Korean cell phone in Japan

[HarutoAsou]

I will finally be visiting Japan in late July and I know that both Japan and Korea have their own dedicated CDMA networks but are K-CDMA phones compatible with J-CDMA signals? I realize data will work no problem but I'm more concerned about voice (as in calling and texting).

 

[Happosai]

You should be able to use your Korean phone, as long as your provider offers international roaming service.

Maybe you will need to subscribe to this specific service for the duration of your trip.

 

[guy]

I realize data will work no problem but I'm more concerned about voice (as in calling and texting).

Be careful with data roaming! Here in Japan, we local subscribers get access to the flat-rate APNs (for the all-you-can-use data plans). People who roam generally don't have access to these APNs (they're either SIM-locked or IMEI-locked), and will be charged a-la-carte for data usage -- which can get as high as ￥50,000 before you realize it! So be warned!

Otherwise, for voice and SMS, it should be as Happosai said. You will roam on the au/KDDI network, so long as your provider back in Korea has enabled roaming for your device.

 

[HarutoAsou]

Thanks for the info both of you. I'll just get my GF to call in and fix that up for me (my Korean is nowhere near fluent enough to do so).