Travel Technology - Will my Cellphone work in London?

I have had no luck with this question when I contacted my service provider.
I have a LG Electronics Model TP 5250 operating on the Sprint PCS Network. It uses CDMA and is supposed to be 3G voice compatable. Can anyone tell me if I will be able to make or receive calls in London and will that usage be very expensive, or should I just leave my cellphone at home.

Thanks

Jay

Even though LG and Sprint claim it's a 3G phone it is not the same 3G as the rest of the world (and "three" in London) are using. Outside the US (and some parts of Asia) there is no CDMA. Leave the phone at home...

The only commerical functional 3G network (e.g. users can sign up for) is "3/Hutchison" US Verizon and Sprint phones use CDMA2000 technology, 3G networks in the EU use WCDMA. So no go on using a phone (sorry)... the least hassle option is just to rent a phone when you land if you will JUST be in London and change your Sprint voice mail remotely to reflect calling the UK number while travelling.

Thats what I thought. Thanks for the quick responses. I'll leave my phone at home.


Jay

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by JayBrian:
Thats what I thought. Thanks for the quick responses. I'll leave my phone at home.


Jay</font>

No real need to leave it home, don't forget that it WILL work at the airport, nothing like having to stand in line for a payphone if you need to call the airline to get rebooked... Bring it along just in case you need it when you are still on US soil...

ScottC is right. I was at the airport checked in to fly to Ams when they closed all the airports on 9/11. The cab lines were long & because I'd left my US cell at home, I couldn't call to get a ride home (someone finally loaned me theirs) or reassure my family that I was alright until I arrived at home.

Since then, even when I rented a GSM phone I still took the US w/ me in case I needed it in the states/airport. Now I have Siemens 46 tri-band so it works both US & overseas w/ no problems.

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Sharon

Depending on the length of stay in London, simply buying a bargain basement GSM phone and a local SIM card may be more cost effective than renting. Check out expansys (who I've used without problems on a couple of occasionos) who will quote in both USD and GBP.

www.expansys.com (http://www.expansys.com)

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Internaut:
Depending on the length of stay in London, simply buying a bargain basement GSM phone and a local SIM card may be more cost effective than renting. Check out expansys (who I've used without problems on a couple of occasionos) who will quote in both USD and GBP.

www.expansys.com (http://www.expansys.com)</font>

This is a great idea if you are staying for a long time or go frequently. You can keep your same UK number on either Vodafone or Virgin Mobile UK if you use your account every 6 months. The Virgin Mobile and Vodafone UK web sites show prepaid account phones you can get once you get there. Some of them are quite cheap. Calling time on Virgin Mobile is also very reasonable, about 20 pence per minute to the US as I recall. I did this a few years ago, buying a Vodafone handset and SIM in London. I was very pleased. Since switching to TMobile, I use that handset now in London but use one of the prepaid SIM cards that I have had for a while now.