Need Verizon phone that will work in Europe. Does LTE mean I don't worry about GSM vs CDMA anymore?

Don't worry about the "LTE" so much. Having a newer SMART phone makes it very likely it will work overseas, because the newer Verizon (and Sprint) smart phones can generally roam on GSM/non-CDMA networks. This is how Verizon is able to sell people on their international roaming plans.

Your (future) Verizon smart phone will almost certainly have a SIM card - a Verizon SIM card. (Yes, I think all LTE phones have SIM card now.) Verizon smart phones generally aren't locked, if you wish to replace the Verizon SIM with a local SIM card, but you won't have use of your Verizon phone number (for texts and calls) while the Verizon SIM is not in place (perhaps via WiFi calling, not sure). (Verizon has announced they plan to start locking new phones again very soon, so ASK about that if you buy a phone from Verizon.)

One point because you mention LTE: just because your LTE phone works on LTE networks in the US doesn't mean it will overseas, because US and European mobile companies use different frequencies. It's possible your US LTE phone works only on 3G or even very slow 2G "edge" networks. This depends entirely on the make/model of your new phone. Most phones don't support an unlimited number of radio frequencies (there are literally more than a dozen possible frequencies a phone might use worldwide, and most phones don't support them all). Case in point: I have a relatively new Moto E4. It supports all US LTE frequencies. In Portugal last month, I did get LTE connections sometimes but usually I was connected to 3G networks (which was fast enough for me actually). That's because my Moto E4 has only one of the European LTE frequencies (LTE band 7), whereas they use LTE bands 3 and 20 sometimes, and my phone can't use those frequencies. So it would pick up the 3G towers instead.

I had an older phone on a previous trip that would connect at 2G only in Europe, even though it was LTE at home. 2G "edge" is painfully slow for data, however.

If you buy an expensive top-of-the-line phone, it will likely support all of the European LTE frequencies.

You can check when you buy one. I have the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge and have been to Europe twice with it and just taken out the Sim card and put the new one in and it worked wonderfully. Most of the time the staff where I have bought the card helps with getting it working. As far as I am aware all of VZW phones now take SIM cards. The best thing to do is to ask when you buy it. Most are unlocked and take other sim cards.

If you go to a Verizon store, or call their regular number, you'll get at least two different answers to any one question. However, they do have a dedicated international department that has always been spot on with regard to giving accurate information. The telephone number is 1-800-711-8300. Give them a call and see if they can give you some guidance.

You can use the Verizon International Trip Planner to see if your phone will work in Europe. As others have noted, virtually all current models of smartphones will work. For our recent short trip to Europe, I just used the Travel Pass ($10 daily fee) which gave me full usage of all phone services without roaming or additional fees. This allowed me to keep my phone number (unlike using a local SIM), enabling me to receive email and texts from the US with no muss, no fuss. The fee is only invoked if you actually use the phone, and the daily rate is good for 24 hours from the time you start using the phone.

You can find the Trip planner at:
https://www.verizonwireless.com/solutions-and-services/international-travel/

LTE (long term evolution) technology is a fast cellular network. Most new smartphones (iPhones, Samsung) I would think have the LTE network already in place so no matter which SIM card you buy, you should have high-speed performance on that local cellular network. If you're on Wifi, LTE does not apply.

LTE (long term evolution) technology is a fast cellular network. Most new smartphones (iPhones, Samsung) I would think have the LTE network already in place so no matter which SIM card you buy, you should have high-speed performance on that local cellular network. If you're on Wifi, LTE does not apply.

But LTE is not one single frequency; different countries (and different continents) use different frequencies for LTE. One older prepaid Android phone I had was LTE in the US for Verizon and T-Mobile...but in Europe, only 2G, because it had none of the European LTE frequencies. My newest phone, a Moto E4 (abut six months old), has only one European frequency (LTE band 7), and in Portugal I occasionally picked it up, but most of the time I was on 3G networks, because my phone didn't have the other LTE frequencies used in Portugal.

The more expensive newer phones are likely to have most or all of the LTE frequencies used in Europe. But don't count on any newer phone having all or any of them. Depends on the make/model of phone.

Gypsy,

LTE is the next evolution of GSM, so these phones do require SIM cards. If LTE / 4G is not available in a particular area, the phone will default to the slightly slower 3G (or even 2G). If you decide to travel with Verizon international roaming, you won't have to bother with changing SIM cards. One point to note is that in order for phones to use any other SIM card than their home network, the phone must be "unlocked". AFAIK, all current Verizon smartphones are sold unlocked.

The frequency bands that will be available depend on which model of phone your home network provides. Verizon uses different models than AT&T and T-Mobile. Using iPhones as an example, this chart shows the various frequency bands assigned to each model - https://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/ .

If you obtain a Verizon GSM model, it should work fine for voice & text, but some European data frequencies may not be available. I use a GSM network at home, and have never had any problems accessing data in Europe.

I am having difficulty finding the exact Wikipedia site that lists all the cell phone frequencies used around the world in a convenient table. The ones I've found only give part of the necessary information (i.e., the frequencies used for LTE or the LTE band numbers, such as 3, 7, or 20 for Europe, but not both). There is a page with both, which makes it easy to ascertain if a phone should have coverage elsewhere.

If you can determine the bands you need or want, go to one of the sites with phone information and see if the necessary frequencies are on that phone.

For example, this site shows, in general, the LTE frequencies used around the world: LTE frequencies. Go to a site, such as phonearena.com and put in the phone you are considering. That web site will show the LTE bands, but doesn't link them with frequencies, so look for the band numbers you want. The Motorola Moto E4, for example, lacks bands 3 and 20, but has band 7.

Phonescoop has more detail if you click on the link to expand the frequencies description. It shows the band numbers, the radio frequency used, and where that frequency is used. Example: Moto E4.

Too much info? If so, I apologize, but this is one way to be sure without relying on possibly inaccurate information from a store clerk. Caveat to make it more complicated: Some phones have different models of the same phone depending on who is selling it, so you have to check to be sure.

Wow -- RS travelers rock, again! This is all great info and I hope to make a decision on a new phone in the next couple of weeks. Thanks, all, and Happy Trails!
GR

This wiki seems to have both bands and frequencies.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTEfrequencybands

Scroll down to deployments by region and there’s a link to a list of LTE networks .
I haven’t checked it for accuracy.

I did some research on this before going as I have a Verizon samsung s7. My understanding is ALL of the frequencies are in all phones. However not all are enabled. To enable the other frequencies you must Root your phone (actually a simple process but one that does involve some risk if you get into the wrong files) I have heard that Verizon has attempted to thwart this solution in it’s newer phones. Look on YouTube for some videos on how to root your phone. Sometimes just opening the Developer options does the same thing.

But even if you take your non rooted phone to Europe and find that it doesn’t work on 4g then try a different carriers’ SIM card. They often use different combinations of frequencies. I did this and got my samsung working ok.

The country I had the most problem in was France. So far in Italy, Montenegro and now in Bulgaria my phone works on local sims on 4g with no problem.

I did some research on this before going as I have a Verizon samsung s7. My understanding is ALL of the frequencies are in all phones. However not all are enabled. To enable the other frequencies you must Root your phone (actually a simple process but one that does involve some risk if you get into the wrong files) I have heard that Verizon has attempted to thwart this solution in it’s newer phones. Look on YouTube for some videos on how to root your phone. Sometimes just opening the Developer options does the same thing.

"Rooting" one's phone is an advanced option, most likely far beyond the tech abilities of most people on this forum. Not only is it dangerous but it is not even possible on some phones. Verizon for example is known to lock the bootloader on its phones, making it impossible to root them. Also, the procedure to root a phone (even if you can) is different for every make/model. Some YouTube demo for one make/model may be completely irrelevant for another phone, and if you try to follow it you may "brick" your phone (make it as useful as a brick - that is, dead).

Even if you could root your phone, you will find that the LTE limitation is often not just a "setting" that has been disabled - it's a limitation of the phone's hardware. Some phones just don't support all of the LTE frequencies you'd want overseas, period - they don't have the ability to communicate on those radio frequencies, period. Just rooting them won't get around that.