Does Verizon Work in England?

John,

The "short answer" is NO, Verizon does not work in England (or anywhere else in Europe), as Verizon uses CDMA technology that is not compatible with GSM that is used by about 85% of the rest of the world.

I believe Verizon have a rental program and can provide a "dual technology" phone that will operate in GSM service areas. Be VERY clear on the rates though, so that you'll have a good idea what this will cost.

You could also check Cellular Abroad, as they offer rental phones OR you could pick up an inexpensive PAYG Phone when you arrive in the U.K.

Happy travels!

Wow...I get to correct Kent. (A rarity)

It depends on which phone you have. Some of Verizon's phone are dual/quad band...CDMA in the US and GSM overseas. The following Verizon's phones will work in Europe...some may need a sim card--which Verizon will supply--and others have it built in:

Blackberry Storm

Blackberry World Edition 8830

Samsung Saga

Samsung Reknown

Motorla Moto World Edition

If you don't have one of these phones, and your trip is for less than three weeks, Verizon has a Global Travel Program which allows you to "borrow" a global phone for free, transfer your phone's data and number over to it, and then use it in Europe. When you return, you just send it back and reactivate your regular phone. The only thing you pay for is usage. (Not cheap but people can contact you at your phone number.)

If your trip is more than three weeks, then either renting or buying is the way to go.

Frank: Oh oh, my bad. Looks like I'm in over my head on this one, so I'll leave it to you and Ken (two of our phone gurus) to clarify this.

Frank,

Just to clarify the technical terminology, the "world" phones provided by Verizon are a dual technology, dual band Phone, containing both CDMA and GSM technologies.

These are equipped with the North American CDMA frequency bands as well as the two Euro (and rest-of-the-world) GSM frequency bands (900 / 1800 MHz). They are not capable of operating on the North American GSM networks which use 850 / 1900 MHz (which I suspect was an intended goal of the design). Some may also be capable of operating on the Euro data networks (especially the newer Blackberries) which are also equipped with 2100 MHz bands, but I haven't checked that lately.

John,

One point about using the Verizon rental program - using your existing number could be either an advantage or disadvantage depending on the circumstances. If the phone is for personal use (and you're paying the bill) getting frequent calls (especially at 04:00 Euro time) is a darn nuisance and potentially very expensive! If this is for business use (and the firm is paying the bill), then receiving the more expensive calls from the U.S. may not be a concern (however, you'd still have to contend with calls at 04:00 from those who have "forgotten" that you were in Europe and didn't bother to check the time zone differences).

Cheers!

Ken...FYI....the Blackberry Storm is Quad Band (as is one of the Motorola Motos and One of the Samsungs).

The Storm has:

Dual–band 800/1900 MHz CDMA/EV–DO Rev. A networks;

Quad–Band: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks

single–Band: 2100 MHz UMTS/HSPA networks

Sim cards already included

Kent...I'm no expert. I just happen to be a Verizon customer who is looking for not only a new smartphone but a way to use the data service in Europe.

Frank,

Thanks for the information on the Storm. As I mentioned ("especially the newer Blackberries") which are also equipped with 2100 MHz bands"), I haven't looked too closely at the newer Blackberries yet but I figured they would be equipped with a greater range of frequencies. I believe the older 8830 has the characteristics I specified?

I'm surprised they included the North American GSM frequencies, and assume the Storm will be "locked" in order to prevent Verizon customers from using an AT&T or T-Mobile PAYG SIM card?

I think it's highly likely that a "Storm 2" will be released in the not-too-distant future for use on GSM networks (once they get the inevitable "bugs" worked out of the initial model). Some other manufacturers (LG) are also marketing products of this type, so the competition will keep RIM "on their toes".

This will all change again in a year or two, when the new LTE technology starts to roll out, so I'm not buying any new phones or locking into any long-term plans for a while. My venerable Motorola GSM quad-band works just fine both at home and in Europe, so no reason to buy anything else at the moment.

Cheers!

Very helpful information. Thanks. I like the idea of having my cell phone number work while in England and I guess I have time to get the phone I need from Verizon: one month.

I think I will simply turn off the cell phone when I go to bed.

Next stop: Verizon website.

Ken,

From what I hear, the Storm is exclusive to Verizon as they paid for its development. (Their version of the iphone.)

Blackberry World Edition is only dual band GSM as you stated.

What a lot of people don't realize is that Verizon Wireless is co-owned by Verizon and Vodaphone. So, Vodaphone also has the Storm.

Yes, like most Verizon phones, it is locked. However, I've been told, Verizon will give you the "unlock" code" if you are persistent.

Frank,

Based on the information I have at the moment, I believe the Storm is only exclusive to Verizon in the U.S. AFAIK, it's being offered by the CDMA networks here in Canada (Telus, Bell). Perhaps they contributed to the development also?

I very much suspect there will be a GSM version in the very near future (they can't afford to ignore such a large segment of the market).

Cheers!

See why I love this site? Now I have a headache.

Possibly...but I believe, in the States, VZW has a two year exclusive on the Storm.

Verizon Wirelss has the Storm

ATT has the iphone.

And Sprint is now introducing the Palm Pre.

Each now has a touch screen, multimedia, web browsing phone.

I just finished dealing with verizon on temporarily getting a world phone for my uk trip (went a different vendor in the end). The only thing I would add would be that the loan period is 30 days (from the day it is mailed out to you to the day it is received back by Verizon). I was told that caller id should work, but no gurantees and no way to check in advance.

Hi All,

Verizon rental program no longer exists - I'd recommend reading this post:

--- Edit ---

What Happened to Verizon's Global Phone Rental Program. It is from my blog. While my post is about Verizon, I am not intending to promote any particular commercial entity.

--- End Edit ---

I would suggest an unlocked GSM phone, dual-band would be just fine for most of Europe (900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands), then buy a local SIM for the country you're traveling to. If you're traveling to more than one country in Europe - check out roaming SIM rates.

Hope this helps...
Kevin

Sorry, Kevin, but it does exist. It was Vodaphone's rental program that ceased for Verizon customers. Verizon has replaced it with their own program:

Occasional Global Traveler

It even says so in the article you linked to.

Hi Frank

Thanks for clearing that up.

You are correct, Verizon now have a service called the Occasional Global Traveler program but this is not the same as their Global Rental service offered through Vodafone, which was discontinued in October 2009. The Global Rental service used to be located at – www.vzwrentinternational.com

The main differences with the new program are:

You no longer pay a daily rental fee (previously $3.99/day with the Global Rental program)
Calls are not as cheap as the old Global Rental program. Since Vodafone provided the Global Rental service, calls into Europe were quite a bit cheaper, around $0.38/min.
The new program is available for up to 21 days. Verizon will try to upgrade your plan to a Global phone device for longer travel durations and frequent travelers.
Usage of this program will be billed to your VZW account. The Global Rental program was billed separately through Vodafone.

How do I know this?
I was part of the team at Vodafone Rental, who provided this service for Verizon customers since 1993.

Hope this was helpful info,

Best regards,

Kevin

John, I've always found it easiest to just get an unlocked phone off Ebay/Craiglist, or get a locked one (or your own if it's GSM) and unlock it.

Disadvantage: Doesn't have your US cel number. Advantage: Doesn't have your US cel number. ;)

You can buy SIM cards all over.