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Will My Cellphone Work abroad?
February 1, 2009
A very important apparatus for the road is the ubiquitous
cellphone. Advances in technology have made it easier to carry a phone
when you travel overseas. The vast majority of the world has selected
the 3GPP standard and since 2005 most GSM phones are quad-band, which means
they are compatible with most networks around the world. North America
is unfortunately the exception.
The market is roughly split in half with Verizon, Alltel, and
Sprint (not the Nextel side) in the US; Bell and Telus in Canada, and Iusacell in
Mexico being compatible with the 3GPP2 (CDMA) standard. Whereas AT&T,
T-Mobile, Rogers, and Telcel are GSM carriers.
Before you jump on the plane it is a good idea to call your service provider and ask for
the roaming agreements in the countries
you will visit. They will either charge you a flat fee to enable
international roaming or it is already in your plan. If you have to pay
a fee, you can disable it upon your return. They will also know if your
phone is compatible in those countries. If needed, they can provide you
one to use during your trip.
If your provider is one of the CDMA carriers above, you will most
likely need another phone with a different number that they will
provide for the duration of your trip. Although a lot of new high end
phones are now worldwide - which means they support both technologies - like the
Blackberry Storm(r).
But buyers beware: International
roaming is extremely expensive. It does not use your included
minutes and can really add up. If you have a data plan that
you use for email or browsing it can be a budget killer. You
can disable the data service and re-enable it when you come
back.
A cheaper idea is to buy a prepaid
phone in the country you
will travel. It is typically inexpensive and you
can find them relatively easy in a shopping mall. You will of course
get a different number, but you will save lots of money. Once you buy
your local phone you can email the number to whoever you want. Also
note that calling long distance from these prepaid phone can be
expensive too.
ka text messaging) is the most cost effective way to communicate
when abroad. You will pay for every message while on your trip, but it
is typically
$US 0.10 or so, a bit more for international messages. Again, call your
carrier to make sure SMS will work during your travels.
Enjoy.
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