Job Discussion Forums

[JakeJakeJake]

I would like to get a mobile in the first few days I'm in town in May so I've got it all sorted before I return at the end of June to hunt for an apartment.
I've searched through the archive but theres only stuff from two years ago.
I'm assuming there are prepaids and contract phones. Whats better contract or prepay? I'll be avoiding any overseas calls. Are there any restrictions for someone without an FM3?
Which in your opinion is the best provider in DF? Best value? I guess I use my phone reguarly though I don't talk for long.

Thanks

[JakeJakeJake]

Oh and wheres the best place to get one from? ...no clue where or how theyre sold in mexico. i know in the UK the monthly contracts vary wildly depending on where you go or who you ask.

[notamiss]

If most of your calls will be to a particular set of people (family, friends) then it's probably best to get the same provider as most of them, since calls within the same provider are either cheaper (or even free) or they offer schemes where you can sign up certain numbers to be cheaper or free but only if they're on the same provider.

Our family is Telcel (sounds like a commercial, doesn't it?) and we all have each other as amigos frequentes so that calls between us are 1 peso per minute. We all have Amigo pay-as-you go plans, and if you don't use your phone much, this can be very cheap; all you have to spend is 100 pesos every 2 months to keep your number active. If you run out of airtime, you can still receive calls. If you don't buy more airtime after you run out, you have 6 months before you lose the number. Any other carrier had a higher minimum payment to keep the line going, last time I checked. Telcel also has the widest coverage across Mexico.

The plans (both contract and pay-as-you-go) tend to be complicated, and the companies keep inventing new offers. There is no single best choice for everyone because it depends on your pattern of use. So investing some time in researching first will pay off in the long run.

The prices are set by the providers, so it doesn't matter if you buy it at the provider's outlet in the mall, a little hole-in-the-wall shop on the street, or Sanborn's. We've done them all.

[Samantha]

Telcel is the route we have chosen to go too and are pretty certain it saves us substantial money over all the other plans. One of the things I like is that you can feed your phone from your account online, or just jot down your number when going through Walmart, Gigante, etc and the cashier can process credit to your phone right after she finishes ringing up your groceries. I find it's quicker and more efficient than scratching the little cards you can buy, and programming it manually.

[MELEE]

Sam,
Do you get the "extras" when you get air time from a cashier?
You can also get airtime from an ATM machine, but from the ATMs you get 200 pesos for 200 pesos, not 260 like the 200 peso cards, so I never bought airtime that way. For some reason I just jumped to the conclusion that the cashier in the big stores would be like that too. But now I realize I made that asumption with no evidence.

I also have Telcel but because I have no choice--even then I barely get reception at my house. And isn't it 1 peso a minute to all telcel customers after you've had the phone for 1 year? Or did they rescind that deal?

[notamiss]

As far as I know, we get the bonus time whether we buy airtime at the ATM, the supermarket cashier, or the papeler�a down the street that has a terminal. I hope I haven't been mistaken about that after all this time.

The deal of 1 peso a minute for all Telcel customers after 1 year 1) isn't automatic; you have to call and ask to have it dado de alta and 2) is only maintained if you buy $200 pesos or more of airtime every 2 months. If you renew your airtime with $100 pesos, you're not eligible, or if you had the deal, you lose it... at least that's how it was the last time I asked.

[MO39]

I'm really glad that JJJ started this thread. Yesterday I had been planning to finally get myself a cell phone but came down with a dreadful upper respiratory infection on Saturday, so I've been confined to my bed instead. Once I'm ambulatory, I'll head for my local Telcel store and get myself a bare-basics phone. Thanks for all the contributions from everyone!

[guatetaliana]

Also, Jake, if your handset uses a SIM card, I would recommend bringing down your handset from the US (or buying one on ebay) before arriving in Mexico. You could probably save a lot of money doing this, as handsets in Mexico cost far too much. My husband and I recently bought a fabulous one on ebay for about $70, vs. the $200+ it would have cost us in Mexico, even including searches on MercadoLibre.com!

You can get yours unlocked either in the US or Mexico, and then all you have to do is get the SIM card for whichever cell provider you end up using. I've used my Motorola V3 with SIM cards from 4 different countries, always works great.

[Phil_K]

No one has mentioned Movistar, which is fast catching Telcel. It has excellent coverage, including international and about 3-4 times a month you get a text offering double air time. I'm happy with Movistar as I'm not a frequent user and $200 lasts me practically the whole of the 90 day limit, and of course, I only pay $100 for it, charging it on those bonus days.

No wonder Carlos Slim is sponsoring F1 this year; Telef�nica (Movistar's parent) already does. I think he's feeling the heat!

[JakeJakeJake]

good thinking guatetliana... but im from england, im not ssure if the sim cards are the same size here? I cant remember from when i was in the US....i know japnese ones are smaller than uk ones....???
well anyway my phone here is a piece of crap!
so all US phones work in mex, so long as you get it unlocked and with the right sim? Roughly what size is a US/Mex sim card? 1cm x 1.5?ish

[notamiss]

Handsets in Mexico cost far too much? Maybe the fancy ones do, but a really basic Telcel Amigo is nearly free. Like the 400-peso kits that come with $300 pesos airtime. Or is it that they are too basic for any of us to consider?

Well, 2 models we have are a Nokia 6020 and 6101, and they cost us about $1100 pesos each, which included 300 pesos airtime. I don't know much they'd cost in the US, but for those who do know, you have a basis for comparison. Is $800 pesos an expensive price for those models?

Interesting to know, Phil_K, that the maintenance cost on a Movistar has gone way down. A few years ago Telcel was the cheapest by at least a factor of 2, but no longer according to the costs you cite.

[guatetaliana]

[MELEE]

I always laugh when I see TV commercials for "National Coverage" of other cell phone companies. Some day maybe, and the sooner the better.

[dixie]

I have the cheapest of the cheap from Telcel,(the amigo plan) and with the free 300 pesos airtime it works out to be the same as the US price quoted. I am quite happy with it, as I seem to have an issue with keeping the same phone for too long (I am on my fifth in nearly two years! )

I mostly only text, as it is the cheapest (and I hate talking on the phone), and it is perfect for that job. Not sure what phone your husband had guatetaliana, mine is just a Nokia (no number on it, so no idea what it is..or if it�s even valuable enough to earn one ).

I don�t use Moviestar as I only know one person who has it, and even then she ended up buying a Telcel phone, with a local DF number (the other is from outside the city).

I have never bought a plan, and don�t know anyone who does. All of the ones I have looked (well, glimpsed at) seem stupidly expensive, esp. in relation to how I use my cel.

[Phil_K]