Keeping in touch when you're on the go

Keeping in touch when you're on the go

Keeping in touch with home can be a problem when you're traveling
overseas. Beyond the usual hassle of changing locations and time
zones, you face a bewildering variety of call-home and call-from-home
options. Moreover, phone operators of all stripes—and technologies—are
notorious for trying to extract your last dollar. So it's no surprise
that we get quite a few questions such as this one: "Do you have a
suggestion for good values on renting a cell phone for an
international trip, or do you have another suggestion?" As is so often
the case, a simple-looking question has several answers.

Cell Phones

With a cell phone, you can keep in touch, 24/7, in both directions. If
you already have a GSM cell phone in the U.S. and if that phone is a
"three-band" model that handles the 900 MHz bandwidth most frequently
used internationally (or even better, a four-band model that also
handles 1800 MHz), you can use that phone in many countries overseas.
You have two options for doing this:

* Ask your cell carrier to enable your phone and its number
overseas. The advantage is that you keep your regular number, so that
people automatically know how to reach you. That's also a
disadvantage: If callers don't know you're overseas, you'll get lots
of incoming calls at odd hours. Although you don't have to buy
anything new, the per-minute costs of both outgoing and incoming calls
are high—up to $3 per minute.
* Unlock your GSM phone (if it isn't unlocked already) and buy
temporary replacement SIM cards for the countries you'll be visiting.
Those SIM cards include pre-paid minutes, which you can add to if
necessary. Expect to pay around $20 for each card (plus minutes). You
get a different number for each SIM card, which you can give to anyone
who matters back home. Rates on outgoing calls are low (starting at
around 20 cents per minute to the U.S.), and incoming calls generally
cost nothing. Or you can get a "global" SIM card that you can use in
dozens of countries for about $50, with most calls costing around 50
cents per minute.

If your U.S. cell phone isn't GSM, you can rent a GSM phone for the
duration of your trip in most of the world. Rentals typically start at
around $20 per week, but they can run up above $50. Ttry
rentacellularphone.com or travelcell.com for some rental options. Some
tour operators pitch "free" cell phone rentals as extras on their
tours. Regardless of rental rate, however, rates for both outgoing and
incoming calls tend to be pretty high. Or you can buy a cheap GSM
phone just for the trip, starting at around $50.

Calling cards

The simplest way to keep in touch is to use a calling card. But that
covers only outgoing calls; if people back home want to reach you,
they have to call through your hotel or rental unit.

Calling cards work overseas the same way as cards you use here. You
dial a local or toll-free number to get access to the card's long-haul
service, then enter some sort of PIN, then the number you want to
call. Typically, cards allow you to disconnect from one call and make
another without having to hang up and start over with the access
number. If you plan to remain at one number for an extended period,
some cards permit you to "register" that number for automatic
recognition so you don't need to enter your PIN for each call.

Continued...

Next Page
Pages: 1 | 2

http://www.smartertravel.com/advice/...8&u=SL4F6B4DC5


===
"People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents."
-- Andrew Carnegie, 19th-century robber baron