Travel Technology - Using your USA phone in Europe

We're getting ready to purchase new phones & tweak our calling plan. This time we're getting GSM-capable phones ( such as the Motorola Razr V3 ) so that we can bring them along with us.

I'm just curious if other FTers have done the same and wonder how it has all worked out for you.

As I understand it, they give you an additional SIM card for international use and you can access the network whilst in Europe. We're focused upon ATT or possibly Verizon. Both require an additional monthly payment to belong to an international plan ( $5 to $6 /mo ) & additional calling fees apply ( 99 cents/min where we travel to ).

Truth be told, I'm in no hurry to do an ET and call home. We go to Europe 4 to 6 times a year and simply want to have a phone handy in case there's a problem or need.

Thanks in advance for any insights or thoughts you can offer.

Barry

Travel technology forum has a lot of info on your question.

I am not an expert ... however, I have a SonyEricsson (3 years old) with T-Mobile and it worked well in Europe, it's about 1 $ a minute, OK for me, I don't use it a lot.

We're getting ready to purchase new phones & tweak our calling plan. This time we're getting GSM-capable phones ( such as the Motorola Razr V3 ) so that we can bring them along with us.

I'm just curious if other FTers have done the same and wonder how it has all worked out for you.

As I understand it, they give you an additional SIM card for international use and you can access the network whilst in Europe. We're focused upon ATT or possibly Verizon. Both require an additional monthly payment to belong to an international plan ( $5 to $6 /mo ) & additional calling fees apply ( 99 cents/min where we travel to ).

Truth be told, I'm in no hurry to do an ET and call home. We go to Europe 4 to 6 times a year and simply want to have a phone handy in case there's a problem or need.

Thanks in advance for any insights or thoughts you can offer.

Barry

Ok, I already posted about this elsewhere. First of all, a plan for Europe for you Razr can only be bought from ATT, Verizon will never give you a stand alone sim card for International travel. Secondly, I don't think that it makes sense to get a local plan, pay monthly and pay outrageous roaming fees. Buy a local sim card I Europe, or get your self a special low cost phone that you buy, and it remains yours for life with no monthly fees, I personaly reccomend cellomobile.com, I use their services in some destinations (I have a special corporate package from them, which is not on their site, call them up so they can customize something for you). But for sure stay away from the USA providers which all charge hefty fees plus fancy taxes which is always about 25 percent more.....

Travel technology forum has a lot of info on your question.

I second that. ^

We too have a Sony phone currently with AT&T and don't bother with that International Plan of theirs as we use it very little, mainly for text messages.

travelpro2008 has provided useful suggestions and you'll find much more detail and many (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=569462) useful threads in the Travel Technology forum.

Cheers,
Fredd

Ok, I already posted about this elsewhere. First of all, a plan for Europe for you Razr can only be bought from ATT, Verizon will never give you a stand alone sim card for International travel. Secondly, I don't think that it makes sense to get a local plan, pay monthly and pay outrageous roaming fees. Buy a local sim card I Europe, or get your self a special low cost phone that you buy, and it remains yours for life with no monthly fees, I personaly reccomend cellomobile.com, I use their services in some destinations (I have a special corporate package from them, which is not on their site, call them up so they can customize something for you). But for sure stay away from the USA providers which all charge hefty fees plus fancy taxes which is always about 25 percent more.....

My ATT worldphone is unlocked, so I can just buy a local prepaid SIM when I an in Europe; much less hassle than having a 2nd phone just for use over there. This was part of a corporate deal, so not sure what it would cost to unlock a personal ATT phone.

For my previous ATT phone I paid about 5 bucks per month extra for an overseas calling plan that made calls while in the EU reasonably affordable. I assume that for personal use you could get that calling plan removed as soon as you got back if traveling only infrequently. For long calls, you can always get friends/family to call you on your hotel phone for similar cost of an interstate call (or use skype), so there's really no reason why you should be using much over 50 minutes per week - and for that usage the discounte rate plan is an inexpensive way to avoid the hassle not having your own phone and number.

As stated above, there's a ton of information over in Travel Technology, but here are a couple of points:

Forget about Verizon - their phones are customized to use their CDMA network , not a GSM network (whic is the type of network used in Europe).

AT&T and T-Mobile are the GSM networks in the US. Your US number can be used in Europe (via a partner roaming network), or you can also have AT&T or T-Mo unlock your US-sourced phones so that you can buy an inexpensive SIM card in Europe (this is what I do).

Having the phone unlocked in no way makes the phone any less functional while you are in the US :)

You will want to buy a quad-band phone (the RAZR is one popular quad-band model, but there are many alternatives).

Travel technology forum has a lot of info on your question.

and that's where this thread found its new home :)

regards,

chrissxb
moderator
europe forum

Forget about Verizon - their phones are customized to use their CDMA network , not a GSM network (whic is the type of network used in Europe).


Unless you have the BlackBerry 8830 or the Storm. ;)

I highly recommend getting the phone unlocked if you are going to make many calls at all. Getting a local SIM every time you visit is a bit of a pain, but if you are there regularly enough and in the same country(ies) then you can just have one that you use there and one in the USA and be fine.

I use my VZW SIM for data service worldwide because the plan they offer is, by far, the best one I can get for the money ($65/month unlimited globally) but will switch to a local sim for voice calls/SMS if I'm using it with any volume.

For casual use in Europe, just bring your AT&T phone and use it if you need to, no extra SIM or anything needed. (As others have noted, Verizon phones only work in North America.) At 99 cpm it's not cheap, but for small amounts of calling, it'll still be cheaper than buying a local SIM for $20 or more. Also, for emergencies, you'll have your regular home mobile number in case someone at home needs to find you. The other simple travel SIM is Mobal, but their price per minute is higher than AT&T so why bother?

Before you leave, call 611 and tell AT&T that you're going to Europe so they turn on international roaming. AT&T's international traveler plan costs 20 cents/day, which is less than the difference between the normal 1.29 rate and the discounted 99 cent rate, so if you expect to be making on average one minute of calls per day, it's worth it. The price is $6/mo, but you can tell them the exact days to turn it on and off and they'll prorate it. They say to leave it on for an extra week until all the bills for foreign calls arrive, but I wouldn't bother unless you make a lot of calls the day you leave.

If you spend a lot of time in a particular country, a local SIM will be cheaper, but that's a separate question.

Unless you have the BlackBerry 8830 or the Storm. ;)



Sprint also has some models that have an additional GSM radio for use outside the US. Never used one though.

Also check out www.prepaidgsm.net forums -- especially the forum on international prepaid SIMs -- there are some out that that give you reasonable deals in lots of countries. Local country SIMs are almost always a better deal, but if traveling in multiple countries they simplify life -- not changing SIMs and phone numbers when changing countries.

But getting the phone unlocked is step 1.

One other advantage of getting local prepaid SIMs in Europe is that incoming calls are free. So if the people you want to talk to have a decent long distance plan (or you need to keep in touch with the office), have them call you right back.

One other advantage of getting local prepaid SIMs in Europe is that incoming calls are free. So if the people you want to talk to have a decent long distance plan (or you need to keep in touch with the office), have them call you right back.

There's no question, if you actually plan to use your phone much, a local number will be cheaper. (Here in the UK the month to month plans are amazingly good, way cheaper than their US equivalents.)

But the original question was about casual use, and having priced out the options, I still find that paying a dollar a minute for a few minutes is less hassle than getting a new SIM and telling everyone what your new number is.

Also, "free" is a fairly misleading term for inbound mobile calls. My rather cheap VoIP service charges 31 cpm for calls to UK mobiles, 21 cents to French. The cost effective approach is for them to call you back on a landline, such as the one in your hotel room.

Truth be told, I'm in no hurry to do an ET and call home. We go to Europe 4 to 6 times a year and simply want to have a phone handy in case there's a problem or need.



The operative issue(s) are regular visits to Europe during any given year. Paying a dollar or more per minute with your USA calling plan is ok if your usage is low.

But it probably makes more sense and economical to get a second gsm unlocked phone and a prepaid sim card (and keeping the same number). A simple unlocked gsm phone is cheap - for instance the prepaid TMO motorola V195 can be had for less than $35.00. There are tons of them on eBay. Pm if you need more help.

But it probably makes more sense and economical to get a second gsm unlocked phone and a prepaid sim card (and keeping the same number).

No need to have two phones. Half the time AT&T doesn't bother to lock their phones, even when they do they'll usually unlock them for you. If he's in a single country in Europe enough to be worth getting a SIM there, he can just swap it into the same phone.

The operative phrase is single country, though. Intra-European roaming rates aren't as bad as they used to be, but they're not a lot cheaper than AT&T either. I've tried getting a baggie full of SIMs, one per country, and can report that it's way more hassle than it's worth for short trips.

I wouldn't use any American provider's international service -- they're far too expensive. Either pick up an unlocked GSM phone somewhere (my wife got a very nice LG phone new here in China for $50), get a 4-band AT&T or T-Mobile phone (they're GSM) or a Verizon Blackberry 8830 or Storm. Do NOT pay for the international plan. Get your phone unlocked (may take some persuasion but, if you've been a long-time customer or had the phone for a while, your provider will give you the unlock code) and buy a SIM card at your destination.

That takes care of your mobile calling needs. For calls from the hotel, get a MagicJack for $30. You'll be able to call back to the US for free (that is not a typo -- it's free and it works really, really well -- I've been using it here in China), and for "local" calls to the country that you're in, the rates are 1 to 2 cents a minute. You don't need a telephone -- any earpiece/microphone works fine. You can even use your laptop's speakers and a microphone as a speakerphone.

We all forget that things change over time -Verizon offers the following GSM phones :
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/store/controller?item=phoneFirst&action=viewPhonesByFeatures&capId=68&deviceType=Phones

We all forget that things change over time -Verizon offers the following GSM phones :
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/store/controller?item=phoneFirst&action=viewPhonesByFeatures&capId=68&deviceType=Phones

Indeed they do, but they're rather expensive and have the GSM bolted onto the side of a CDMA phone. For the price, you'd be better off getting a normal CDMA phone for North America and a used GSM phone from ebay for Europe.

I second the unlocked phone and either an international SIM card (see the sticky at the top of the page for a very good thread on them) or a local country specific SIM card if you are in the same country all the time.

If they can't/won't unlock your phone, you can buy them all over the internet and in many stores.

I second the unlocked phone and either an international SIM card (see the sticky at the top of the page for a very good thread on them) or a local country specific SIM card if you are in the same country all the time.

In Europe I didn't find this as compelling for some of the reasons noted. At $1.29 a minute, it would take more minutes than I was using to make even a $20 SIM worth it. Just not making many calls.

Recently in SIN and HKG I had to make a bunch of calls to get some CX award space. With rates like 6 cents a minute, it was a no-brainer to get te local SIMs.

Cheers.

I second the unlocked phone and either an international SIM card (see the sticky at the top of the page for a very good thread on them) or a local country specific SIM card if you are in the same country all the time.

If they can't/won't unlock your phone, you can buy them all over the internet and in many stores.cordelli is right and here's the link to the sticky.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=569462

i've taken my unlocked nokia 6131 (quad band) to france and it was a piece of cake. just bought the sim and popped it in. both goalie-parents and goalie-sis used my old unlocked nokia 6102 (tri band) with the same positive results.

also to keep in mind that most eu sim cards allow for free incoming calls (no matter where the caller is located) so say for sake of argument, your family calls you from the u.s., it will be free for you to receive the call but i recommend they get a phone card as it will be cheaper for them that way.

Even though Verizon has a really good network in the US, I will not consider it since I don't want to have to deal with two separate phones.

Unless you have the BlackBerry 8830 or the Storm. ;)

I highly recommend getting the phone unlocked if you are going to make many calls at all. Getting a local SIM every time you visit is a bit of a pain, but if you are there regularly enough and in the same country(ies) then you can just have one that you use there and one in the USA and be fine.

I use my VZW SIM for data service worldwide because the plan they offer is, by far, the best one I can get for the money ($65/month unlimited globally) but will switch to a local sim for voice calls/SMS if I'm using it with any volume.

I second this response. I had the 8830 and now the Storm, both unlocked. Ill try the Storm out next week in London. I love getting my data while over there, and pro rated at that. When I wanna make calls, I have an Orange sim that I pay 6p a min back to the states, better than the 99c per min from Verizon.

Even though Verizon has a really good network in the US, I will not consider it since I don't want to have to deal with two separate phones.

You dont have to have two phones. Verizon has a few phones that have sim cards in them.

You dont have to have two phones. Verizon has a few phones that have sim cards in them.
That's true--I have seen them but not much selection. I use an iPhone so that has pretty much locked me to one carrier.

That's true--I have seen them but not much selection. I use an iPhone so that has pretty much locked me to one carrier.

The truth comes out. You're not opposed to Verizon or its phones; you just have drunk the iPhone Kool-Aid. :)

For casual use in Europe, just bring your AT&T phone and use it if you need to, no extra SIM or anything needed. At 99 cpm it's not cheap, but for small amounts of calling, it'll still be cheaper than buying a local SIM for $20 or more. Also, for emergencies, you'll have your regular home mobile number in case someone at home needs to find you.

Agree with the above. It's what I do. And if you want to keep costs down, text instead of call. Cheers.

t-mobile uk has an option where if you opt-in, at no charge, their pre-pay SIMs allow you to call the USA & Canada for 10p per minute.

Thats a very good deal, their uk calls are about 10 ppm too after the first 2 minutes each day.

They are giving away free pre pay sim's on their website, if you know where you will be staying in the uk, it might be worth ordering one to be delivered to your uk address.

Thanks all for the feedback/advice. It looks like an unlocked phone with a SIM is the best way for us to go since our need is to have the phone availible for emergency use or an unexpected need.

I find some good links on providers from some of the links provided here by helpful FTers. Thanks again all.

Barry

That's true--I have seen them but not much selection. I use an iPhone so that has pretty much locked me to one carrier.
Not alot, but the Storm is a touchscreen like the i phone. The screen is amazing on this thing!