On at least seven occasions in the past week or so, men (in at least one case Middle-Eastern men) have purchased several dozen pre-paid cell phones at a time, paying with cash, at various Walmart locations in Missouri.
While my alarmist friends are automatically jumping to the conclusion of terrorism, I think there may be any number of more mundane reasons. Specifically, I think they’re probably just buying them in Missouri and sending them back to Doha or Amman or wherever, where a broker resells them at a jacked up price.
My question is, is this a viable business model vis a vis the cost of cell phones in the Middle East?
There are several transmission systems used for cell phones in different parts of the world. Some phones are able to operate world wide, others not so much.
I suspect that the inexpensive phones normally bought at WalMart are not compatible with some overseas systems.
“CDMA, which stands for code division multiple access, has less worldwide coverage than GSM. The U.S. is one of the biggest markets for CDMA. This is the technology that is used by the largest operator in the U.S.: Verizon Wireless. Sprint’s PCS network also uses CDMA. The old Nextel portion of Sprint’s network uses a different technology called iDEN, which is used in a limited number of places outside the U.S.”
I don’t know about the Middle East, but in my experience elsewhere cheap cellphones from China are going to be a better deal than anything you get in the US. You can buy a knock-off Nokia in rural Africa for less than $10.00.
Walmart may be cheap, but they are a retailer. Look on Ebay and you can find bundles of unlocked phones for very little. SIM cards are free with a few pounds worth of PAYG on them.
American telecommunication system sucks balls, so I don’t know why anyone would want to sell overseas, especially using a technology which is not used elsewhere.
(I mean, I can purchase a phone and a plan where I can call anywhere in the world in Nairobi, in about 5 minutes, but to do the same in New York, the center of world finance is neigh impossible).
Try japan. People on tourist visas absolutely cannot buy SIM cards legally . You can either rent one for an absurd cost at the airport or get a Japanese friend to buy one in their name. Yes even pre paid SIM cards.
“Men buy phones at Walmart” isn’t really headline-making news. What’s your source on this? This sounds like pointless fear mongering before we even get to your question.
That was my thinking as well, but the hole in my theory is that at least one set of buyers was Middle-Eastern, and Middle-Easterners aren’t involved in the meth trade to any real extent in Missouri. That’s the domain of good ole boys.
Walmart sells all manner of prepaid phones, not just cheap burners, and not just those for the companies you selectively listed. AT&T & TMobile use the GSM standard that most of the rest of the world uses, and Walmart sells plenty of phones for use on those two carriers and their many subsidiary brands. (Consumer Cellular, Cricket, Family Talk, GoSmart, H20 Wireless, Liberty Wireless, MetroPCS, Net10, Orange Mobile, Simple Mobile, StraightTalk, US Mobile, Walmart Family Mobile)
These days, most models of GSM phones are multiband so that, once properly unlocked, the hardware is capable of operating not just at the frequencies used by the carrier it’s sold under, but by carriers all over the world.
