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Expert: - 12/7/2011


Question
How can I avoid large roaming fees on my Blackberry during travel to the Philippines?  My local Australian calls are redirected to my Blackberry when I am in the Philippines.  This yields large roaming fees.  To avoid this, can I get a SIM in the Philippines with a local number, insert it in the Blackberry, and have my calls redirected to that as a local number?  Is this my best option?

Thanks.

Answer
You have a couple of options. 1. If you have international voice roaming blocked, your calls will not ring through to your phone when you are outside of Australia. You can still use the data plan (which I assume is what you want to do). You can also set your BlackBerry to transfer all calls to voice mail automatically when you are in the Phillipines and then change it back when you return home. This is will not interfere with data. Only voice calls will be tranferred. If you need to use your phone but don't want to receive calls, then just transfer your calls to voice mail automatically through your settings on the BlackBerry when you travel and that should solve the problem. I hope this helps. Thanks.

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I can answer questions on cellular phones, the physical device, the network, contracts, billing, ordering, porting and what to look for when purchasing cell phones. I am located in the United States. I am an expert on BlackBerrys, Treos, HTC devices and iPhones as well as cellphones and aircards. I have over 15 years of experience in both the wireless and wireline world with the carriers. I have a lot of knowledge regarding the wireless providers - their services, prices and policies, both GSM AT&T and T-Mobile) and CDMA (Verizon, Sprint/Nextel). I am very familiar with the individual devices and their specifications. I can also answer questions regarding BlackBerrys, iPhones and other PDAs, both Palm-based and Windows-based. I can troubleshoot most any problem someone is having with their cellular device or with the provider.

Experience

Over 20 years in the Telecom industry working for the carriers with individuals, small business, medium business and large corporations(Fortune 500). Also worked as a professor in Maryland for 10 years teaching telecommunications.

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I belong to several organizations

Education/Credentials
Master's in Telecommunications

Awards and Honors
Received several awards for papers that I have published over the years

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