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My husband works for Cingular, here's his response:
"Well, yes. You can just insert your regular AT&T Wireless, 32K SIM card into any unlocked, GSM phone and you'll be able to have service, but there are a couple of very important caveats that I want to let you know of before you go out there and either a) buy an unlocked device to use or b) buy a phone and then have it unlocked.
First, what is a locked/unlocked phone? When a carrier, like Cingular (GSM)or Verizon (CDMA) buys a phone from a manufacturer (like Nokia, LG, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, etc.) they "lock" it to the network. That is to say, they make it so that it can only communicate with that network, which makes sense, because you could buy a phone and jump around from network to network and totally scam us, and that's no good for business. Now, each phone has an "unlock code" built into it, which unlocks it making it usable on any network, and once a phone is unlocked, it can't be locked again. This is very handy for people that want to travel internationally and take their phone with them and use a local prepaid service while they're there. And also for mergers. That said, here are the caveats:
1. You'll most likely have to reprogram the data, text messaging, and voicemail settings within the phone, because if you unlock it, those values will be set to the original settings that the phone was originally locked to. What this means is that the phone that you purchase has settings in it for the network that it was originally intended for and you'll have to alter them to work on Cingular Wireless. Don't worry, though, because you can find directions on how to change them all at www.cingular.com/support, and then click on "Device" and then "Chose Make/Model", select "Former AT&T Wireless", then the make and model, and then enter the question. To set up the data you need the correct "Browser Settings", for voicemail it's the correct "Dedicated Voicemail Box Number", and for text messaging it's the correct "Message (or Service) Center Number". If this sounds complicated, it is, but I'd be happy to explain more.
2. You're able to keep your plan indefinitely, but eventually you will need to upgrade. Officially, there's no set date for forced upgrades for all of our former AT&T customers, but all good things will eventually come to an end.
3. If you want to buy an unlocked phone, that's cool. You have a few options with this, and we don't really mind helping with it - provided it's an AT&T Wireless or Cingular branded phone. The rule is basically this: if you've paid for the phone with us, we can request an unlock code for you. That is to say, if you pay for a Cingular phone for full price AND you fax us the receipt, we can request the code. OR if you have a phone that someone has used and went through their full two year contract period, the discounted price that we initially sold the phone for is already paid for and we can release the code. That said, if you request the code, you'll be waiting a bit. Nothing serious, though. I've seen an unlock code come back for a Sony Ericsson phone in three hours, but Motorola and Nokia usually take a week. Otherwise, you can always by an unlocked phone on the internet, or a non-branded phone straight from the manufacturer.
Hopefully this helps you out. Cingular really isn't an evil company at all, either, by the way. AT&T Wireless just gave away the farm, and I really am sorry that you guys got caught in the middle. It sucks, but Cingular really is a company that's built to stay in business for the long haul, which is why the rate plans seems worse, but really everything does when you have a plan that's losing the company money. Anyway, good luck, and thanks!  "
edit: he apologizes if you weren't with at&t, he misread your initial post
Last edited by Fast Turtle on Nov-11-2006 at 04:15
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