ATT Phones In Italy

Go to a web site such as phonescoop.com and input the type of phone you have. Then be sure it has the necessary radio frequencies to work in Europe (900 and 1800). Do you know if your phone is unlocked? It must be if you want to use a local SIM card. AT&T will give you the codes necessary to unlock it if you've been with them for the necessary time (not sure what they currently require). To give you the best answer, we need to know what kind of use you plan to make of the phone. Local calls? Calls to U.S.? Text messages? Outgoing calls? Incoming calls? Internet usage? If you don't plan to use it much, I tend to recommend just sticking with your current phone and U.S. carrier. It is just easier for most people. You just can't use the phone much and you should definitely not use data from you U.S. carrier. Give us some of this information and we can give you better advice.

j, yes they will. att is on a gsm network. however, roaming charges can be quite costly even at a reduced rate with an international plan from att. if you're not going to be expecting any important calls...i 100% of the time just buy a sim card as soon as i land (about 30.00 or so) it comes with some credit. if you want more just buy a card with credit on it (same way as prepaid operates here in the states..itll prompt for english instructions if u need it) you then can call locally to your hotel or to any attraction or who ever you want. youll have a local italian number so itll be extremely inexpensive to do so. you may also call or text back to the states...of course youll use a bit more credit in doing so. makes life so much simpler without the worries of how much your phone bill will be upon return to the states. you can purchase at any 'tabbichi' (like a 7-11) or just ask a local to point you in the direction of a store.

thanks for the info. Don't plan on making many calls. Any idea what would text messages would cost?

Two blog postings for you: 1) Your cell phone options in Europe: http://www.lodgephoto.com/blog/going-wireless-in-europe-what-you-need-to-know-about-cell-phones/12/ 2) If you decide to roam with AT&T: http://www.lodgephoto.com/blog/set-up-iphone-for-europe-travel-save-money/277/ Mathew

It looks like AT&T charges $0.50 a message. International Roaming Rates