mobile phone for UK, Canada, West Africa

June 4, 2006 2:03 AM

Can I buy a mobile phone in the UK that will work in Canada and Burkina Faso?

I live in Canada but will be in Burkina Faso for a few months and am currently in England. I am really clueless about mobile phones so I would love some advice. I'm in the countryside at the moment but will be in London for a few days before I take off for Burkina and would really like to buy a phone while I'm here as I will be in rural Burkina Faso and am unsure as to my access to phone stores. It would be optimal if I could get a phone that also works in Canada as my old phone needs replacing. Do I need an unlocked GSM phone? What should I specifically ask for? Any suggestions about specific stores to try?

posted by madokachan to technology (6 comments total)

Bonus points if anyone can tell me anything about mobile phone coverage in Burkina Faso!
posted by madokachan at 2:05 AM on June 4, 2006

If you want to roam abroad (ie. use your home carrier and pay trough your nose) it's not really important wether your phone is simlocked (ie. only works with sim-cards from your home operator) or not. If you want (the option) to buy a prepaid sim when abroad, go for an unlocked phone.

If you want to roam, you also need to make sure your home operator has an agreement with the network abroad you want to use.

---

Burkina Faso:

The 3 mobile carriers in BF use GSM900 (900 Mhz), which any "dual band" phone will support.

Coverage maps:
CelTel
Onatel
Telecel

---

Canada:

Networks in Canada all use GSM1900 or GSM850/1900. Most cheaper phones you buy in the UK won't support this, some triple or quad band phones will. Ask your dealer.

Coverage maps:
Rogers Wireless
Microcell
ICE Wireless

Good luck!
posted by lodev at 3:28 AM on June 4, 2006

I'd say it's smarter to go with two cheap dual-band phones than one quad-band.

Get a PAYG (pre-paid) Nokia 1100 in London (possibly one of the many shops on Tottenham Court Road) and get it unlocked (again, TCR): the battery life will make a difference if you're away from a power source for any length of time in BF.

The 1100 was built specifically for the African market. It's weatherproofed. It includes a torch. It runs forever. Any quad-band phone will run down faster and break more easily.
posted by holgate at 7:19 AM on June 4, 2006

(If Holgate wasn't clear, the Nokia 1100 won't work in Canada)
posted by cillit bang at 9:45 AM on June 4, 2006

Yep, it's 900/1800 GSM only. Give it to someone when you leave BF and buy a phone when you get back to Canada. The 1600 is the other Nokia model designed for 'developing' markets, and it does have a colour screen, but the 1100 is the workhorse for Nokia in Africa: they've sold millions of the things. (Which also means it's less likely to get pinched.)
posted by holgate at 10:20 AM on June 4, 2006

I bought the Sony Ericsson Z520i, unlocked, off eBay. It is a reasonably cheap quad-band phone, small, easy to use, and seems reliable. It is the best phone I've ever had, and I've been through quite a few. Since it has all four bands it should work in any country that has GSM.

Though holgate has a point about the Nokia 1100.
posted by bchaplin at 12:47 PM on June 4, 2006