Job Discussion Forums

[corporatehuman]

First it is not beloved. It is worn, old, scarred, chipped and burnt, but it works.

Unfortunately I somehow signed a two-year contract with Verizon. They will make me pay 175 dollars to cancel my account and I have another full year left. It is called an 'Early Termination Fee.'

They've told me they have a plan that covers Mexico, basically absorbs the roaming charges. It costs 60 dollars a month, for 450 minutes. Considering I'll be making a pesos, is it really worth to pay 600 pesos a month for a phone?

I intend to use the phone for work mostly; and to make very few international calls.

My question is this, what is the average price of buying a cell phone, and having a plan for it in Mexico?

Who here chooses NOT to have a cell phone in Mexico? I think this might end up being what I have to do because I don't have much money, but then again, will it really damper my job search when I don't have a phone number on the resume?

Should I abandon it, pay that ridiculous early termination fee to the draconian Verizon reps; are there any LOOPHOLES anyone is aware of with this sort of thing? Can any of you make my cell phone 'disappear' for me?




Confused,

Chris

[MELEE]

[ls650]

[FreddyM]

If it's a GSM phone with a little chip inside of it, you can use the phone here, you'd just need to buy another chip here (cost about $150 pesos) and get a new phone number.
You can pay for your minutes by the month or with a phone card as you need them.
Using a cell phone in Mexico is ridiculously expensive. $60 a month for 450 minutes actually sounds like a bargain compared to what you might find here. But you'd have to look at the fine print. Generally you are charged to receive calls here, and calls made to other carriers are more expensive.
I can't verify this right now, but I think with Telcel, the average cost of a cell call is about $5 pesos a minute, about $2.5 pesos a minute to receive a call, and generally A LOT more expensive if it's a long distance or international call. It also costs more to call a cell phone from a landline. You can get deals such as only $1 peso per minute to some preselected Telcel numbers (you select them). Other carriers have similar deals, but since they are smaller, with fewer customers, the odds that you'd be calling only people within that carrier client list are small.

You know, Carlos Slim, who owns Telcel and Telmex, is the third richest man in the world, for good reason.

[cwc]

corp, you�re coming to mexico. Why would you worry about paying 175$ to terminate your contract? I think they will get the message. I, personally, find cell phones cheap here. Forget bringing your cell. You can buy a new phone here for 3-500 pesos with half that in free air time. I suggest Telcel. You can list 10 numbers that you will pay 1 peso per minute to call. There is no charge to receive local calls. Long distance incoming calls cost 2.5 pesos per minute. Text messages cost less than 2 pesos. I use mine freely and spend less than 500 pesos a month compared to 200 USD in the States. I love my cell.
BTW, I caught a kid cheating today using the "notas" (text) mode on his i-pod. NEVER let a kid listen to his i-pod during a test, it could have the answers recorded. Watch those little bustards!!

[Ben Round de Bloc]

[PlayadelSoul]

Cell phones are tools of Satan.

[Ben Round de Bloc]

[M@tt]

the cellphone itself can be had quite cheaply. then there's the chip which as somone said is about 150 pesos.

i don't have a cell but living in mexico city, it is quite useful as even one missed date or change in plans can cost you hours in public transportation. i'm about to get an old cellphone from a friend and buy a new chip for it. i'll be using it to receive local calls so i can avoid wasting more time in the metro, on the bus, etc. when people are going to be late or not come at all or whatever.
if you are job searching, definitely get one so you can receive local calls for free.

calling cellphones here is a rip off and as far as i can tell, making calls from cellphones is also a rip off. in fact the entire phone system is ridiculously expensive and it seems there is a monopoly.
everyone in the walton family, bill gates, and warren buffett are richer than carlos slim but i'm sure ol' slimmy isn't hurting either.

[leslie]

Bye

[Guy Courchesne]

Leslie, I believe you are an agent of S.L.I.M.

But, to help add a few more pesos into his already fat wallet...those text messages are 1 peso each, not 2. Your thumbs now get twice the workout.

Also, if you still have the same phone after 2 years, all your local calls are now 1 peso per minute, be it cell-to-cell or cell-to-landline. They rolled out that Amigo program late last year for anyone who's had their cell for more than a year.

Imagine...if everyone in Mexico City sent just one text message per day. Slim pockets a cool 20+ million pesos.

[MELEE]

I was going to say that Guy, that here all Telcel to Telcel calls are 1 peso a minute if you've had your phone a year, and everyone I know has telcel because like I said before its the only true national coverage company.

But does anyone else have this problem? I've had my phone for 2 years and 4 months, it will hardly hold a charge anymore, I barely use it and but I have to charge it every third day now, when it was new, I used it a bit more and it would go almost 3 weeks between charges. I recently read that cell phones have an average life of 18 months!

[Ben Round de Bloc]

[corporatehuman]

I just talked to Verizon, and according to the contract, if I move to an area which they do not cover, I can escape the early termination fee of a 175 dollars.

Unfortunately I've already told them I'm going to Mexico; but I am hoping the monolithic size of the company causes them to forget that fact, so I'll call again in a few days and tell them I am moving to a country they do not cover.

Anyone have any suggestions as to what that country should be?


- Chris

[corporatehuman]