Sorry, this is a bit of a longwinded answer, but I'm going to try to
answer your questions while accounting for other things that may pop
up.
Q1. Is GSM digital and or analog?
A. GSM stands for "Global System for Mobile Communications", and is
the DIGITAL wireless standard for most countries in the world.
However, there are two additional DIGITAL standards, for the most part
used only in the USA and Canada (plus Korea and a few other countries)
known as TDMA and CDMA.
All of these are digital, but GSM and CDMA are newer technologies.
TDMA is older and not as full-featured or clear as GSM or CDMA. That
I know of, there are no wireless companies marketing pure-analog
service in the USA any more. AT&T and Cingular both offer GSM for
newer plans (and used to offer TDMA for older plans).
Q2. Is the AT&T One Rate digital and/or analog?
A. This, unfortunately, depends on when you signed up and what
specific plan you received. If you signed up in a major city in the
last 2-3 years, your AT&T One Rate plan is most likely GSM DIGITAL.
However, if it is slightly older, or you signed up in one of several
cities in which the GSM roll-out was delayed, it could be TDMA DIGITAL
(see the note above). Both Cingular and AT&T have been converting
their old TDMA network to GSM. If you have the old TDMA One Rate
plan, it likely also allows you to use your phone in an ANALOG mode,
but today this would be necessary in only the most remote places. To
be sure of whether you are on the older One Rate TDMA Digital/Analog
plan or the newer One Rate GSM Digital only plan, you need to call
AT&T's customer support.
Q3. What is the difference between the Cingular Nation GSM, and the
ATT One Rate plan?
A. The AT&T One Rate plan is no longer marketed, but if you have it
from before, you can keep it. I would recommend that you call up AT&T
customer service to see if you have the older TDMA plan or the newer
GSM plan. Depending on which it is . . .
IF you have the older One-Rate TDMA plan:
=========================================
As long as you don't find yourself in the most remote of places
(center of the Gobi desert, etc.), it's in your best interest to
switch to a GSM plan, whether it is Cingular or AT&T. GSM digital
offers better clarity and more features, and is the direction the
world is going in. TDMA digital is being phased out nationally, as it
is older and likely won't be available too much longer.
To become a GSM service user, whether Cingular or AT&T, you're going
to be forced to sign a contract and buy a new phone. AT&T's "GSM
America National" plans are almost identical to Cingular's "Cingular
Nation" plans, but shift slightly from month to month based on current
marketing gimmicks. At the moment, as an example, AT&T's GSM America
can give you 500 peak mins for $50, and Cingular Nation can give you
600 peak mins for $50 (by contrast, AT&T's 1250 min plan is cheaper
than Cingular's), each of which provide unlimited nights and weekends.
Cingular also provides "rollover" minutes on most plans, allowing
unused minutes to be saved from one month to the next. It's up to you
as to which plans you're most comfortable with, and, believe me, the
minute counts and prices change monthly.
Bottom line: you should migrate from your TDMA plan to a GSM plan,
whether AT&T or Cingular. Both of those services allow you to "roam"
for free on eachother's network, so the quality and service area
between the two should be nearly identical. Since you have AT&T now,
you may be able to convince them to give you a special deal for a
cheaper phone or to avoid a setup fee, which would save you over
moving to Cingular.
IF you have the newer One-Rate GSM plan:
========================================
First, instead of staying with your current plan, you should
immediately switch to AT&T's "GSM America National" plan which is far
far cheaper than their older 50-state plans. By switching from an old
"One Rate" GSM plan to a new "GSM America" GSM plan on AT&T, you
shouldn't have to sign a new contract or buy a new phone, both of
which you likely will have to do if you switch to Cingular, and you'll
save a lot of money from a lack of sign-up fees and not having to buy
a new phone.
As you may know, AT&T and Cingular are planning to merge by the end of
the year. Unless you live in North Carolina, South Carolina, or
Puerto Rico (see the note below), the best course for you to take is
probably to stay with AT&T and switch to the GSM America National
plan, because you'll be folded into Cingular once the merger takes
place, and you'll have avoided signing a new contract or paying a new
sign-up fee.
To quote from the other section above, AT&T's "GSM America National"
plans are almost identical to Cingular's "Cingular Nation" plans, but
shift slightly from month to month based on current marketing
gimmicks. At the moment, as an example, AT&T's GSM America can give
you 500 peak mins for $50, and Cingular Nation can give you 600 peak
mins for $50 (by contrast, AT&T's 1250 min plan is cheaper than
Cingular's), each of which provide unlimited nights and weekends.
Cingular also provides "rollover" minutes on most plans, allowing
unused minutes to be saved from one month to the next. It's up to you
as to which plans you're most comfortable with, and, believe me, the
minute counts and prices change monthly. Both of those services allow
you to "roam" for free on eachother's network, so the quality and
service area between the two should be nearly identical.
However, unless you think the Cingular Nation plans are much better
for you at the moment (e.g. the particular minute allotment or the
"rollover" opportunity interests you enough), you will save money by
not having to sign a Cingular contract, pay a Cingular setup fee, and
buy a new Cingular phone if you just migrate to an AT&T GSM America
plan.
* note on NC/SC/PR:
As long as you're not in North or South Carolina (in territory where
SunCom does *NOT* currently provide service) or Puerto Rico, by the
end of the year, your AT&T service will become Cingular regardless.
The reason the NC/SC thing is important is that everywhere else in the
country, AT&T customers are going to become Cingular customers, but in
parts of NC/SC/PR, current AT&T customers are going to become SunCom
customers instead in a complicated AT&T-SunCom-Cingular agreement.
I hope this answers your questions without creating new ones :). The
American wireless industry isn't the simplest area for consumers,
unfortunately. If you have any questions, please ask.
--Joey
Strategy for answer:
- personal knowledge
- mobile phone discussion boards at www.howardforums.com
- AT&T Wireless' web site: www.attwireless.com
- Cingular Wireless' web site: www.cingular.com
For future reference, the people who read the "Howard Forums" listed
above are very knowledgeable and should be able to provide very
detailed answers. |
