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.
International Cell Phones? CellularAbroad?
- Thread starter Paula
- Start date
-
Trouble logging in? Send us a message with your username and/or email address for help.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
He has AT&T, I am not sure of the price per minute but he is happy with his service...
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.
Last edited:
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....
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....
Last edited: