Taking the Measure

Do you want to use your cell phone while traveling overseas? There are some steps you can take to make your calling more economical, but it’s not completely convenient—if your phone will work in foreign countries at all. The New York Times discusses what to do in an article today.

The article begins by describing the experiences of (supposedly) hapless business traveler and San Diego businessman Ken Grunski:

“As a T-Mobile subscriber [he] knew that his cell phone would work during a trip to Tanzania. What he did not expect was the bill: $800 for 10 days’ use. ‘I didn’t think I was going to use my phone that much,’ Mr. Grunski said. ‘But two to three 10-minute calls a day, and it adds up.’

Now I seriously doubt that the owner of a company that makes phone-bill-lowering SIM (subscriber identity module) cards was truly shocked at the cost; I suspect that he felt his time was too valuable to spend making the necessary arrangements to lower his charges. Nevertheless, the article outlines the steps you can take to use your phone in foreign countries while controlling roaming fees.

First, if you live in the US, you’ll need a GSM phone, which pretty much means you’ll need Cingular (AT&T) or T-Mobile as your service provider. (Sprint, I recall, once advertised a dual CDMA/GSM phone, but when I tried to buy one it seemed to have been discontinued.)  Then you’ll need to make sure you’ve selected at least a tri-band and preferably a quad-band phone (GSM services in the US operate at 850 and 1900 MHz; GSM services in other countries generally use 900- and 1800-MHz bands).

If you’ve met those conditions you should be all set to make and receive three or four or more dollars-per-minute calls. If you want to cut that bill, you’ll find the fun just beginning. You can purchase a SIM for the country you’ll be traveling in from a company like Telestial, but you’ll need sure that your phone can be unlocked to accommodate it. If you’re your service provider is unwilling to do that (the likely case), you can turn to companies like The Travel Insider, who will do it for a fee. The organization can unlock some phones remotely; others you would need to send in.

Is unlocking legal? Says The Travel Insider’s FAQ: “It is your phone, isn't it?  Then surely it is as legal that you unlock your phone as it is that you give it away, lose it, break it, leave it turned off, or do just about anything else with it!”