T-mobile BlackBerry Curve SIM unlock, part 1
Later this year, I have a tentative trip planned to Hong Kong and the Philippines, and while I'm traveling I'm planning on using a foreign SIM card on my quad band GSM phone. I just need to get it unlocked first. And since my current T-Mobile contract ends next month, I thought this would be the best time to get the phone unlocked.
As a general rule of thumb, when traveling internationally it pays to pick up pre-paid SIM cards in your destination country. Doing this will save you a small fortune, if you are willing to temporarily trade your phone number.
As an illustrative example, T-mobile charges eye popping rates for roaming in the Philippines -- $2.99 per minute for calls sent or received, $0.35 per text message sent, and $0.15 text received. In addition, you are slammed with a surcharge of $0.0150 per KB for email and Internet connectivity. Talking or texting gets expensive quickly.
Conversely, I can purchase a Philippines (Smart Buddy) prepaid SIM card -- for $0.14 per minute and around a penny a text message. Oh, and inbound calls are totally absolutely free.
Calling T-Mobile for the Unlock Code
T-Mobile is one of the more enlightened carriers in the US, and they will give you the unlock code for your phone, provided you have been under contract for at least 90 days or 3 months. Since I've been a customer since 2004, I qualified.
I dialed 611 and waited. After answering a few questions and supplying the IMEI (home screen->options->Status) the customer representative said that the request would be processed in 24 hours, and that the email with the instructions may take up to seven days.
Nothing to do now but wait...
