Re: Traveller Seeks Phone Advice

Hi, I'm planning on traveling to the US and Europe in the near future

> so I'd appreciate some recommendations on which providers I should use
> for cell service and phone/calling cards.

See

which compares 17 prepaid plans for the United States. It's a great site, as it compares all aspects of each plan, including coverage, minimums, roaming, per-minute charges, daily access fees, per call surcharges, etc.. I'd say that even if it wasn't my site!

The short answer is this:

For the U.S., get a TDMA service from

. They'll sell you a TDMA/AMPS phone, or you can pick up a used phone very cheaply (look at for the first city you'll be in in the U.S.). The used phone must have previously been active on AT&T's TDMA network (not Cingular's). There is no charge to activate your own phone, and you can buy time on-line. Don't worry about which area code you get. Minutes do not expire.

The other good option in the U.S. is CallPlus TDMA

While they have a higher per-minute rate, and a higher minimum, they do include international long distance to many countries at no extra charge (see Same deal regarding handsets, they'll sell you one, or you can use an AT&T TDMA handset.

What about GSM in the U.S.?

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GSM service in the U.S. is not great, with large areas still having no coverage. SIM cards are quite expensive, as are prepaid minutes. If you go the GSM route, avoid T-Mobile, and go with Cingular, and be certain to get a phone that supports 800 Mhz and 1900 Mhz GSM (800 Mhz is sometimes called 850 Mhz).

What about CDMA in the U.S.?

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Coverage is excellent, but prepaid CDMA is more expensive than prepaid TDMA.

Europe

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For Europe, the best deal is to obtain an unlocked dual band (900/1800 Mhz) GSM phone, and then use Riiing. You didn't say where you are located, you can see the Riiing product at

GSM Phone for Europe and Riiing

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Triband GSM phones (900/1800 & 1900) are very cheap now, because they are not well-suited for the U.S. anymore because most GSM is at 800 Mhz. See

for a good deal on a tri-band GSM phone. For U.S. GSM use you want a dual band 800/1900 Mhz handset, or a quad-band (800/1900 & 900/1800). The quad-band GSM phones are still pretty expensive.