. You never pay for incoming calls.

I had a lot of fun figuring this out. Here's how you call the states from a Comcel prepaid cell phone:

#999 + 1 + AREA CODE + PHONE NUMBER

Don't know about using your old Verizon phone, but I think if you have a GSM card in your phone, it may work by just putting a new chip in it.

Oh, yeah -- take about four passport photos with you on your trip. You'll need them if you sign up for anything (like cell service!)

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Dan says on Nov 19, 2004, 09:00:

Comcel I got a Comcel phone too. I've had it for about 10 months now, works pretty good. I recently tried to see if I could get a contract service and was told that I absolutly needed a Cedula, passport or other foreign documents are not allowed. Not too bad, many street vendors sell the cards and many shops do too. I know that if you want a large amount of cards, you can go to a CAFAM or Carulla (grocery stores) and also pay by credit card. I recently did this because when I'm in Colombia, I work in an area that doesn't sell the cards so I had to spend a LOT on cards.

Comcel provides good service and they're good if you don't make a lot of calls and if you want to keep track of your spending closer too. as far as your Verison phone, if it uses a SIM card, then you may be able to buy a card to put into it. If it doesn't use a SIM card, then you'll have to buy a phone.

God Bless America!

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Atrevido says on Nov 20, 2004, 03:33:

I Had the Comcel mentioned above but the coverage is a little weaker where we go than Bellsouth's. To call US with Bellsouth you use 555 instead of 999.

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john says on Nov 20, 2004, 08:55:

Around Colombia = Bellsouth If you are gona be going from place to place i'll advice you get Bellsouth! I had COMCEL-- while my stay in Cali, B/quilla, Cartagena and Bogota bad reception. You will have less problems with Bellsouth (they have more antennas around the country compared to COMCEL)
#1 problem with COMCEL was getting drop calls
#2 phone calls from out of country would go directly to voicemail

there you have it--its your choice now.

John

John

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Dan says on Nov 20, 2004, 11:39:

Comcel "#1 problem with COMCEL was getting drop calls"

This is what I have noticed during my service:
I think depending on how busy the network is in your area (the one making the calls) There is some kind of timer of about 20 min. After 20 min, I usually get disconnected while talking to my girlfriend every 20 min. this also happens on phones under a contract. I think it's a way for others to get a chance to make their calls too. The last couple days, I havn't been disconnected until my time was up.

God Bless America!

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isaactraveler says on Nov 20, 2004, 11:45:

i dont know that I would bother with a phone If you are calling locally, there are people everywhere that sell minutes cheaply. EVERYWHERE.

IF you need to call the states, I found that some internet cafes have good rates for using their phone, which is cellular based ( I think).

Anyway, I brought 2 phones with me, and the ACCESS CODE that TMOBILE gave me to unlock the chip and reprogram/replace it while I was in Colombia for a month. no dice, no one knew how to do it, or they werent interested.

I got Angelica a PREPAID COMCEL that she will leave with her sister when she comes to the US. btw, in Colombia, PREPAIDS are called PREPOBRES. heheh

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