raferguson
Mar 12, 2006, 6:52 PM
Post #2 of 9
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Re: [eimilia] SIM cards; local mobile calls; US calling cards
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It seems a little strange that no one has replied, but let me try. Maybe people were put off by you asking a lot of questions at the same time.
Prepaid cell phones are a good thing in Mexico, but not if you are in an area without coverage. In areas with coverage, you tend to see kiosks celling cell phones at every corner. I suspect that if you are in an area without coverage, the kiosks would be few and far between. This same rule could be used to help you pick which cell phone company to go with. But the best rule is probably to make local inquiry to find out which cell phone company, if any, covers that area.
If you will be going back and forth every month, then you should definitely get a Mexican phone, probably a Mexican cell phone unless there is no cell phone service where you normally travel.
I have no opinion on the merits of a Mexican SIM card vs. a Mexican cell phone. The last time I looked I could buy a cell phone in Mexico for $40, so not much advantage to buying a SIM card vs. a phone. I would think that it would be simpler and cheaper to just buy a phone down there, preferably in the area where you expect to spend most of your time.
Note that even if cell phones don't generally work well, if you use an external antenna, perhaps with a beam antenna and an amplifier, you might get cell phone coverage from a remote fixed location. I know that my cell phone in my car gets one bar, outside the car it gets two bars, and I get three bars from inside my car if I use my external magnetic mount antenna. If I put that antenna on top of a building it would work even better. Fixed cell phone service is not uncommon in Mexico, you can even buy cell phones that look like a desk phone.
My understanding is that if you are within Mexico, you would dial a cell phone with 044 plus 10 digits, the LADA (area code) plus the local phone number.
I believe that calls from Mexico city to Puebla are long distance, and would cost 4 pesos per minute from a pay phone, more if you are calling a cell phone from a pay phone.
Telmex has rip off long distance charges, and they block competitors in various ways, overcharge for connection fees, you name it. The US government has filed a trade complaint about the Mexican government policies that allow Telmex to shut off competion and engage in various monopolistic practices. Of course, Telmex is owned by Carlos Slim, the fourth richest man in the world, so it is unlikely that the Mexican government will go against his interests. A little web searching on the name Carlos Slim will help you understand the situation a bit better.
The popular ways to bypass the rip off charges from Telmex are callback services, or making phone calls via the internet.
I hope this helps. Maybe someone else will comment or correct me.
Richard
http://www.fergusonsculpture.com
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