Traveling Outside of the Country? You May Need an International Travel Phone
Whether you're gone for a few days or a few months, it's good to be able to call when and where you want with ease and to be accessible to your loved ones and other important people while you are gone.
There are a few barriers however that often prevent travelers from the US in just toting along and using their cell phone elsewhere. Many countries use different radio frequencies and encoding.
Find out more about international travel phones and what travelers need to communicate when out of the country.Quad Band GSM Phones or The World Phone
Most of Europe, Asia, and Africa use a GSM network. The US, Canada, Australia and a few other countries sometimes use CDMA, TDMA, and iDEN networks as well.The phone you use when traveling must operate off of the same type of network. Most international travel phones can make use of GSM networks because they are the most prevalent type.
In addition, different countries use different frequencies. Once you know where you'll be traveling to, you can look up the country to determine what frequencies are used to assure your phone will work.
There is an easier way however. A good international travel phone would be a tri-band or quad band phone. A quad band phone for instance can operate at the four frequencies used most often across the globe. Thus these phones provide a good option for travelers.
About Networks
The most common cellular networks are GSM and CDMA. GSM is prevalent globablly. In the US, AT&T and T-Mobile phones are on a GSM network while Sprint and Verizon use the CDMA network. GSM phones are generally necessary when traveling to Europe as that is the predominant network there.Sprint and Verizon have recently come out with some CDMA/GSM hybrid phones however. Sprint has the Blackberry 8830, Samsung Ace, and Motorola i930 while Verizon has the Blackberry 8830 and Motorola Z6c. These phones work on the CDMA network in the US and the GSM networks in Europe. These phones will not work on the GSM network in the US but do make a good international travel phones due to their flexibility.
Getting Service: International Roaming
Once travelers have the right phone, they need to get service. If their cellular carrier has international roaming available via the right network (usually GSM) and cross billing agreements in place with carriers in the country to be visited, this can be a simple option. However, users should be sure to acquaint themselves with the roaming charges before leaving as they can be a bit pricey. International Services from US Cellular Carriers
Major US cellular companies now offer programs for customers who travel internationally:Getting Service: Prepaid Minutes
By buying an unlocked GSM phone or world phone a traveler can also install a SIM card which is compatible with the service used in the country they will be visiting. Then, pre-paid service can be purchased easily eliminating any need for an unwanted contract or service agreement. For anyone who travels quite a bit this may be the most cost effective solution. Local SIM Cards for Your Destination
Local SIM Cards can be purchased when you arrive at your destination or online at Telestial.com, InTouchSmartCards.com, or CallInEurope.com.
Quad Band, World Phones, and Other Products
Motorola Renew W233 Prepaid Phone, Green (T-Mobile) with $25 Airtime Credit
Amazon Price: $29.99 (as of 12/16/2009) 
Samsung t349 Prepaid Phone, Silver/Lime (T-Mobile) with $25 Airtime Credit
Amazon Price: (as of 12/16/2009)
Samsung Gravity Complete FlexPay Phone, Aqua (T-Mobile) with one month of free service
Amazon Price: $129.99 (as of 12/16/2009)
Nokia 2720 Prepaid Phone (T-Mobile) with $25 Airtime Credit
Amazon Price: $49.99 (as of 12/16/2009)
Nokia 1208 Prepaid Phone (T-Mobile)
Amazon Price: (as of 12/16/2009)
Unlocked GSM Phones
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
SIM Cards
T-Mobile SIM Card Unactivated Replacement
Amazon Price: $14.99 (as of 12/16/2009)
Connectland CL-CRD20015 USB 2.0 Card Reader Reads Cell SIM , SDHC up to 32G (Black)
Amazon Price: $10.40 (as of 12/16/2009)
AT&T 3G SIM Card + $10 Prepaid Starter Kit (Receive $10 credit after putting $25 in your account within 7 days of activation)
Amazon Price: (as of 12/16/2009)
Brand New ATT 3g Sim Card 4 At&t + Cingular Never Used
Amazon Price: (as of 12/16/2009)
AT&T SIM Card-Brand New Unactivated-SKU 71247
Amazon Price: (as of 12/16/2009)
Calling Internationally From Your U.S. Phone
Prepaid calling cards can save significantly when calling from a landline or cell phone in the US to international locations. Learn more about them here. Another option for inexpensive international calling are prepaid services like MetroPCS which offers unlimited voice and text messaging for $50/month; you can add unlimited international calling for $5/month.-
International Calling Cards - Low Cost International Calls
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In the past people usually avoided making international phone calls unless they absolutely had to because of the cost, but in this age of advanced technology there are many ways in which the cost of making international calls can be greatly reduced,...
Renting a Cell Phone for Your International Travels
Another option for travelers is to rent international travel phones. The charges for renting the phone and for per minute talk time varies widely from service to service and is dependent upon your destination.A few services online include travelcell.com, cellularabroad.com, and rangeroamer.com.
More Communication Assistance for Your Trip
Nyrius LT12 12 Language Global Digital Talking Translator Foreign Pocket-Sized Electronic Speaking Dictionary
Amazon Price: $49.99 (as of 12/16/2009)
Franklin TG-450 12 Language Translator
Amazon Price: $24.77 (as of 12/16/2009)
Nyrius Global ENTOURAGE7 Talking Travel Translator for 7 International Languages
Amazon Price: $29.99 (as of 12/16/2009)
Nyrius Global ENTOURAGE11 Talking Travel Translator for 11 International Languages
Amazon Price: $39.99 (as of 12/16/2009)
Lingo World Traveler Translator (TR-4400)
Amazon Price: $104.95 (as of 12/16/2009)
Do You Have an Old Cell Phone to Sell?
International Cell Phones: Did You Find What You Needed? Let Us Know!
If you are still looking for the best deals on cell phone plans be sure to visit our full service cellular and home electronics store.
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- TheWhistler TheWhistler Jun 29, 2009 @ 1:35 pm
- Thank you Mulberry, another interesting lens.
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- jaye3000 jaye3000 Jun 29, 2009 @ 10:51 am
- Great lens full of info., I've lensrolled you to Patriotic Gardens :)
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- K Jackson K Jackson Mar 21, 2009 @ 1:02 pm
- I have started getting a call like 5 times a day from an international phone number. I have AT&T for my wireless phone service. I have called them and they say there is no way to block the calls. The international number also texts me saying they want to "make a friendship" and asking for my email address. Does anyone know how to make this stop without having to change my cell phone number? Thank you!
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- JAV010 JAV010 Aug 25, 2008 @ 5:26 am
- Great lens and very helpfull thanks 5 stars
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- poddys poddys Jul 29, 2008 @ 9:21 pm
- This is a very useful resource, thanks. It takes a lot to figure out the different cell phone systems, especially if you are travelling. I lensrolled this into my International Calling Cards lens, and 5 ***** well deserved.
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- bbug bbug Jun 1, 2008 @ 4:22 pm
- Need to know info for the traveler.
Introduction: woinary.
Quad Band GSM Phones for Travel: pacdog.
A Few More Words About Networks: Squeakymarmot.
Getting Service: International Roaming: ruurmo.
Getting Service Prepaid Minutes: jmerelo.
Internation Services from US Cellular Providers: inkiboo.
Renting a Cell Phone for Your International Travels: jepoirrier.
This site is listed at LensMasterWorld.com.
