I've read other posts about taking US cell phones and being hit with large data charges. If anyone has used a Blackberry in Europe and can verify what Verizon told me today? My husband and I both have blackberries. I use mine for work so all my work emails are sent to my blackberry. My husband uses his more as a phone, than for email. Verizon said that we can add International for $4.99 per month and that our current plan (which is unlimited in the US) covers 75MB of data per month in Europe. I use about 6-8MG monthly, but my husband only uses 300-400 kb montlhy. Since we aren't taking a computer with us, and we'll be in Europe(Germany, Austria, Italy) for two weeks, it'd be nice to have a blackberry to email ahead to confirm reservations, email friends, etc. and use my husband's email. So we'd pay for roaming, but would only use phones to call ahead if needed to confirm reservations. We'd communicate via email otherwise. Can anyone confirm they've used their blackberry in Europe as phone and email? And that the only additional charges are upgrading to international, roaming, long distance, and text charges?
Posted by
NY, USA
500 posts
Unless you have a Verizon world phone it will not work in Europe. Most Verizon phones are CDMA and have no SIM card. The system used in Europe is GSM the same that AT&T and T-Mobile use. Verizon can rent you a phone for your trip, There is no MG, there is kilobytes KB and Megabytes MB.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17400 posts
Our daughter brought her Blackberry on our trip to Italy last summer. She signed up in advance for unlimited data for around $30. She could not use it as a phone, but she could use it as a GPS and for Internet.
Posted by
Tuscaloosa, AL
1152 posts
Lola, when you say she could not use it for a phone, do you mean that it didn't work as a phone or that this service wasn't offered? If it wouldn't work as a phone, then she was only connecting through wifi and the $30 she paid really didn't buy her anything at all. (I do know Blackberries are different in that everything gets routed through RIM's servers, so maybe a plan was required even to get email through wifi.)
Posted by
Collierville, Tennessee, USA
512 posts
I have a blackberry and my service provider is AT&T. I have international roaming and I have used my Blackberry in Spain, France and Italy. I can get my email on my phone and have done that on a few trips, but for me it was really expensive because of the data charges. I have started turning off data services on my Blackberry when I am in Europe. I can still call and text on my phone, but I don't get email. If I need to check my email I just find a place where I can access email for a fee.
Posted by
Madison, WI, USA
101 posts
Hi Karen, In summer 2009, I used my Verizon BlackBerry exactly as you describe in Finland, Belgium, & the Netherlands. It cost me $4.99 a month and about $20 for phone calls over the course of the 3 weeks I was in Europe. The only problem I had was that I forgot to tell Verizon when I came back to revert to the non-international plan, so I paid $4.99 a month for 10 additional months. Recently, I switched to a Droid from Verizon, but in 3 weeks when I again go to Europe (Belgium, Germany, Ireland), I will be deactivating it & reactivating the BlackBerry with the same international plan (which I confirmed with Verizon still costs & works the same). FYI- BlackBerries work differently than other phones in that they do work internationally (even Verizon ones).
Have an excellent trip!