Guide To Using Cell Phones Abroad

Overview:

A cell phone will be your key communication tool when your traveling abroad. I’ve had a few trips where I didn’t have a cell phone, and although I was able to manage, cell phones really make life a lot easier. From calling a cab, to keeping in touch with foreign women, when your traveling abroad, it’s going to be very important to have a cell phone that works locally, and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

Depending on what carrier and service you use, you may a cell phone that will work while “roaming” in foreign countries. However this is probably the single most expensive way to use a cell phone abroad and you should avoid it at all costs. While cell phones offer a great level of convenience, operating a cell phone in foreign countries can bring up a few surprises. Even if you current phone works, you may not be able to access your voice mail. Depending on which phone you have, coverage may be spotty. If you make the wrong choices, such as roaming abroad, you might end up footing a large bill. The right way tactics to avoid these headaches all depend on your carrier, the length of your trip, and your destination.

GSM Vs. CDMA

GSM is the most widespread cell phone technology in use, across the globe today. In the United States, the major carriers use CDMA and GSM systems. Sprint and Verizon use CDMA technology, while Cingular and T-Mobile use GSM technology.

CDMA technology is used throughout North America, as well as some Asian countries, but not in Europe. Therefore, Sprint and Verizon customers can use their cell pones in approximately 26 countries accross Asia and North America. However, AT&T and T-Mobile customers can potentially use their cell phones in over a hundred countries including many in Eastern Europe, South East Asia, and Latin America.

When traveling in non-CDMA countries, which is most likely where we will be traveling, you can rent or purchase GSM phones before you travel. When buying or renting your GSM travel phone, try to get one that operates on 900 and 1,800 megahertz which is the worldwide standard for GSM. This is especially critical for Americans, as the United States GSM standard is 850 and 1,900 megahertz.

To use a cellphone abroad, your phone must be tri-band or quad-band and able to operate on one or both of the frequencies used outside the United States. You can usually find information on the frequencies used in each country, at your local carrier’s website, and this will show if your phone can operate on one or both overseas bands.

If you’re going to buy your phone before you travel, make sure it doesn’t have any locks on it, that prevent it from making phone calls abroad.

A Temporary SIM Card

GSM phones use SIM cards (subscriber identity modules). These tiny micro chips hold all of the information for the cell phone including the cell phone number and all stored contacts. This is different then CDMA phones which store this information directly in the hardware.

If you are currently a GSM customer, you can avoid sky-high roaming charges by replacing your SIM card with one from the country to which you’re traveling. For example, travelers to Colombia can pick up a SIM card from the one of the local carriers like Comcel, or Tigo; once inserted, the card will give your GSM phone a local Colombian phone number. Calls within Colombia and even to the United States would be much cheaper.

Another benefit when using overseas SIM cards is that incoming calls are typically free in most countries.

Overseas SIM cards can be purchased before you travel from companies like Cellular Abroad (www.cellularabroad.com) and Telestial (www.telestial.com) or at local shops in foreign countries.

Unlocking the Phone

Even if you have a GSM phone that operates on both overseas frequencies, domestic cellphone providers do not want you to use your phone with another company’s SIM card, because they do not make any money when you do. To prevent your doing so, cellphones bought through Cingular and T-Mobile are electronically locked — they accept only their own company’s SIM cards.

Before you throw your phone off into the gutter, know that there are several ways to unlock your phone and avoid those high overseas roaming rates.

Cingular and T-Mobile will unlock their customers’ phones under certain conditions. Cingular will provide unlock codes to customers whose contracts have expired, who have canceled their service and paid an early termination fee, or who have paid a full rather than subsidized price for their phones.

T-Mobile has more lenient policies. It will provide the unlock code to any customer after 90 days of service, but no more than one unlock code will be provided every 90 days, said Graham Crow, a T-Mobile spokesman.

If you do not meet these requirements, you can still get your phone unlocked from a private company. For a few dollars, the Travel Insider (www.thetravelinsider.com) and UnlockTelecom (www.unlocktelecom.co.uk) will provide your phone’s specific unlocking code.

Other GSM Phones

Cellphone customers with dual-band GSM phones that cannot be used overseas can always purchase unlocked quad-band phones from third-party providers. These phones can be used solely when traveling outside the United States. Since they are unlocked, they can also be used instead of your current phone on your American network.

Because the phone is not subsidized by a carrier, the price will be higher. But if you get an older model it shouldn’t cost much at all.

You can get cheap quad band, unlocked phones on ebay, just do a quick search. Some examples of these phones are the Motorola V197, Nokia 6085, and if you want to get fancy, the Duet D8. Remember though! When traveling abroad, traveling with fancy cell phones can make you a target for a robbery or pickpocket. So I’d go with the less flashy ones personally.

Good luck!

Dan DeLa Cruz