vB Easy Archive - Tracfone GSM Question

Pages: 1

Tracfone GSM Question
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)

Posted by: derekm2008

When Tracfone first came out with GSM, their national coverage maps showed coverage on both the Cingular 850 & 1900 networks. Shortly after Net 10 came out, they now show only coverage on the 1900 network. Was it an accident that they were showing both at first, or did something happen that made only the 1900 network available to them now?

Posted by: Affiliated

Not sure what you are talking about. The national GSM coverage map for Tracfone and net10 currently includes both 850 and 1900 mhz areas. I live in an area of Northern NY that is 100% 850mhz and the only network available is Cingular.

Posted by: derekm2008

You're right. I tried typing in a different zip code and I do get the combined 850 & 1900 map. Try typing in mine (12477) and you get only the 1900 map.

Posted by: Affiliated

I tried your zip code and what you say is true. This is very odd.

Posted by: iansltx

I think what's happening is Cingular doesn't have GSM coverage in his area but TMo does. So they're showing the TMo map though you'll get the same coverage as Cingular really AFAIK.

Posted by: Paul-the-Phone

I don't have time to delve into the details of this particular situation but some GSM Tracfones are activated on Cingular and some on T-Mobile. The coverage is not the same. TMO's postpaid doesn't roam on the entire Cingular network but Cingular postpaid does roam on all of T-Mobile as far as I can tell. The agreement between the two could well be just for the 1900 portion since TMO doesn't have 800/850 so it would have nothing to trade and no reason to buy 800/850 for its customers. The trick, of course, is to activate a GSM Tracfone in a Cingular region, but if you live in a TMO-only region, you'd be out of luck for anything near a local number. Tracfone uses different SIM cards for TMO and Cingular activations.

Posted by: derekm2008

I live in an area where T-Mobile and Cingular both have coverage.

Posted by: Paul-the-Phone

Quote:

Originally Posted by derekm2008

I live in an area where T-Mobile and Cingular both have coverage.

So do I and I made sure my Tracfone is activated on Cingular which gives me better coverage. My 1100 roams on T-Mobile when the signal is stronger than Cingular's which happens just a mile or two west of my house.

Right now, Tracfone seems to be selling only T-Mobile activations in your area. Tracfone does a lot of weird inexplicable things and it has a lot of misinformation on the web including some wrong coverage maps. If the map is correct, and you order a GSM phone, they would send you one with a T-Mobile SIM card. If you ordered it using a zip code with the larger coverage map, they'd send you a Cingular SIM card. I think they have some strange way of dividing up the market and I suspect they pay less for TMO airtime. A week from now, they might be showing a different coverage map for your area.

Do you have a GSM Tracfone, and if so, what are the first five digits of the SIM card?

Posted by: Affiliated

The only advantage, in my opinion, of using Tracfone's GSM service IS its expanded coverage which roams on most/all GSM networks. In my neck of the woods, my phone works primarily on Cingular but also Roger's Wireless (Canada). Why in the world would anyone want a Tracfone GSM phone that only works on T-Mobile's miniscule network? Afterall, one is still paying Tracfone prices which are significantly higher per minute then T-Mobile's prepaid.

Posted by: Paul-the-Phone

Quote:

Originally Posted by Affiliated

The only advantage, in my opinion, of using Tracfone's GSM service IS its expanded coverage which roams on most/all GSM networks. In my neck of the woods, my phone works primarily on Cingular but also Roger's Wireless (Canada). Why in the world would anyone want a Tracfone GSM phone that only works on T-Mobile's miniscule network? Afterall, one is still paying Tracfone prices which are significantly higher per minute then T-Mobile's prepaid.

GSM Tracfones activated on T-Mobile work on the 1900 Cingular network and on other carriers. It's only on Cingular's 800/850 network where they don't work, or at least not in some markets. Tracfone minutes can be far cheaper than T-Mobile's. I have over 1500 minutes on my Tracfone that cost me nothing but I pay 10 cents a minute for T-Mobile. The biggest advantage of Tracfone, in my opinion, is that it's so easy to get free airtime. I wouldn't have a Tracfone otherwise.

Posted by: derekm2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul-the-Phone

Do you have a GSM Tracfone, and if so, what are the first five digits of the SIM card?

No, I don't. I don't really plan on getting one anytime soon. I was just wondering why the map had changed all of a sudden, but this explains it. If I ever do get one though, I will put in a different zip code so that I get a Cingular one. Cingular's coverage in my area isn't as good as T-Mobile's, so that would be a BIG advantage, being able to roam on and off the T-Mobile network, while primarily using Cingular. I'm not sure if I will ever do this, but it's a possibility. I'm waiting for Amp'd Mobile to come out and I want to see what their rates are like, and then I will decide what company I am going to switch to, or if I should stick with VM (unlikely).

Posted by: Bill in NC

apart from new user referrals, how exactly do you get free airtime on tracfone?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul-the-Phone

The biggest advantage of Tracfone, in my opinion, is that it's so easy to get free airtime. I wouldn't have a Tracfone otherwise.

Posted by: iansltx

Referrals are how you get free airtime. Promotional codes are how you get cheaper airtime. Phone promotions let you get more airtime. That's basically it.

Posted by: Paul-the-Phone

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill in NC

apart from new user referrals, how exactly do you get free airtime on tracfone?

It's a combination of referrals and buying/selling refurb Tracfones with 100 minutes free referral time on them but keeping the 100-minute cards that came with them for myself plus getting 100 referral minutes on my phone. I pick up a 100-minute card, 100 referral minutes, and up to five bucks on each phone I buy/sell. I use free ads in a free weekly shopper paper. I haven't done this for some months since I haven't needed any Tracfone airtime and since Trac hasn't had the $29.95 refurb with the 100-minute card special for a while. Besides the 1500+ units on my phone I have a stack of 100-minute cards. I've gotten over 5,000 Trac minutes free, not counting the few minutes of my time I put into the buying/selling. I'm retired and this gives me something to do. Besides this, my wife is active in a number of clubs and charities and she usually picks up a couple of genuine in-person referrals each month. She's actually the one who uses the Trac 1100. I use a Treo on TMO2GO and have a Beyond Wireless TDMA 1260 for out of town backup.