International Cell Phones? CellularAbroad?

**Paula** · 04-25-2008, 06:48 AM

I'm travelling abroad a bit this year and am trying to figure out how to have relatively inexpensive cell phone service. The place I'm renting in Italy doesn't have a phone (the place I rented a few years ago didn't either) so I couldn't even make local calls. Sooooo, this year I want to go prepared but don't know how to get cellular phone service. Skype won't work because I'll want to just get in touch with friends/family on the spot and say, "Hey, how about dinner or a visit over capuccino or wine?" Does anyone have advice? i just read about CellularAbroad where you can purchase a phone - they seem to be country specific, though, and then purchase a card with minutes. Has anyone used them? Thanks.

**InletBchDweller** · 04-25-2008, 07:11 AM

Paula,

When I went on a Med cruise I rented a phone from Robert's. http://www.roberts-rent-a-phone.com/

A friend of mine is in Australia and New Zealand on his honeymoon and he has called every few days with AT&T. He has an international plan with them. Not sure of the cost.

You may also want to go to http://www.frommers.com/ or http://www.ricksteves.com/. I bet there is some information on these sites that could tell you....

Good luck!

**GoodWitch58** · 04-25-2008, 07:43 AM

I use Alltel. I called them and signed up for the phone for France, Germany and Amsterdam. They sent me a phone that was programmed for those countries. It was relataively cheap both for in-country calls and staying in touch with my business back home. When I returned I sent the phone back in the prepaid Fed Ex package that was part of the deal. I was very happy with the service and the cost.

**Smiling JOe** · 04-25-2008, 08:05 AM

blackberry makes an international phone, which will supposedly work for all of the different technologies used in other countries. Clark Howard, of www.clarkhoward.com, is often answering questions about international phones and phone cards. Search his site.

**Goddessgal** · 04-25-2008, 08:22 AM

I have been using my regular cell phone - and it is a pretty basic phone. Many have the capability to be used there - you just have to call your provider and have them activate it.

**Mermaid** · 04-25-2008, 08:40 AM

Originally Posted by Goddessgal

I have been using my regular cell phone - and it is a pretty basic phone. Many have the capability to be used there - you just have to call your provider and have them activate it.

That's what we do too with our Cingular/ATT cell phone, though I have noticed that European phone calls log in at more than a dollar a minute!

Paula, this is not the least bit convenient given the scarcity of phone booths in Italy (and not to say the road noise you have to contend with) but you can always buy a phone card from one of the tobacco news stands. You could e-mail your landlord and ask if there's a public phone near your apartment. Who knows? You might be lucky enough to have one on a quiet corner.

**Will B** · 04-25-2008, 09:09 AM

Most cell phones today will work over there. Just be very prudent with your minutes as it's not cheap. Check with your provider. They may require you to activate international calling. I have Verizon and have used my cell in Canada and the Czech Republic with no issues...

**Smiling JOe** · 04-25-2008, 09:30 AM

Remember that cell phones don't work without cell towers.

**waterst1** · 04-26-2008, 12:19 AM

Originally Posted by Goddessgal

I have been using my regular cell phone - and it is a pretty basic phone. Many have the capability to be used there - you just have to call your provider and have them activate it.

I use my RAZR phone in Italy and it works perfectly...much better than in South Walton. I just have to add international service for the time I travel and then drop it when I return.

**Paula** · 04-26-2008, 08:41 AM

All great advice, thanks. I'll call Verizon to see if my chocolate phone will work. If not, one of the kids has a Razor. I'll also check out some of the other "plans" where I rent a phone that's set up for Italy. I don't plan to spend much time on the phone anyway, just to make quickie plans.

Thanks again.

**Lady D** · 04-26-2008, 09:05 AM

Originally Posted by Paula

I'm travelling abroad a bit this year and am trying to figure out how to have relatively inexpensive cell phone service. The place I'm renting in Italy doesn't have a phone (the place I rented a few years ago didn't either) so I couldn't even make local calls. Sooooo, this year I want to go prepared but don't know how to get cellular phone service. Skype won't work because I'll want to just get in touch with friends/family on the spot and say, "Hey, how about dinner or a visit over capuccino or wine?" Does anyone have advice? i just read about CellularAbroad where you can purchase a phone - they seem to be country specific, though, and then purchase a card with minutes. Has anyone used them? Thanks.

I think my husband used a phone card when calling me from Germany if I remember correctly. Then it was like 4 or 5 minutes to one U.S. minute.

**Beach Runner** · 04-26-2008, 10:08 AM

You need a world phone (GSM is the most common). Your service provider must have an agreement with overseas partners to use their towers. There can be dual, triple, or quad band service. GSM phones require SIM cards; my RAZR, for example, doesn't have a SIM card (although some RAZRrs do), so it won't work overseas.

You need to ask if your service provider if they provide global roaming in the countries you want to visit and if they have a phone with GSM. BTW GSM USA works at a different frequency than GSM Europe.

Verizon uses CDMA (used in US) and GSM (overseas). Nothing hubby's had works in Japan or Korea although allegedly you can make CDMA work in Korea. He has to borrow a phone from his corporate office in those countries.

I thnk that T-Mobile uses GSM and not CDMA (we are with Verizon now).

There is also the option of satellite phones. They are clunky, but will work where there are no towers.

I have also borrowed a GSM from my provider just for an overseas trip since I don't travel overseas as frequently as my husband

And even if you have a world phone, you might have to call the provider in a particular country to activate your service (that has happened to me on several occasions).

Disclaimer: this is second-hand info from my hubby's experiences.

Bottom line: talk to you service provider.

**yippie** · 04-26-2008, 06:37 PM

If you have ATT phone service it will work over there without doing anything. Other cell phone companies you must have a different phone. I have a US phone and a Europe phone. I just change out the SIM card in the phone. I do not recommend doing this because someone in the US can dial your number and it will ring over there.

The minutes are HIGHLY EXPENSIVE. I cannot emphasize this enough, HIGHLY EXPENSIVE.

Many people I ran into over there were using pre paid phone cards purchsed in each country. But, I don't know where you find them or if they will work in any phone. I understand they are much more affordable that way.

**InletBchDweller** · 05-04-2008, 05:59 PM

A friend of mine just called me from New Zealand. I told him how clear I could hear him. He said funny thing. All over Austraila and New Zealand his phone works great, it is when he is home it doesn't...

He has AT&T, I am not sure of the price per minute but he is happy with his service...

**SHELLY** · 10-08-2009, 11:27 PM

When I was in the UK in the spring, we had a friend who lives there purchase a pay-as-you-go phone and a card for extra minutes at a Tescos store (like a Walmart here). It cost us a total of about $70 (we could have brought it when we got there, but he had it programmed with all the numbers and ready for us to use the day we arrived). We were there for 5 weeks and it served the purpose of being reachable and making necessary reservations, etc.--we still had a group of minutes left when it was time to return home (we don't yack, yack, yack or text, text, text excessively). We gave the phone w/leftover minutes to our friend's kid when we left.

**frankfromfla** · 10-21-2009, 07:25 PM

I just got back from a Med cruise and Europe stay in 4 Countries and our 2 iPhones worked perfectly even on the ship. You must have the International service turned on (No cost, but the default is off) by calling ATT. Once Int. roaming is activated without a min. package it's like $1.30 a min and 50 cent for outgoing text. In coming Texts are free. No need to turn off any text alerts you may have on. If I was needed to be reached I told family and staff to text away. You could send a MMS text with Photos and Video for $1.50 each.

Also I set up Vonage Mobile APP on the iPhone and where WiFi was available I made calls for pennies using my iPhone. Funny thing is my call roaming was turned off and I called ATT in the states using Vonage for free to say turn it on! You must set up a Vonage Mobile account and put a small dollar amount in it. In my case $5. The Vonage Mobile APP is in the APP store.

Lastly, the Around Me APP worked wonderfully all over Europe. It told you what was Near and gave facts, etc.
You are only a couple clicks away from knowing everything you every wanted. You never know what's around the corner but the iPhone does. It was a life saver to cover lots of ground fast without back tracking.

The best iwas downloading the photos upon return using iPhoto and it sorted them by place visited using Places. It knew where each photo was taken and grouped them especially with several sync's from different days and different iPhones! How cool is that!

You do need to turn on International Data Roaming for most APPS and Location Services to work. That is very pricey with cost from $5 to $12 per meg without a package or you can prebuy in various of package sizes. We got the 50 meg for $59 dollars and used 49 megs over 10 days. It is a game of turning it on and off. DO NOT keep DATA ROAMING on as you could get a very large bill! Do not let kids use the phone like they might in the states.

Having the iPhone is like having a personal guide and best friend to travel with. I preloaded Samantha Browns video guides to Europe (on iTunes) to watch during our flight and down time. It directed me to $1 Cava in Barcelona in the Gothic Quarter and who knew the Picasso museum was 100 meters away. The iPhone did! Google Maps works fine if you get off the beaten path and need to find your way somewhere. When wine is 8 times cheaper than cokes sometimes you get tipsy and get lost.

Also, a regular (not unlocked) iPhone from the US picks up several foreign carriers in each city with no problem.
In the US it's currently limited to ATT.

All I need to figure out is what to get my iPhone for Christmas. I Love it....