News - A quest for a new wireless service - A ‘quest’ for a new wireless service

    Here's another of my ‘does-anybody-know' questions: Does any one know how I can get an "unlocked" cellular telephone service that would work both here in the U.S. and if I go to Europe or elsewhere?

    My first problem is that I often drive to a place in Minnesota that is a "no coverage" area for Qwest cellular. Presently Qwest may be migrating to Verizon Wireless, but Verizon also has no coverage where I go. Furthermore, a reliable source told me that Qwest will be getting out of the cellular phone business in February, though there will be no penalty for current Qwest Wireless customers with contracts. Qwest has given me good service in the past, but they have not offered me international long distance on my cell phone.

    Secondly, when I visit relatives in Finland, I'd like to have an unlocked "SIM phone" in which I could change the card to a Finnish SIM, so I don't have to pay for international long distance minutes just to call another number within Finland.

    I've already worn out a lot of shoe leather trying to help my son, Mark, solve the same two questions. He tried a supposedly "unlocked" phone with T-Mobile service, which we've heard others use during international travel, but when he got to Paris, a telephone store tried their SIM card in it but told him their service did not work in his cell phone. Recently, we went to a local, large electronics store and bought an AT&T SIM phone to try out. We were referred by the dealer to another wireless store that could unlock his new cellular, but this other store couldn't get the codes necessary and referred us to AT&T. Then AT&T told us Mark would have to wait six months, and then AT&T could unlock that phone-for a fee, of course. Mark returned that AT&T cell phone and bought a Motorola that was already unlocked. However, he had to continue using his T-Mobil SIM card in the new Motorola phone for calls made here in the US.

    My own summary for the above situation is that U.S. telephone service companies fight tooth-and-nail to keep international nickels and all other nickels rolling into their banks. A lowly customer cannot do what's best and cheapest for us!