John Levine wrote:
>> With GSM phones (if not locked), you would be contractually allowed to
>> use any compatible (i.e., proper band for the country at issue) GSM
>> phone with the SIM chip from your carrier.
> Well, as it happens, I have a GSM phone from Cingular, and the
> contract says only that I am responsible for the installation and
> operation of my phone, and that they may reprogram the roaming table.
> It doesn't say anything about being required to use the phone they
> provided or anything else along those lines. In fact, I've moved the
> chip from phone to phone lots of times and nobody cares.
Exactly as I said -- with GSM, use your carrier's SIM chip with any
phone you want that's compatible. To get back to the subject, the
fact that the carrier lets you use a phone of your choice doesn't mean
that the carrier gives you permission to use a base station (cell
booster) of your own on their frequencies but not under their control
-- regardless of whether you are using their SIM chip in your phone.
> PS: Why do people insist on making up "facts" when it's so easy to go and
> find out what the situation really is?
What facts were made up? You pointed out that GSM is different from
other cellular/PCS operations, which I hadn't taken into account when
I made a peripheral comment about activated handsets because I was
principally trying to address the question of unlicensed base stations
being marketed as boosters, and I acknowledged you were correct about
GSM, and that the SIM chip and not the physical handset is what the
carrier authorizes.
Michael D. Sullivan
Bethesda, MD (USA)
Michael D. Sullivan (userid@camsul.com)