# Are Prepaid Cell Phones More Expensive In The Middle East? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 13, 2015, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prepaid-cell-phones-more-expensive-in-the-middle-east/740282 "2015-12-13T01:03:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prepaid-cell-phones-more-expensive-in-the-middle-east/740282/1 "2015-12-13T01:03:01Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prepaid-cell-phones-more-expensive-in-the-middle-east/740282/2 "2015-12-13T01:13:01Z")
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. I await further clarification. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prepaid-cell-phones-more-expensive-in-the-middle-east/740282/3 "2015-12-13T01:18:14Z")
From a CNN article > **[Going abroad? Don't be afraid to pack the cell phone - CNN.com](https://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/05/27/cell.phones.overseas/)** > > It's summer time. And you know what that means: Harrowing international travel with your cell phone. “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.” ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prepaid-cell-phones-more-expensive-in-the-middle-east/740282/4 "2015-12-13T01:30:44Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prepaid-cell-phones-more-expensive-in-the-middle-east/740282/5 "2015-12-13T08:58:20Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > You can buy a\*\* knock-off Nokia \*\*in rural Africa for less than $10.00. you shunned the opportunity to use the term “Nokia-off” and your dope punning privileges are hereby revoked! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prepaid-cell-phones-more-expensive-in-the-middle-east/740282/6 "2015-12-13T09:31:22Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > 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? 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. I suspect some criminal enterprise. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prepaid-cell-phones-more-expensive-in-the-middle-east/740282/7 "2015-12-13T10:19:04Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > I suspect some criminal enterprise. Yep burner phones for drug dealers is the most likely option. Pay cash so there’s no credit card records. Plenty of meth labs in Missouri. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prepaid-cell-phones-more-expensive-in-the-middle-east/740282/8 "2015-12-13T11:02:17Z")
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). Yeah I was also shocked. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prepaid-cell-phones-more-expensive-in-the-middle-east/740282/9 "2015-12-13T11:10:48Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Yeah I was also shocked. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prepaid-cell-phones-more-expensive-in-the-middle-east/740282/10 "2015-12-13T14:46:38Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > 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. “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. ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prepaid-cell-phones-more-expensive-in-the-middle-east/740282/11 "2015-12-13T14:54:17Z")
> **[Large Cell Phone Purchase Rumor](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/lebanon-mo-walmart-cell-phone-rumor/)** > > Social media rumors claim several suspicious purchases of 60 cell phones were made by Middle Eastern men at Walmarts in or around Lebanon, Missouri. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prepaid-cell-phones-more-expensive-in-the-middle-east/740282/12 "2015-12-13T16:03:08Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > Yep burner phones for drug dealers is the most likely option. Pay cash so there’s no credit card records. Plenty of meth labs in Missouri. 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. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prepaid-cell-phones-more-expensive-in-the-middle-east/740282/13 "2015-12-13T18:57:28Z")
We’ve been down this road [before](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-owning-1000-cell-phones-terrorism/). People do this and for mundane reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prepaid-cell-phones-more-expensive-in-the-middle-east/740282/14 "2015-12-13T19:18:45Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > We’ve been down this road [before](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-owning-1000-cell-phones-terrorism/). People do this and for mundane reasons. > [@](#): > > Officials have said various illegal acts can be committed with prepaid cell phones, including using them as detonators, communicating among terrorists and using the batteries to make methamphetamine. You can probably think of three illegal things to do with the last consumer product you bought, too. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prepaid-cell-phones-more-expensive-in-the-middle-east/740282/15 "2015-12-13T21:55:36Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > 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. That’s news to me. We bought SIM cards at a booth in Tokyo airport and nobody batted an eye. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prepaid-cell-phones-more-expensive-in-the-middle-east/740282/16 "2015-12-13T22:10:13Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > You can probably think of three illegal things to do with the last consumer product you bought, too. “Local mom discovers nefarious use with one weird trick!” ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prepaid-cell-phones-more-expensive-in-the-middle-east/740282/17 "2015-12-13T22:19:52Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > 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. > > I await further clarification. > [@GaryM](#): > > From a CNN article > [http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/05/27/cell.phones.overseas/](http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/05/27/cell.phones.overseas/) > > “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.” 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. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prepaid-cell-phones-more-expensive-in-the-middle-east/740282/18 "2015-12-14T01:10:26Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > 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. And you know for a 100 percent fact that no middle easterners ever have been involved in the meth trade in Missouri ? :dubious: