Text Message Capital of World

I just had a person tell me that the Philippines is the text message capital of the world.

This means or is talking about the ability of a person to write and send a written message over a CELL or Mobile Telephone to another person. People do this because here in the Philippines it is only one Peso per message or maybe about 2 cents U.S. per message. Very cheap way to walk around the Mall here and never stop playing with the telephone. It is so common here you can see as much as 25 percent of the people in the mall walking around with a cell telephone in their hands.

Nonetheless, it is interesting to me because...

1. I want a cell phone that I can use anywhere on the planet.

2. I need a contract.

3. I want cheap monthly fees, because really, I do not want a phone.

4. Cheap Roaming cost.

I want a phone so I can blog or access the internet through the telephone and upload or download emails when I go on a Camel Ride in the Sahara or some Jungle in the Amazon, and surprisingly there is Cell phone access on most of the planet. Plus in Europe to get a reservations to make my life in Europe less torture, and easier to visit.

However I need two things.

1. Cheap monthly contract.

2. Able to pay over the internet.

So many people live outside of the Philippines and write text message back or work outside there is a big market for this, the same with Western Union. There is a Western Union everywhere here so people can send money back to the Philippines. It is like El Salvador, more people sending money than people earning money. I am just interested in cheap contract price and cheap per call roaming cost.

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Andrew007 said on Monday October 31st, 2005 01:48:00 AM

Andy,Its hard to find GSM coverage in areas such as jungles and villages. Celltowers are concentrated in urban areas. Also, even if there *is* a signal, it will be weak for voice calls and emailing over GPRS in such an area will be even weaker. GPRS works on a packet switched network so even under the best of conditions its slow.An Iridium based satellite phone will work worldwide.[quote]The truly world phone offers global coverage including all the oceans and poles. E-mail can be received directly on phone up to 160 characters in length to an iridium.net e-mail address. 1-year warranty includes parts and labor. This is the phone you take on a cruise ship cruising anywhere or to the North Pole. Never be without coverage again.[/quote]-- To download email on the Laptop over an Iridium Phone --[quote]Data is available at no extra charge, however the purchase of a data kit is required for laptop connectivity. Incoming E-mails, up to 120 characters, are received on the LCD of the hand set, for free and do not require the data kit.[/quote]http://www.telestial.com/products/iridium_9505.htm-- Non worldwide satellite providers --There are other providers such as globalstar and thuraya but coverage is limited to USA or Middle East, Asia and North Africa respectively.http://www.telestial.com/products/globalstar_gsp-1600.htm http://www.telestial.com/products/thuraya_7100.htm-- Satellite Phone Rental Options --There's also a rental option. This could be an advantage if you need to use the satellite phone less frequently. Rental options range from daily to three months.http://www.telestial.com/satellite_phone_rental.htm-- Iridium Worldwide Coverage --http://www.satphonestore.com/servprod/iridium/coverage.htm-- Alternate Iridium Service Provider --http://www.satphonestore.com/servprod/iridium/AirTime.htm

Andy HoboTraveler.com said on Monday October 31st, 2005 03:55:00 AM

Contrary to what seems to be logical the underdeveloped countries have very good Cell coverage and even on an island or jungle. I see people talking on Cell phones almost anywhere. In countrie that have no land line, the cell coverage is much better. I personally believe it is a way for the government to collect tax revenue from people who do not pay tax.

Lee LeFever said on Monday October 31st, 2005 10:38:00 AM

I researched this quite a bit recently and I came to the conclusion that we would get an "unlocked" GSM phone and then buy prepaid SIM cards for each country. As long as the phone is unlocked, you should be able to switch out cards when needed.This way, you get local calls, local roaming and free incoming calls in a lot of places. Unfortunately though, it means having inconsistent phone numbers.I saw a lof of information on Telestial: http://www.telestial.com/A satellite phone would be rad, but expensive I imagine, like any single plan would be world-wide.Good luck Andy!

ash said on Monday October 31st, 2005 10:41:00 AM

click here these are global SIMs. you prepay, so no monthly fees. They work by piggy-backing on the local network that has the strongest signal at any one time. You will need a tri-band GSM phone to utilise this well. I could explain all that if you want, but you probably done research already.you can get aweay with dual-band GSM (without the 1900 frequency) if you don't want to use it in the US/ canada. you don't seem to travel there much. But basically, most phones are tri-band or eve3n quad band (the latter frequency was isolated to New York last I checked) by default, so long as they are not locked down to a network.

ash said on Monday October 31st, 2005 10:45:00 AM

worth mentioning, it is more cost-effective to buy a sim for each country, unless you move around lots and lots. For example, if you bought one for Thailand, then didn't use your mobile...cell... in Manila etc. then you'd be ok... mainly have them for your longer stops and base station places. global SIMs are good if you want to be always connected (except when you're in deserts, then you need a stellite phone, and they are more expensive than I could ever reccommend)...I decided I don't want to be connected. only when I want. but then I'm not going for 8 years...

Ed Abbey said on Monday October 31st, 2005 11:10:00 AM

Having frequented the Philippines, I agree with the assessment that it is the texting capital of the world. I found it funny to watch native Filipinos bracing their arms on the roof of the jeepney so that they can keep on punching in text on their phone above their head despite the bone jarring, pothole lurching ride through the streets and mountains.

Anonymous said on Wednesday November 2nd, 2005 05:45:00 AM

If you are interested in keeping friends and family up to date with your travels then a cheap way woudl be www.jumpclaimer.com.I still need to finish it but there has been a lot of positive feedback.