TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Re: Cell Phone Extenders?


Re: Cell Phone Extenders?


Michael D. Sullivan (userid@camsul.com)
Mon, 02 Jan 2006 02:55:18 -0500

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)

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