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Call for help before you need to phone home from overseas
04:29 PM CDT on Tuesday, May 13, 2008
The days of hassling with overseas pay phones are over. With cellphone companies locked in heated competition and Internet services offering new ways to communicate, staying in touch while overseas is not only convenient, it also can be cheap.
But you have to do a little homework before you go.
For starters, determine whether your phone is capable of working in Europe. Two technologies are used for cellular phones in the United States: GSM, used by T-Mobile and AT&T, and CDMA, used by Sprint and Verizon.
Europe operates solely on GSM technology. And since CDMA technology is incompatible with GSM, CDMA phones do not work in Europe, explained Brenda Boyd Raney of Verizon Wireless.
According to the GSM Association, the majority of the world's cellphone users – 82 percent – have GSM phones. So, T-Mobile and AT&T customers are in good company.
If you have a GSM phone, using it while traveling may not be cheap, but it is convenient.
"It is really very simple to use a T-Mobile phone in Europe. Customers just need to call customer care and enable the phone to roam internationally," said Joseph Davila, a sales representative at T-Mobile's Lakewood store in Dallas.
Roaming rates vary but are usually 99 cents a minute in Europe, Mr. Davila said.
AT&T customers also can activate their phones to roam internationally, either by visiting an AT&T store or by calling customer service. Standard roaming rates in Europe start at $1.29 a minute, said Sarah Andreani, an AT&T spokeswoman for the Dallas area.
Be aware that checking e-mail or surfing the Web while roaming internationally can be expensive. Before you travel, check with customer service to get details for your calling plan.
Aside from a few phones geared toward business travelers, Sprint and Verizon folks are out of luck when it comes to using their phones in the Old World. No matter how impressive a phone is in the U.S., if it operates only on CDMA, it won't work in Europe.
If you find yourself without a phone that works in Europe, consider buying a prepaid phone from a European company. Prepaid phones often cost as little $20 and can be purchased at stores in most major airports and train stations. While it can cost more than 1 euro per minute to make calls to the States with a prepaid phone, local calls are much cheaper.
Even if your phone will function in Europe, consider having it unlocked. With an unlocked phone, you can change the original SIM (subscriber identity module) card – the small chip that acts as the brains of the cellphone – for one that has better rates overseas.
Each service provider has a different policy about unlocking phones. For instance, if an account has been active for at least 90 days, T-Mobile will unlock handsets, but only if they were sold by T-Mobile USA.
AT&T will do it for customers who have fulfilled their contracts, or who paid full price for the phones.
Once unlocked, you have great flexibility in selecting a new SIM card.
If you're looking for a quick and easy solution, grab a SIM card (prices start about $30) from one of the cellphone kiosks that are omnipresent in European cities. Buying a European SIM card gives your phone a local number. Most European cellphone companies charge roughly the same rates to call the States as their American counterparts do. However, with the local number, you can call locally without roaming.
Another option is to go with a company such as Telestial, which offers SIM cards that allow users to make international calls without paying outrageous roaming fees.
"When Americans are traveling to Europe, we recommend the Passport SIM service," Telestial spokeswoman Erica Johnson said.
Customers pay $49 for an international SIM card that comes with $10 of talk time, and the SIM card enables the phone to work in more than 90 destinations worldwide, Ms. Johnson said.
"Outgoing calls to the U.S. start at as little as 49 cents a minute, plus a one-time connection fee of 25 cents," Ms. Johnson said.
The Passport SIM gives the cellphone a local U.K. number, meaning that anyone calling you from the U.S. pays for an international call. To save your friends and family the expense, Telestial assigns customers a toll-free number, allowing them to call for free. Telestial doesn't charge for the number itself, but receiving calls with it costs 35 cents a minute.
By far the cheapest way to stay in touch while overseas is through the Internet. In addition to e-mail and instant messaging, it is possible to place phone calls through the Internet with companies such as Skype.
With a Skype account, you can instant-message other Skype users free of charge, and you also can place phone calls to mobile phones and landlines. All you need is a headset and access to a computer connected to the Internet.
Skype offers packages that are beneficial to travelers, said Chaim Haas, a Skype spokesman. He highlighted the new Unlimited World plan, which allows users to place unlimited calls to landlines in 34 countries for $9.95 a month. Calls to mobile phones in the United States also are included.
So if you're in London and want to call a cellphone number in Dallas, you can sign on to Skype, dial and chat for as long as you like, and the call would be covered under the plan. It also is possible to buy a SkypeIn number, so that folks back home can call you and leave voicemail for you. The Skype Web site has other options, too, including mobile devices that can be used with Skype.
Having increased options for staying in touch while across the pond means increased convenience. However, it also means more decisions. But it's worth your time to wade through the options and find the solution that's right for you. Otherwise, you may find yourself stuck with a huge phone bill or without a working cellphone.
Clayton M. McCleskey is a freelance writer in Germany.
Useful Web sites
Customer care numbers
•AT&T: 1-800-331-0500
•T-Mobile: 1-800-937-8997
•For T-Mobile customers calling from abroad: 505-998-3793 (free from a T-Mobile phone)
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