cell phones in Europe

We switched from being long time U.S. Cellular customers to AT&T just before we went to Italy in September. We had great service with them and you pay a small monthly fee for only the time you actually need the international service. It was great dining at a nice restaurant in Portofino while visiting with friends and family back home. We found the biggest obstacle to be the 7-hour time difference to Central daylight time. I'm not hip on SIM cards and didn't want to jeopardize communications by trying to change cards for service.

You say "we". If you are looking at multiple people then you will probably want to communicate with each other. Like "Where are you?" and "I want to go shopping while you look at sites, so call me when you are finished". For us it was wonderful to be able to communicate cheaply and often.

I wrote an article in Rick's technology section on finding and verifying your phones will work in Europe and finding which SIM cards to get.

I don't think it is a good idea to bring your fancy losable phone from home and spend high prices to call on that phone from Europe or to rent a phone which will probably cost more than buying a new one.

Read my article and PM me if you have any questions.

John

for quick short calls home or a few local calls - my ATT/Cingular V3 Motorla Ravr works great in the 5 Euro countries I used it in. I iwll try 2 more next year! Its not cheap - so keep calls home short. Apperenlty you cant call from one Euro contry to the next - just local or US and back. So dont try calling Swiss number from Germany - until you get into Swiss areas (for example). Not sure why...

anywyas - there are indeed cheaper ways to do it - but not necessarily "easier" ways. It was the least complicated for me to use my own phone - but I admit i can get spendy at .99 or 1.29 per min. - esp with internet phones at .3 per min - and some local (but somtimes tricky) calling cards/plans at 5-10cents.

Thanks, I will take all your advice into consideration, we already have our service with AT&T, so I guess my first step is to call them. I know that when we were in Mexico, it was pretty pricey to call home. Also, I will check Rick's technology page and see what Tom has written. Thanks to you all,Dana

DANA, BUY AN INTERNATIONAL CALLING CARD IN EUROPE. FOR 5 EUROS YOU WILL GET 360 MINUTES TO CALL BACK HOME WITH NO CELL PHONE TO CARRY.

Dana: The answer is: it depends on the kind of US cell phone you have. Your question has been asked by many people on the helpline in recent weeks/months and you can retrieve these answers by using the search box in the upper right corner of this webpage.

Dana, a few more comments for you. First, although you have an AT&T GSM Phone, you must check to determine your phone has the Euro frequency bands. If you have a quad-band phone such as the RAZR, you won't have any problem.

Using SIM cards for each country is an awkward and unnecessary solution (also the phone MUST be unlocked). The easiest method is to simply use 'roaming' with your home network. It's important to make sure you understand the roaming rates both for in-country calls as well as calls to the US. Keep voice calls short, as these are the most expensive. Using text for contacting friends (even back home) is the most cost effective solution!

Also ensure the Charger for the phone will operate on Euro electrical systems (most of the Motorola Chargers are dual-voltage AFAIK). You will need a Plug Adapter though.

I always travel with my quad-band GSM phone and haven't had any trouble using it anywhere in Europe.

If you have any further questions, send a PM.

Che

Dana,

If you have an AT&T phone and it is usable in Europe (i.e. it is tri or quad band), then AT&T will unlock it for you at no cost. Cingular unlocked the phone of the person from whom I bought it (whereas they would not have unlocked it for me) as they were a customer.
Just call AT&T and tell them you are going to Europe and need your phone unlocked. They will send you the code by email in a couple of days. You enter the code and your phone is permanently unlocked. This in no way restricts its use. PM me for more info if needed.

Dana, a few pointers that I have discovered. I also have AT&T.

First, if you're not worried about having to need a phone at all hours of the day and in all locations then I would suggest the calling card route. It's cheaper than using your cell phone.

Your current phone will work as long as it is set up to handle all of the GSM bands. AT&T will be able to tell you this.

Also, make sure to CALL CUSTOMER SERVICE and have them activate international roaming on your phone. THEY MUST DO THIS OR YOUR PHONE WILL NOT WORK. The idiots who work in the stores and at the kiosks are not trained properly to answer this question. You must call customer service.