Topic 'Re: Which standard in South Korea?' in forum 'Android' - dslreports.com

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 00:12:58 EDT

Nick posted : While most people have a pissing contest about GSM and UMTS compatibilities and existence I will tell you this...and this is based on my experience while actually going to Seoul, South Korea.

It is very difficult for a non-citizen of South Korea to actually get a cellular phone plan in South Korea, unlike other parts of Asia where you can simply go to the local mobile phone store or convenience store and buy a sim card in that country.

When I was there for business, I had my coworkers simply give me phone they had in one of their names that was used for visitors because they couldn't get their own mobile service. The other option I did have was to get a rental phone from the airport but it is impractical for someone who will be there for a whole year.
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Misc

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 00:29:39 EDT

AVD posted : Which standard in South Korea?

Oppa Gangnam Style

Re: terms SIM, GSM and UMTS are not interchangeable!

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 11:53:08 EDT

DaveDude posted :

said by ConstantineM:

said by Da Geek Kid:

Vz is Vodafone and does support GSM service as well as LTE however, using the CDMA phone in conjunction with sim chip LTE is also possible... But Vz is no SKTelcom.

What a bunch of ambiguous nonsense taken completely out of context. You HAVE to use a cdmaOne/whatever phone on Verizon nationwide network, precisely because VZ is not Vodafone, and VZ is not GSM, and a GSM phone won't work in the US on Verizon network. I'm done here.

No one is claiming a GSM phone will work on Verizon, However Verizon has a 310 assignment so they can bill international US people traveling abroad using their version of GAIT, or GSM. Also sorry LTE is UMTS ver 9 i believe. So yes verizon is a GSM network.
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Re: terms SIM, GSM and UMTS are not interchangeable!

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 00:23:47 EDT

ConstantineM posted :

said by Da Geek Kid:

Vz is Vodafone and does support GSM service as well as LTE however, using the CDMA phone in conjunction with sim chip LTE is also possible... But Vz is no SKTelcom.

Re: terms SIM, GSM and UMTS are not interchangeable!

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 00:16:48 EDT

ConstantineM posted : GSM is the world standard; US, Korea and Japan are the "weird" ones.

I don't understand why you're confused, though. Everyone told you that an HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus and an HSPA+ Google Nexus 4 will both work in South Korea (unless you disable 3G to save battery).

Re: terms SIM, GSM and UMTS are not interchangeable!

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 23:42:38 EDT

Da Geek Kid posted : your friend can buy the Galaxy Nexus unlocked and use it there.
»www.eturbonews.com/30567/seoul-o···t-phones
or
»english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/AK/···_5_7.jsp

Re: terms SIM, GSM and UMTS are not interchangeable!

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 23:38:04 EDT

Da Geek Kid posted : Vz is Vodafone and does support GSM service as well as LTE however, using the CDMA phone in conjunction with sim chip LTE is also possible... But Vz is no SKTelcom.

Re: terms SIM, GSM and UMTS are not interchangeable!

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 23:11:51 EDT

trparky posted : So it really comes down to forget about getting him a phone now. Let him sort it out at the US Military Base Exchange Store once he gets to South Korea.

I would hate to have him spend $400 on a phone he can't use.

And here I thought that GSM was the world standard and we in the US were the weird ones.
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Tom
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terms SIM, GSM and UMTS are not interchangeable!

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 22:57:09 EDT

ConstantineM posted : South Korea and Japan are specifically different because they never had GSM networks; elsewhere in the world, I'm not specifically aware of any GSM networks already being shut down (so, suggesting a GSM phone for Europe won't be wrong at all), although I do recall that several operators that have started out since 3G UMTS has already been available, are likewise offering a UMTS-only service with no GSM (»three.co.uk, »WINDmobile.ca and »mobilicity.ca).

Also, some operators switched to UMTS from some other crappy 3G (»bell.ca and »telus.ca, they have a shared UMTS network, IIRC); Verizon delayed the switch, but went directly with LTE with no UMTS. When I was in Canada in 2008/2010, I had an unlocked GSM phone from AT&T, Sony Ericsson W810i, and it wouldn't work with Bell or Telus, but would only work with Fido and Rogers.

And FYI: SIM cards don't mean GSM, either. There are some SIM cards that won't work in any GSM, UMTS or LTE phone, so, even without UMTS: for sure SIM and GSM aren't interchangeable terms at all, I'm again not sure what made you to believe they were.

Let me put it this way: I need a replacement phone for Verizon; you come by and suggest that I can just get a GSM phone, since Verizon has nationwide LTE, and LTE is a GSM descendant -- please keep such advice to yourself, cause it's wrong.

South Korea has no GSM, period.

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 20:31:49 EDT

Da Geek Kid posted :

said by ConstantineM:

According to the following page from GSM Association, any phone that's designed to work on a European UMTS frequency, 2100 (also known as W-CDMA 2100), would also work in South Korea. The GSM/HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus, GT-I9250, happens to be one such phone (I own one, BTW).

»maps.mobileworldlive.com/network···lic%20of

Wikipedia article about UMTS Frequency Bands also confirms that Europe and (some parts of) Asia share the same band.

»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UMTS_frequency_bands

And just to make it clear about the whole fuss regarding GSM vs. UMTS: if you disable UMTS on your phone, via, "Use only 2G networks (Saves battery)" in "Mobile network settings", or if you have a GSM-only phone (with no UMTS support), then your phone won't work in South Korea at all, because they have no GSM networks. I hope this clarifies any issues you might have regarding the "conflicting answers being passed around here in this thread".

P.S. Google Nexus 4 release is almost here; might as well wait until Tuesday, 13th Nov, and get it direct from Google for 299$ (8GB) or 349$ (16GB). :-)

GSM???? GSM???? Well don't tell that...

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 20:30:02 EDT

Da Geek Kid posted : The miscommunication here is the SIM/GSM is used interchangeably all over the world and ConM thinks otherwise.

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 19:45:17 EDT

trparky posted : Well... here's to hoping that the dev team behind AOKP can get the AOSP code of the Nexus 4 merged into the codebase so I can send him along with a good and decent AOKP-based ROM.

The reason why I was thinking about the Galaxy Nexus was because device support for it is very mature in the AOSP scene.
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Tom
Boycott AT&T uVerse! | Tom's Android Blog | AOKP (The Android Open Kang Project)

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 18:59:24 EDT

ConstantineM posted : According to the following page from GSM Association, any phone that's designed to work on a European UMTS frequency, 2100 (also known as W-CDMA 2100), would also work in South Korea. The GSM/HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus, GT-I9250, happens to be one such phone (I own one, BTW).

»maps.mobileworldlive.com/network···lic%20of

Wikipedia article about UMTS Frequency Bands also confirms that Europe and (some parts of) Asia share the same band.

»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UMTS_frequency_bands

And just to make it clear about the whole fuss regarding GSM vs. UMTS: if you disable UMTS on your phone, via, "Use only 2G networks (Saves battery)" in "Mobile network settings", or if you have a GSM-only phone (with no UMTS support), then your phone won't work in South Korea at all, because they have no GSM networks. I hope this clarifies any issues you might have regarding the "conflicting answers being passed around here in this thread".

P.S. Google Nexus 4 release is almost here; might as well wait until Tuesday, 13th Nov, and get it direct from Google for 299$ (8GB) or 349$ (16GB). :-)

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 15:33:11 EDT

trparky posted : So you, ConstantineM , are saying that the Maguro Galaxy Nexus will work there. Right?

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 14:41:38 EDT

ConstantineM posted : Yes, an unlocked GSM/HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus should seemingly work in Korea (and noone is actually disputing that it will work). The conflicting answers stem from the fact that some people seem to misunderstand that UMTS/HSPA/etc is different and separate from GSM/GPRS/EDGE.

There is no GSM in South Korea or Japan!

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 14:39:54 EDT

ConstantineM posted : South Korea (and Japan) has no GSM frequencies! Where do you get this information that they do?

If one wants a phone for South Korea (or Japan), one has to compare the UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ frequencies (all 3 of these acronyms are compatible as far as frequencies go). Comparing GSM frequencies would be pointless, because South Korea has no GSM!

Do you mean 3GPP when you say GSM?

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 14:24:50 EDT

ConstantineM posted : GSM does not include UMTS and LTE. Stop spreading misinformation. Nowhere on wikipedia (as if that's even a source of information), is it claimed that GSM includes UMTS and LTE.

To quote from your own link as above:

said by »www.3gpp.org/specifications :
The term "3GPP specification" covers all GSM (including GPRS and EDGE), W-CDMA and LTE (including LTE-Advanced) specifications. The following terms are also used to describe networks using the 3G specifications: UTRAN, UMTS (in Europe) and FOMA (in Japan).

So, 3GPP includes GSM, UMTS/W-CDMA and LTE, but GSM is strictly a term that refers to GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks.

Verizon has never been compatible with GSM; Vodafone owning a major stake in Verizon Wireless, and Verizon's abroad roaming agreements with European carriers, doesn't make Verizon compatible with GSM at all. A GSM phone will obviously not work on Verizon's nationwide home network.

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 12:40:59 EDT

Da Geek Kid posted : if you compare my GS3 link from Wiki will tell you that South Koreans are all GSM frequencies that will support »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy_Nexus using the same frequencies.

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 11:47:14 EDT

DaveDude posted : From GSM world.

Korea, South 3G 2100 SK Telecom / Bell Laboratories

If the phone has Euro 2100 config.

according to this: »www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=3517

It contains the 2100 band.

»www.amazon.com/Samsung-GT-i9250-···05XYU45E

Network: GSM 850/900/1800/1900, HSDPA 850/900/1700/1900/2100. Platform: Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0). CPU: 1.2 GHZ dual core processor. Memory: 16GB built-in, 1GB RAM

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Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 11:29:27 EDT

trparky posted : Not to be insulting or anything, but there's a lot of conflicting answers being passed around here in this thread.

All I really want to know is if an unlocked GSM Galaxy Nexus (Maguro) that's bought off of a site such as Swappa.com.
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Tom
Boycott AT&T uVerse! | Tom's Android Blog | AOKP (The Android Open Kang Project)

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 10:55:03 EDT

DaveDude posted :

said by ConstantineM:

LTE is not GSM, and UMTS is not GSM, either. All three are completely different standards.

Unless you want to start claiming that Verizon is somehow suddenly a GSM provider (which it is not, never has been, and never will be).

There is no GSM in Japan or Korea. There are also a number of providers in the world, including Canada and UK, who don't offer any GSM service, but do offer UMTS (with no GSM whatsoever).

It is incorrect to claim that a GSM phone will work in Korea, because it would not.

Nope.

»www.3gpp.org/specifications
»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTE_%28tel···ation%29

LTE an initialism of Long Term Evolution, marketed as 4G LTE, is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals. It is based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA network

Gsm includes Gsm , UMTS , HSPA+, and LTE. Lte is a revision of UMTS.

and Verizon has always been compatible at the network level for GSM, Vodafone which owns them needed compatibility for roaming. Verizon has always been a GSM and CDMA provider.

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Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 02:44:14 EDT

PeeWee posted : I think I heard that the motherboard in that phone is called Tuna.
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Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:28:33 EDT

Da Geek Kid posted : not sure what the others are talking about but here you go... »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_S_III

S iii us works on the same band except you won't get LTE oyvey! Get the unlocked ATT/Tmobile Version which are both GSM based...

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 17:04:58 EDT

trparky posted : It looks like he may have to get a phone in South Korea when he gets there. I told him to make sure that he gets a "Google" phone and not some other Android phone.

The reason I say that is because I want him to get a phone that has Full Google AOSP support.
--
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Boycott AT&T uVerse! | Tom's Android Blog | AOKP (The Android Open Kang Project)

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 15:38:14 EDT

broccoli posted :

said by trparky:

Well then what kind of phone will work there?

Any phone that supports the 3G UMTS 2100 band (1900 MHz uplink + 2100 MHz downlink), aka Band I. In the US, that means most, if not all, 3G (and above) phones sold by T-Mobile and AT&T.

Check out phonescoop.com and gsmarena.com where you can look up phones by specs. You'll probably get hundreds if not thousands of matches.

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 10:25:38 EDT

trparky posted : Well then what kind of phone will work there? There has got to be a phone that he can get here in the states before he ships out so that I can prepare the phone for use.

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 23:28:41 EDT

ConstantineM posted : LTE is not GSM, and UMTS is not GSM, either. All three are completely different standards.

Unless you want to start claiming that Verizon is somehow suddenly a GSM provider (which it is not, never has been, and never will be).

There is no GSM in Japan or Korea. There are also a number of providers in the world, including Canada and UK, who don't offer any GSM service, but do offer UMTS (with no GSM whatsoever).

It is incorrect to claim that a GSM phone will work in Korea, because it would not.

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 21:52:24 EDT

Juggernaut posted : Maguro is tuna as most sashimi lovers know. Funny naming a phone model that. :)
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Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 21:48:35 EDT

chmod posted :

said by trparky:

According to the web site below, it says that the Galaxy Nexus Maguro should work.
»www.phonearena.com/phones/Samsun···s_id5595

The gnex "maguro" is the gsm hspa+ version.
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Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 20:01:12 EDT

Da Geek Kid posted : Not sure what you mean. »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UMTS is a GSM even »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3GPP_Long_···volution is a GSM... All three providers support GSM phones just make sure it's unlocked and world which most are these days.

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 18:42:29 EDT

trparky posted : According to the web site below, it says that the Galaxy Nexus Maguro should work.
»www.phonearena.com/phones/Samsun···s_id5595

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 18:18:12 EDT

trparky posted : Yeah, but the Nexus 4 isn't out yet and won't be out until after he's gone. So that's why I was thinking the unlocked Galaxy Nexus.

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:22:57 EDT

ConstantineM posted : There are no GSM networks in Korea.

If you want to get an unlocked phone, make sure to get one that has UMTS @ 2100 MHz. Google Nexus 4 sounds like it might be a good candidate (plus it's very cheap in the US, price-wise), if you can wait a couple of more days, until it's released for purchase on Nov 13th at Google Play.

But I would, too, recommend to see if this stuff can be purchased in Korea instead; although you probably can't beat Google's 299$ tag for an unlocked 3.75G phone.

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 14:31:51 EDT

trparky posted : He'd be getting an unlocked GSM phone if it will work and put in a SIM card in once he gets there.

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 12:21:48 EDT

AMejia1976 posted : Honestly I would suggest he gets one in SK. Pricing might be way cheaper than him using a US based phone and the roaming charges. As the troops cycle often he might even be able to buy a phone from any of the Soldiers leaving to the mainland or deploying elsewhere.

@l3X
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Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 21:48:58 EDT

Da Geek Kid posted : »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mo···th_Korea

just oogle it...

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 19:36:20 EDT

trparky posted : He currently has a Samsung Galaxy Nexus on Verizon so if he could get another Samsung Galaxy Nexus that would work in that country, that would be great.

That way I could set his phone up with the same setup that I have on my Verizon Galaxy Nexus, namely with AOKP and LeanKernel.
--
Tom
Boycott AT&T uVerse! | Tom's Android Blog | AOKP (The Android Open Kang Project)

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 19:26:05 EDT

trparky posted : So what phone should I get for him? He's going to be going there for a year as part of his US Army deployment.

He wants a smartphone, preferably Android.

Re: Which standard in South Korea?

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 18:12:01 EDT

ConstantineM posted : UMTS.

Which standard in South Korea?

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:47:56 EDT

trparky posted : Which standard in South Korea? CDMA or GSM?