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[pink_]

So I'm lucky enough to be spending several weeks this summer in Europe.  I'm wondering, since I'll be gone for such a long time, if it's worth trying to work something out for a cell phone while I'm gone.  On previous trips, I just used phone cards and payphones, but since I'll be gone for such a long time, I want to  have a way for people to reach me.

So has anyone done this?
Do you find that it is better to get a cheapie phone while there?
Unlock your US phone and get a new sim card?
Work out a deal with your US provider (mine seemed reasonable, but there's not much information on this on my provider's website).

Something else?
I'd appreciate any suggestions.
Oh, and I'll be in the same country the whole time.

[expatinuk]

I live in Europe and travel all over the world with my phone. My suggestion is just to make arrangements with your US provider to let you 'roam'. That's providing that you have a 3G, tri-band, or quad-band phone.

Yes, it will be more expensive but it sure beats the hassle of farfing with changing numbers and letting friends know what your new overseas number is. Your number is your number and it follows you where you go.

[pink_]

Thank you expatinuk.
That's kinda what I was thinking too.
I don't mind using the phonecards for longer conversations, but I wanted to have a way for people to get in touch if they need to without having to take out a loan for the summer!

[expatinuk]

Thank you expatinuk.
That's kinda what I was thinking too.
I don't mind using the phonecards for longer conversations, but I wanted to have a way for people to get in touch if they need to without having to take out a loan for the summer!

Get used to using text messaging. It sure saves the money. You can also use Skype to mobile phones.

[old_school]

The most cost effective way I have found is to get my hands on a cheap phone in Europe and then use a local sim card in each country.

You'll have different numbers in each country, but it will not cost you a lot to be reachable by phone. I believe you don't use up minutes for receiving calls either, another plus.

[aandsdean]

I live in Europe and travel all over the world with my phone. My suggestion is just to make arrangements with your US provider to let you 'roam'. That's providing that you have a 3G, tri-band, or quad-band phone.

Yes, it will be more expensive but it sure beats the hassle of farfing with changing numbers and letting friends know what your new overseas number is. Your number is your number and it follows you where you go.

Don't do this--both Cingular and T-Mobile (the major GSM providers in the U.S.) charge like $3.00 per minute (or more, yikes) for international roaming.  It makes calling a cab and that sort of thing simply out of the question.

Buy a cheap unlocked phone here or at your first destination and get SIM cards where you travel.  You'll pay for it in a week versus the cost of international roaming.

I bought an unlocked Motorola SLVR on Ebay for about $100 and buy SIM cards.  I've also lent the phone to colleagues who are traveling.  TOTALLY worth it.

Have a good trip!

[pink_]

Thanks for the additional info.
I'll definitely take it under advisement.

I guess the other option is to get my own phone unlocked?
I have a razr, so I think that's possible.
Will investigate.  Thanks again!

[aandsdean]

Thanks for the additional info.
I'll definitely take it under advisement.

I guess the other option is to get my own phone unlocked?
I have a razr, so I think that's possible.
Will investigate.  Thanks again!

If you have a GSM razr you can do it, but you should make sure you have all the bands you need--a quad-band will, but a tri-band may be missing one.  If you're on Sprint or Verizon you're out of luck, as they use CDMA rather than GSM.  T-Mobile and Cingular would probably work.

Have a great trip! 

[helpful]

Thanks for the additional info.
I'll definitely take it under advisement.

I guess the other option is to get my own phone unlocked?
I have a razr, so I think that's possible.
Will investigate.  Thanks again!

If you have a GSM razr you can do it, but you should make sure you have all the bands you need--a quad-band will, but a tri-band may be missing one.  If you're on Sprint or Verizon you're out of luck, as they use CDMA rather than GSM.  T-Mobile and Cingular would probably work.

Have a great trip! 

Referring to the other thread about boosters, this is why I am reticent about cell phones. The whole message above is gobbledygook to me with all the acronyms and technical terms!

[aandsdean]

Thanks for the additional info.
I'll definitely take it under advisement.

I guess the other option is to get my own phone unlocked?
I have a razr, so I think that's possible.
Will investigate.  Thanks again!

If you have a GSM razr you can do it, but you should make sure you have all the bands you need--a quad-band will, but a tri-band may be missing one.  If you're on Sprint or Verizon you're out of luck, as they use CDMA rather than GSM.  T-Mobile and Cingular would probably work.

Have a great trip! 

Referring to the other thread about boosters, this is why I am reticent about cell phones. The whole message above is gobbledygook to me with all the acronyms and technical terms!

Helpful, it's not that hard, but a decent cell phone person ought to be able to help.  Fortunately, to use one in the normal course of business all you need to do is turn it on to dial.

GSM=Global System for Mobile--there are four bands, which are, I think, 850 MHz, 900MHz, and 1850 and 1900 MHz.  The bands are assigned to different carriers around the country and the world.  As far as I know, the USA and Japan are the only two countries that aren't 100% GSM, and the US has two major GSM carriers, as I said:  T-Mobile and Cingular.  The others (Sprint, Verizon, Cellular One, Alltel, etc.), I believe, as use CDMA or its predecessor, TDMA. 

Prytania can probably tell you about the stock market implications of CDMA technology.  There was one company that owned the rights to it and during the late-90s bubble their stock doubled almost daily for a while.  It was amazing to watch. 

I can't remember what CDMA stands for, but it's something about signal modulation.  You don't need to know how it works, just how to work it. 

[aandsdean]

The company was Qualcomm and CDMA stands for Code Division Multiple Access.

But my Ph.D. is in English, so I'd better drop this now!

[magimax]

The most cost effective way I have found is to get my hands on a cheap phone in Europe and then use a local sim card in each country.

You'll have different numbers in each country, but it will not cost you a lot to be reachable by phone. I believe you don't use up minutes for receiving calls either, another plus.

Expatinuk or another expat can confirm for the rest of Europe, but my Bulgarian phone doesn't use up minutes for receiving calls. 

[monkfish]

Just to add a couple of things:

Generally speaking, T-Mobile is cheaper to roam with than Cingular/AT&T, and Western Europe is not that bad (I think T-Mobile is 99 cents/min, Cingular slightly more). Cingular has a "Western Europe" package which discounts the rate for a monthly fee of $4 or so--and you can cancel it while you are done. Note that if you are roaming with a US phone you get charged for everything--even things such as checking voice mail.

What aandsdean said about frequencies is right. GSM in the US uses 850 and 1900, but in Europe they use 900 and 1800. Any GSM Razr is a quad-band phone, so this shouldn't be an issue. To unlock your phone you can call your service provider. T-Mobile will send you the code without too much hassle, and Cingular will if you manage to convince them. The Razr is also a very common phone and you can easily get it unlocked for $20 in Europe or the US if you go to the right independent dealer (try your local Chinatown).

If you are looking into buying an unlocked phone, remember that you need a quad- or tri-band phone. There are two kinds of tri-band phones: 850/1800/1900 and 900/1800/1900. The former will work all over the US and in most parts of Europe (where they have 1900 bands), but perhaps not rural areas, and the latter will work all over Europe but in not all parts of the US. This is important if you get a phone on ebay or something and plan to use it once you are back here.

Finally, do not worry about 3G. It is only for high-speed data and Europe and US use different frequencies for that as well.

[tt33_hist]

I spend a couple months a year in Europe and simply bought an inexpensive cell phone to use there.  It was easier than trying to deal the US companies. In most EU countries, you do pay to receive calls and there is a surcharge for out of country calls.

[pink_]

I spend a couple months a year in Europe and simply bought an inexpensive cell phone to use there.  It was easier than trying to deal the US companies. In most EU countries, you do pay to receive calls and there is a surcharge for out of country calls.

I think this is what I'm going to do. 
I have Cingular, and it's $.99 with their $5/month charge or $1.39 without it.  I think it would be cheaper to get an unlocked phone and buy the sim card over there, but my question is this:

In the above post, do you mean you pay to receive calls on the US phone or on the EU phone?