Other Travel Telecom Resources
Duet Dual SIM Card Cell Phone from National Geographic™
National Geographic™ International Roaming SIM Card
Rent or Buy a GSM Cell Phone and SIM Card
Follow-me Toll Free (800) Numbers
International Calling Cards

Pros and Cons and Best Use Summary of International Travel Cell Phone Options

Essentially there are three options available when you need a cell phone overseas. 1.) Roam with your U.S. cell phone – if possible. 2.) Rent a cell phone with post paid billing 3.) Rent or buy a GSM cell phone and use a local or international prepaid SIM card.

Click here for information on the Dual SIM Phone and International SIM from National Geographic™

International Cell Phone Best Use Summary

GSM/SIM---------------Traditional Rental ---------------US Roaming

Click here for information on the Dual SIM Phone and International SIM from National Geographic™

International Roaming with a U.S. Cell Phone
Cell phone technology in the U.S. differs from the technology used in most of the world. Most countries have adopted GSM technology to power their cell phone service (exceptions are Japan and S. Korea). In the U.S. AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM technology but Sprint and Verizon are powered by CDMA. While AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM, AT&T and T-Mobile phones operate on the 850/1900 MHz GSM frequencies countries outside the U.S. use the 900/1800 MHz frequencies. Also, GSM phones use SIM cards which are small removable plastic chips that remain in the back of the phone. When roaming internationally with a U.S. carrier, the SIM card from the U.S. cell phone company remains in the phone.

Requires Quadband GSM Handset
AT&T and T-Mobile customers will want to check if their handsets are “quad-band” phones, this means they operate on all four GSM frequencies, 850/900/1800/1900 MHz. Quad bands phones are equipped to work on any GSM network in the world as long as their service plan allows for international roaming. Often you will be able to maintain your U.S. cell phone number, but there may be situations where this is not possible. Call your carrier for hardware compatibility, service, rate and phone number details.

Verizon and Sprint customers, and AT&T and T-Mobile customers without quadband handsets, will first need to acquire the correct hardware before using their U.S. cell phone overseas. In most cases the carrier will ship them the correct GSM handset before their trip. There may be shipping and/or handset rental charges for this service. Be sure to check with your carrier about handset rental and shipping and return shipping costs.

Availability and Rates
After hardware compatibility comes the question of international roaming availability and rates. U.S. cell phone customers should first ask their carrier if their plan allows for international roaming and what the per-minute international roaming charges are when making and receiving calls overseas. In some cases the international roaming rates are quite reasonable, as low as about a dollar a minute in Europe for incoming and outgoing calls. However rates will vary depending on the customer’s service plan and the country visited.

Billing and Other Considerations
Normally international roaming charges are billed to the regular U.S. cell phone bill. Since users probably won’t see their bills and the actual minutes used until after the trip, it’s a good idea to be careful about usage to avoid coming home to a big cell phone bill at the end of an international vacation. Also keep in mind that if you keep your U.S. cell phone number, you’ll also receive all your normal incoming calls, now at international roaming rates, and callers who don’t know you are away might call at awkward times due to time differences.

Click here for information on the Dual SIM Phone and International SIM from National Geographic™

Post-paid International Cell Phone Rentals

Receive Handset Before Trip, Watch for High Per-minute Rates
Another option for international cell phone service are cell phone rental companies that send a handset before the trip and charge the per-minute rates for incoming and outgoing calls to a credit card. The rates for this service have historically been very high (sometimes $2 a minute or more). While some service providers have lowered their rates to be more competitive, users should shop carefully and consider per-minute rates, minimum usage requirements and other service charges.

Phone Numbers Vary
Similar to roaming with a U.S. carrier, it may or may not be possible to maintain a U.S. phone number when traveling outside the U.S. Some of these types of rental companies give you a U.S. number and some provide a European-based phone number. Again, having a U.S. phone number can be a mixed blessing because international roaming charges will be charged for receiving everyday calls, and some calls might come in at inconvenient times because callers are not aware they’re calling a different time zone. Of course the upside is that the caller can use a U.S. number.

Watch Usage to Avoid Post Vacation Surprise
As is the case in roaming with a U.S. cell phone, it’s a good idea to keep a close eye on usage because the bill will probably not come due until the credit card statement arrives at the end of a trip. Sometimes the cell phone rental and international roaming charges can appear on more than one month’s credit card bill. This happens when the credit card’s billing period ends during the trip and then new charges begin to accrue on the following month’s bills. There is nothing underhanded about this, but it can catch users by surprise if they think they have paid off all their roaming charges on their previous credit card statement.

Since there many companies offering this type of cell phone rental service, a good way to narrow the selection is to seek referrals from family and friends, ask for recommendations from a travel club or travel agency or by calling your U.S. carrier for a referral (if they do not offer international service of their own).

Click here for information on the Dual SIM Phone and International SIM from National Geographic™

Click here to go to the Rent or Buy a GSM Cell Phone and SIM Card

Inexpensive Calling U.S. to Abroad - Follow Me Toll Free 800 Numbers and International Calling Cards
Click here for rates and details on several calling card options that can be used from any phone and rates and details of toll free numbers that can be forwarded to any phone.