Making Cell Calls

You would be using European 'airwaves', so I'm pretty sure international codes would need to be used, at least when calling out.

I would contact AT&T and find out the exact number from them.

To be honest, if you are going to be calling the US, you can probably get much better rates using a calling card and payphone/other phone.

Kate

I used my AT&T cell phone last summer in Europe, so I can answer your questions.

If your friends are calling you, they dial your ordinary number just like they do now. No need for country codes. Note that you'll pay airtime charges just as if you were calling the US.

If you are using the phone to call the US, you'll need to use the country code. Dial the Europe long distance code 00, then the country code (1 for the US and Canada) then the area code and number.

A trick you can use is change all the numbers you'll need in your phone's address book to start with +1. You get the "+" sign by holding down the 0 when entering the number until it changes to a + (at least on my phone; check the manual if this doesn't work). The "+" tells the phone to enter the "00" long distance code for you, the 1 is for the US. The advantage is that in the US the +1 doesn't hurt anything, and when abroad you can use your phone's directory just like always.

We used exactly the same phone while in Europe this summer and it was wonderful for our calls to accommodations. We always had to call exactly like those who live there had to call. BTW the US country code is "1" as we used to use before we made all the long distance on our cells. You also have to dial 00 (I think that's right everywhere) to get out of country like we have to dial 011 to get out.

brandy,

regarding your $5.99 / month cell plan, you might want to check with AT&T on whether the charge is $0.99 for ALL calls. Outgoing in-country calls are normally the least expensive, with incoming and L.D. calls to other countries often more expensive. The reason for incoming calls being higher cost, is that these are routed from North America.

While you're "roaming" in Europe, your friends simply dial your normal number (with or without area code, whatever they normally do?), and the network will find your phone if it's on.

When making calls back to the US, as the others have said, this is done by dialing 00+1+AC+local number (the "+" can be substituted for a "00" AFAIK).

You'll probably find it MUCH cheaper to use text back & forth. Be sure you send the text using the same dialing sequence as above, or it will disappear into cyber-space.

Note that you MAY have to change your Phone to the Euro network when you land (some phones do this automatically).

Happy travels

Just got back from Europe, where I used my AT&T cell phone.

1) They just dial your normal # while you're in Europe (assuming they're in the US). YOU only have to dial country codes if you call out, OR if someone is calling you from within Europe.

2) To call to the US, you have to dial the US country code, which is 1 but you'll need to dial "+1" to make the call or send any messages.

...Also, FYI - it came out cheaper for me to NOT pay the $5.99/mo + .99/minute. Instead, I opted for the $1.99/min plan with NO monthly fee. I was there for 3 weeks & I definitely came out better by doing that (just called home 3 times to check in). You may want to run a "price check" to see if you'd do better that way as well!

...Oh yea, and texting is cheaper. It's only .50/msg back and forth to your phone.