I need to get a phone which is compatible in Japan, but not many phones of my choices are quadband, can I know what is the GSM frequency band used in Japan and other countries as well?

Thanks

Use 3G phone with maxis 3G...
U get get vodafone and DoCoMo with maxis 3G there...

other countries mostly use gsm band like ours except canada and north america.. but for japan, they mostly use cdma..


if u think to buy a phone here and bring it to use there.. then i suggest u go there only buy, coz the phone in there is way cheaper.. (if u going to stay long term there)

But even 3G phones need to use GSM network for normal voice calls, and that is why I want to make sure the bands are supported, I tried looking at GSM World website but can't find any information regarding the GSM frequency band.

its hard la bro..
better u buy 2nd cdma phone there (less than 100) with the prepaid too, then u can make a voice call to malaysia..

UMTS, GSM and CDMA is all of different league..

however vodafone japan did use gsm 900, 1800 and 1900.. example are vodafone gsm sharp phone is from japan and europe vodafone..

gsm 850 is rarely used unless u want to go to north america or canada...

Do you have personal experience with this? AFAIK, Sharps use UTMS/WCDMA in JP. Last I heard, if you roam with a Msian telco, you have to get a temporary PCM handset in JP, and the DAILY charge is pretty hefty.

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Would a Sharp 903sh unlocked phone that ppl here are using considered GSM band phone ?

Hybrid, all Sharp 7,8,9xx series except 905, 910. GSM can be used for calling, but then the 3G features not available. More critical, what if the telco doesn't recognize GSM SIMs, i.e., works only with UTMS SIM and then, only their own brand (locked)? So I don't think you can just use your GSM SIM from here.

BTW, I was wrong about temporary sets. Maxis page says you can use models on their list (all 3G?). So you can just bring a 3G phone and Maxis 3G SIM from here, as long as you are willing to face steep roaming charges. I believe in Japan you pay for incoming messages too.

Strangely enough, the Sharps are Vodafone, but Maxis roams them on Docomo. I don't see Celcom in either Japan or even USA!!!

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Ok... didnt went to JP to tried calling using MY sim card...

yes sharp 903sh is using gsm band..

if u stay there for long term, then consider buying a phone there.. instead of bringing one from here.. if short term, then just bare wit the hefty roaming price..

This post has been edited by youngkies: Nov 21 2006, 12:07 AM

a 3G phone should be able to use the network there if I am not mistaken... Vodafone in Japan is using GSM network...

Sharp 7-8-9s can be set to GSM outside of Japan. Domestically, they use a 3G USIM locked to Vodafone/Softbank, and older Sharp 2G phones do not use SIMs because they are PCM hard wired into the telco.

It is possible to buy phones but they are incredibly expensive (RM$1000s). You cannot get a USIM without subscribing to a long-term contract. To get a contract or prepaid phone (only certain models, maybe only PCM), you will have to have a residence permit, student visa, or a Japanese friend willing to buy and sign for the phone, lend it to you, then pay bills and pay fine if it goes "missing." Some phones are FREE with a contract.

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Hey, interesting stuff found on Howard Forums:

"I went to Japan in Summer 2005 and my European 3G phone worked on both Vodafone and NTT DoCoMo. My O2 2G SIM card - which O2 UK would not let me use on their UK 3G network - also worked fine with the Japanese UMTS networks. My O2 UK SIM is a prepaid SIM - O2 offers prepaid roaming in all the countries were they offer postpaid roaming, you just have to dial *111* and press send and then they call you back and ask you to type in the number you want to dial - that way they can make sure you don't spend more than you have on your account without having to make special pay as you go roaming provisions with the partner network (they have made these in a number of countries so you can dial just as you can with postpaid). "

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Yes...It is true...
I already try my NK6680 with maxis 3G at Jap....
No problem with SMS but maxis will charge u RM2 per SMS send bac to Malaysia...Crazy Right??

For voice call i not sure the price...Cz i use hotel phone there....

( I'm on Celcom - no roaming in JP )

So, Maxis 2G users can activate 3G by keying *136# then insert in any 3G phone and roam in Japan, right? Does it work with Prepaid?

SMS costs? Well..... Cheapest drink in a mangakissa (like I-cafe) is 120 yen, typically 300-400 yen. Then maybe bus/subway fare to get to it? Good thing is, you can email almost any JP mobile if you know the e-ddress.

It will be cheaper to make calls at a public phone with a phone card. Even JP prepaid rates are more than normal local mobiles. Decision depends on how much outgoing SMS/calls you expect.

BTW, there were some free i-net PCs at Tokyo Station last year, but some not working, of course many users, not sure still there.

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dear karhoe,

Mostly at Asia and Europe, we use GSM900/1800 and u can find 2 systems at the Americans (N & South), thats CDMA 2000 1x and GSM 1900, so if u wanna go to Americans, make sure u hv triband.

However this world is not prefect withotu Japan's and Korea's systems. Both countries use different systems from the rest of the world.

Korea use CDMA 2000... some countries like THailand,m HK and China, if u use their CDMA services, they can roam to Korea....

However Japan is totally different.... Japan has 3 systems...
WCDMA by Vodafone Japan (now Softbank Japan), PDC (similar to GSM but on 1500MHz) by Docomo and also Docomo's own WCDMA format called FOMA...

Those handset u saw is probably from Vodafone Japan... It only can use Vodafone UIM... it GSM bands are for roaming only... if u insert any GSM SIM inserty... it wont work... trust me....

Japan dun hv GSM at all.... ok!!!

Well, from several 1st hand reports from ppl who've actually done it in Japan, a 2G GSM (even with a Vf/Sb Sharp handset, according to Maxis webpage), can access Docomo's WCDMA then roam. Maybe FOMA has become just a proprietary WCDMA that locks out non-Docomo.

It is true you cannot buy any 2G SIM for your phone. It has been said that UMTS/WCDMA 2100 is a really kind of upgraded GSM, and that makes sense, since we can do the above-mentioned. So it's debatable whether there is any GSM -- guess it depends on how you define it.



My unlocked Vodafone Sharp works fine in Malaysia with any local SIM. Trust *ME* and a hundred others! If interested, please see long-running Sharp Toshiba SE Vodafone threads in specific handphones sub-category.

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really? how much u got the sharp? u bought it at Japan or KL?

ya but mostly nowadays those vodafone sharp and toshiba came from vodafone europe.. sharp and toshiba made in japan (maybe) for marketing into/in collaboration with vodafone europe.. and europe is full of gsm.. lesser and lesser gsm/umts phone is made for japan..