cell phone service to the US while in Tanzania

Will be on the northern circuit and most of the areas have cell phone
access (at least the guides seem to be able to call out) ... what's the
easiest and cheapest way to get a GSM ready cell phone for use over
there so we can check on an ill relative in the US?

Probably your best option is to buy a GSM phone in the US, and when
you arrive in Tanzania, buy a local SIM card and prepaid airtime. You
can do this at many stores in and around Dar es Salaam and other
cities, and top-up airtime is available almost anywhere.

Remember, you will need a TRIBAND GSM phone that is not locked to a US
service provider, as a standard US GSM phone or a locked phone will
not work there.

International calls from Tanzania are expensive, so be prepared to
spend a lot more than you would in the US.

Regards,
Marc

On 22 Dec 2006 11:56:00 -0800, "Bill" wrote:

Will be on the northern circuit and most of the areas have cell phone
access (at least the guides seem to be able to call out) ... what's the
easiest and cheapest way to get a GSM ready cell phone for use over
there so we can check on an ill relative in the US?

Marc Lurie wrote:

Probably your best option is to buy a GSM phone in the US, and when
you arrive in Tanzania, buy a local SIM card and prepaid airtime.

Thanks Marc ... on another forum someone suggested renting an
international phone from Verizon, which is available for $3.99 / day
plus reasonable airtime charges, which is probably what we'll go with
....

http://www.vzwrentinternational.com/...one_rental.asp
in case anyone else is interested in this ...

Bill

I've had a look at the Verizon website. The rental sounds like good
value at $4 per day, but the call charges look fairly high. They claim
$2.49 per minute for calls made from Africa which sounds high to me.
Of course, calls made TO the phone from the US will be at standard US
charges which ar fairly low.

FYI, you can buy "African" minutes for Iridium satellite phones in
South Africa at $0.99c per minute for ANY call from anywhere in Africa
to any destination worldwide, and that's for a satellite service that
will work even where there is no cellular infrastructure.

Cheers, and have a wonderful trip.

Marc

On 26 Dec 2006 07:28:06 -0800, "Bill" wrote:
Thanks Marc ... on another forum someone suggested renting an
international phone from Verizon, which is available for $3.99 / day
plus reasonable airtime charges, which is probably what we'll go with
...

http://www.vzwrentinternational.com/...one_rental.asp
in case anyone else is interested in this ...

Bill

When my daughter was working in Uganda she would just call us and let us
know she wanted to talk. We would then call her back on Skype Out for a few
cents a minute.

Scott

"Marc Lurie" wrote in message
...
I've had a look at the Verizon website. The rental sounds like good
value at $4 per day, but the call charges look fairly high. They claim
$2.49 per minute for calls made from Africa which sounds high to me.
Of course, calls made TO the phone from the US will be at standard US
charges which ar fairly low.

FYI, you can buy "African" minutes for Iridium satellite phones in
South Africa at $0.99c per minute for ANY call from anywhere in Africa
to any destination worldwide, and that's for a satellite service that
will work even where there is no cellular infrastructure.

Cheers, and have a wonderful trip.

Marc

On 26 Dec 2006 07:28:06 -0800, "Bill" wrote:
Thanks Marc ... on another forum someone suggested renting an
international phone from Verizon, which is available for $3.99 / day
plus reasonable airtime charges, which is probably what we'll go with
...

http://www.vzwrentinternational.com/...one_rental.asp
in case anyone else is interested in this ...

Bill