Travel Phones
Should you get a travel phone when going abroad?
Imagine yourself going abroad and not having a way to connect with you relatives and friends in your home country? Or imagine meeting new friends while abroad and be able to catch up with them? Imagine having an emergency situation, be among locals who don’t speak English, and your local coordinator is not near you? Pretty stressful, don’t you think?
Is your local cell phone carrier too expensive to use abroad? Are you scared that you will get hammered by cell phone bills when you come back? Not necessarily, and this is why you need to plan your program abroad trip as thoroughly as possible so that you don’t end up paying extra or not having help when it is most needed.
 Cell phones have become a part of our lives virtually in every country of the world. Imagine yourself losing your cell phone, what would you do? A lot of us panic, feel disconnected and disoriented – as bad as it sounds, it’s true! Now imagine yourself without a cell phone rental when you are on your volunteer abroad trip! Most of the time, travel phone can be just as important as your travel insurance.
We all know how important it is to stay connected especially when you are going abroad to a different country! So when you plan your program abroad trip be sure to get yourself a travel phone to be able to stay in touch.
Can I use my U.S. based cell phone abroad?
If you don’t want to get a travel phone and instead use your US based cell phone operator – it is all up to you. The trade off might be the price, limitation and quality of your roaming service. If you have a GSM operator (such as T-mobile and ATT) – you got lucky! Why? Because most of the world uses GSM networks for their mobile service.
Both T-mobile and ATT have good partnerships and agreements in a lot of major countries of the world where they provide their roaming service. As you might know, ATT is huge and T-mobile is German owned company, so Europe is not a problem for them at all. Now what the cost of their services you would have to find on your own, it might not be the cheapest option that you have.
Can I use any GSM phone abroad?
That’s not so easy. If you are using your roaming service it all might depend on what kind of cell phone you got. Nokia is one of the good ones because they have multi-band GSM supporters built in them. But if you are not using your roaming service you most likely will not be able to use your phone abroad unless it is unlocked. When you have an unlocked travel phone to take with you, all you need is to buy a local GSM sim card and you are good to go. Most of them cost not more than your U.S. cell phone service.
Should I get an international cell phone?
This probably would be your cheapest option and best service that you can get for the amount of money that you will pay. It is also going to be the most easy-to-use cell phone service while being abroad.
What are the benefits of getting an international cell phone?
- You will save a great deal on international calls
- You can use your international service in many more countries then with roaming
- You can get a rechargeable pin or sim card and use only as much as you need
- There no contracts, obligations, hidden fees or “surprise bills”
- You will have some sort of FREE incoming calls feature
- Some travel phone providers will allow certain numbers to call your number for FREE
- It’s really easy to use and you can add as many minutes as you need (or not use at all if you don’t need it)
That’s about it. Search your options, stay on top of things and be smart about your planning!
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