[Koblenz]

Well, he probably wasn't able to make any calls using purloined T-mobile accounts, since even with stolen accounts, he probably couldn't get a signal in most places.

[spudsmaki]

T-Mobile uses GMS on the UPPER US band, that is 1900 MHz, and no other. That's what's used in cities, as long as you don't stray from the urban areas, you'll be OK.

Howsomeever, rural areas use the 800 MHz band for GMS. You be out of luck in the sticks, because TMoble shuts that off in the phones they sell. They also kill the analog access, still common in the sticks.

GMS is just TDMA with a little bit of error correction for email and web pages. Sprint PCS is 1900 MHz CDMA with some error correction, and their phones don't do analog either.

CellularOne is common in rural areas, their GMS is 800 MHz, but some of their phones use the 1900 MHz band to roam.