Using your cellphone when abroad

Another 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 (GSM) 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.

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.

SMS (aka 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.