What is the purpose of a "dual sim card"? I already have a sim card in my speakout phone. | 7-Eleven Rates and Plans | Consumer forum

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What is the purpose of a "dual sim card"? I already have a sim card in my speakout phone.
August 9, 2015
5:45 pm
Gonzo57
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What is the purpose of a "dual sim card"? I already have a sim card in the Acer phone I purchased during the promotion in May 2015. This phone has a slot for a 2nd sim card, but what would be its purpose?

August 9, 2015
8:13 pm
PismoPeter
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August 6, 2015
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I'm not sure, but it could possibly be so the phone could participate in 2 different wireless networls; while your are traveling, it would be nice to participate on local networks, while still haviing the ability to receive calls from your "home" network...

August 10, 2015
9:20 pm
dennismiller
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You cannot use the 2nd sim for data I now understand but some examples. A work number and a home number. A Speakout account and my t-mobile account so no switching when crossing the border. Along with that when I visit Manitoba and go to an interlake area with family, Rogers/speakout is non-existent but (B)elus is and the T-mobile roaming uses (B)elus and I still have a phone at that casino. sf-laugh_gif

Of course this is possible due to the Acer being unlocked.

Just got back from a little loop...in BC.Speakout...in Western Washington.T-mobile....in Eastern Washington remote area roaming on ATT......back to BC

T-mobile prepaid $10US to keep active for a year and Ebay sometime deals of $95 air time for $30.

August 11, 2015
5:52 pm
bridonca
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The Acer Z220 is a world phone, not specifically designed for the North American market, but still supports most of the 3G and GSM frequencies that are required for most North American carriers.

The dual SIM feature is much more popular in the rest of the world, where there is so much competition, that you need more than one SIM card to take advantage of rates in specific regions.

In Canada, dual SIM is a bit less useful, because there is mostly a 3G network, with Rogers and it's flankers supporting 2G, but not for long.

One use you could get is have a tablet plan SIM for data, and a voice plan SIM for voice on the 2G. Surprisingly, that is usually cheaper than a plan with both voice and data.

Another option is if you are in the states often, you can use a tmobile or att SIM, which allows you to use one phone for both countries.

August 24, 2015
10:38 am
ottawa2010
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To me, a "dual SIM card" (as opposed to a "dual SIM phone") is a card with perforations for both regular (technically mini) SIM and micro SIM. It's not that long ago that the carriers had 2 different cards to manage in their inventory.

nano SIMs are technically thinner though people (including me) punch them out of a regular SIM and it seems to work.

Not sure if this is the context of the question, a dual-SIM phone would have two SIM cards in it (to use that feature) I think.

=aw