General information on using cell phones while traveling:
Some new phones like the iPhone or Blackberry can work abroad and you may be able to access your email on them when you travel. However, if you do not either 1) set up an international plan before you leave or 2) turn off a few settings on your phone, you may be charged outrageous amounts. The best thing to do is call your service provider (i.e. AT&T, Sprint) or visit their store and talk to them about your needs while abroad.
Other cell phones may not work while abroad. If you would like to have a cell phone while traveling, there are a few options. Your cell phone company can often mail you a rental phone, tell you how to buy a chip while abroad to put in your phone, or they can sometimes adjust your plan temporarily so that you are able to use your phone while abroad. If these alternatives do not work it is often possible to rent a phone at the airport or upon arrival.
Being careful when using phones like the iPhone or Blackberry if you don’t set up an international plan:
Some new phones like the iPhone or Blackberry can work abroad and you may be able to access your email on them when you travel. However, if you do not either 1) set up an international plan before you leave or 2) turn off a few settings on your phone, you may be charged outrageous amounts. The best thing to do is call your service provider (i.e. AT&T, Sprint) or visit their store and talk to them about your needs while abroad.
Other cell phones may not work while abroad. If you would like to have a cell phone while traveling, there are a few options. Your cell phone company can often mail you a rental phone, tell you how to buy a chip while abroad to put in your phone, or they can sometimes adjust your plan temporarily so that you are able to use your phone while abroad. If these alternatives do not work it is often possible to rent a phone at the airport or upon arrival.
Being careful when using phones like the iPhone or Blackberry if you don’t set up an international plan:
• Some phones continually search for large amounts of information at all times, and you may be charged outrageous amounts if you do not change your settings or sign up for an international plan
• If you want your phone but not the internet to work: you can set your device to not search for data while you are traveling. On the iPhone, you can turn "data roaming" to the "off" position (settings-general-network-data roaming). Also, in your e-mail settings, turn off the "Fetch" option so you won't automatically download e-mail (settings – mail, contacts, calendars – fetch new data).
• You can use Wi-Fi where it is available (i.e. in some hotel rooms): use Wi-Fi (if your phone has it and if you are in a location, like your hotel room, that has Wi-Fi) rather than the phone network for any Internet-based and e-mail function. If you usually get email through the phone, turn off the "auto check email" capability (settings-mail-auto check-manual) and use Wi-Fi instead.
• With the iPhone, incoming calls that go to voice mail also cost money. You are charged international airtime for the duration of each message. Temporary international calling plans (see below) are good for this reason.
Setting up a temporary international plan with phones like the iPhone or Blackberry:
Temporary international data (internet) plans: Most service providers offer international plans. With AT&T for $60 per month you are given a certain amount of MB to use within that month. You can track the usage as you go along (reset your usage statistics first so you can track how close you are to your limit. Go to "Settings," then "General" and "Usage." The reset option is at the bottom. Also on the same page, there is a listing for "Cellular Network Data." This can grow at an astounding speed.) A temporary international data plan will allow you to check your email, which doesn’t use up too many MBs, unless there is a photo or a lot of graphics to the email. It will also allow you to view maps on your phone which can be very helpful when you travel.
Note: You can cancel the monthly payment when you return but be forewarned, sometimes the phone use is delayed in coming through so you don’t want to cancel too soon – make sure your usage is showing up on your statement before you cancel. Also be forewarned that AT&T may break the allotted amount of MBs into two months, meaning that you may not have all the MBs to use during your travels. Be sure to ask AT&T if all the MBs are for your use during your travels.
Temporary international calling and text message plans - temporary international plans: You can also set up an international plan for discounted calls and text messages. Again, the best thing is to discuss with the cell phone company the details of your travels (how long you will be gone, how many calls you plan to make…) An example is the AT&T Mexico add-on plan for $4.99 a month, thereby qualifying for a calling rate of 59 cents per minute rather than 99 cents.
With some care, your iPhone can make a wonderful travel companion, but just don't expect it to deliver quite as much as it does at home anywhere close to as cheaply.
The rest is only necessary if you have this issue…
Detailed information on what you need to get your (non-Iphone or Blackberry) phone to work abroad if it is not set up for international travel:
Although this reader's question applies to the minority of SmarterTravel.com visitors who live outside North America, the mirror-image dilemma—using North American phones overseas—is also an issue for many U.S. and Canadian residents. In either case, the short answer is "yes, some services work in both North America and Europe, but not all." Getting service abroad involves technical questions about both your wireless provider and with your phone.
The Right Technology - The first key to interoperability is having a phone that uses the GSM wireless system—it's the only one that works in both Europe and North America. Although almost all European wireless systems use GSM, not all North American wireless systems do. If your service is with any main European provider, or with a North American phone company on the GSM standard (AT&T, T-Mobile, and a few others), you're using GSM. But if your wireless service is from a company that does not use GSM, your only recourse for overseas calls is to buy or lease a GSM phone for temporary use.
The Right Band - Even if you have a GSM phone, however, interoperation requires more. Your phone must also operate on the right bands. The GSM system uses four different frequency bands, two in use in North America and two different ones in Europe. If you want to use the same phone in both regions, it must be either a three-band or a four-band model. Many current model GSM phones do have three- or four-band capability, but not all. If yours doesn't, you need to exchange it for one that does.
The Right Card - The final hurdle to full interoperability is activating your phone for overseas use. Here, you have two basic options:
• If you want to keep your regular wireless phone number overseas, get your phone company to activate your account for overseas use. That may require installing a different SIM card—a small permanent memory card that retains the important data about your account. This is a convenient option, but outgoing calls from a different region are apt to be very expensive, and even incoming calls typically incur a heavy charge.
• For minimum cost, sign up for a separate local service in each region where you travel.
Typically, you can find services that offer very low outgoing rates and often no-charge incoming calls. To do this, you need to get a separate SIM card for each region. That means using a different phone number with each card.
The Unlocking - When you first got your regular GSM phone, it was probably "locked," meaning it did not accept foreign SIM cards. A retail office that handles phone sales for your regular service provider may be willing to unlock your phone; if not, lots of independent wireless phone stores do it for a nominal one-time fee.
Costs, Convenience, and Sources - I reviewed the various overseas calling options—from the viewpoint of North American travelers heading overseas—in an earlier answer. However, much of the information there applies equally to visitors from other areas traveling in North America. And the information about relative cost and convenience features is still relevant in either case.
Note on Internet:
To find public Wi-Fi hot spots at your destination, go to www.jiwire.com; its Hotspot Finder holds the world's largest directory of public wireless hot spots.
…it was filthy and fantastic and unforgettable: great beauty alongside the squalor, life and death entwined in a macabre yet natural embrace-as they always are, but it took that night on the Ganges for me to really feel it.
