Phoning Home From Overseas

This weekend I'm off to Japan, playing the Mrs. on my husband's business trip. Since my cell phone coverage is as important to me as my bikini coverage, I've been researching my options for staying connected. Maybe my sweat equity can help you plan how you'll stay in touch on your overseas vacation this summer.

You have three basic options available when you want to make an international cell phone call.

Using Your Own Phone: It's not always possible and can be expensive, but it's easily done. In my case, in Japan they use a 3G network that's is completely different than the GSM network I use, so I've decided to rent a phone while I'm there.

Renting or Buying a SIM: With a GSM phone, you can replace your phone's SIM card with a local one. This option lets you pay local rates for an outgoing call, but incoming calls will cost the folks dialing you the international rate. One of the downsides of changing your SIM is that you may not have access to any of your contact and phone number information from your own phone's SIM card. The SIM cards you rent or buy usually have some prepaid minutes on them and there's always the issue of running out of minutes. Finally, renting or buying SIMs will only work with an unlocked cell phone. Locked cell phones can only accept SIM cards from your service, not others.

Renting or Buying an International Cell Phone: This option has become plentiful and inexpensive. A phone can cost you about $50 a week to rent. There are places to buy international phones at low prices, too. Just don't expect a top of the line phone. When you rent or buy a phone, you'll have a local number that no one will know and you won't have your contact information, but you will be able to make inexpensive calls.

Two of the most comprehensive and easy to use sites that I've found for renting phones and SIM cards are Cellular Abroad and Roadpost.

One of the easiest (not necessarily the best) ways I found to get a phone-to-go is with National Geographic's Talk Abroad Travel Phone.

Why won't my own phone work everywhere? It's a big world out there. U.S. cell phones work in more and more countries, but there's no one standard in the U.S. Most countries use the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications). If you have a quad-band phone you're more likely to be able to use it all over the world, since it supports the four major frequencies. A complete list of which country supports which frequency can be seen at GSM World.

AT&T and T-Mobile probably have the best coverage overseas. See AT&T's Wireless Travel Guide or T-Mobile's International Services page for information. Remember that you'll often be paying roaming charges for international calls, which can put a real damper on fond memories once you look at the bill.

Carriers like Verizon primarily use the CDMA carrier, which has great coverage, less so overseas. You can make roaming calls from certain countries if you are a Verizon user. Verizon sells some dual-mode CDMA /GSM phones as well.

Some other interesting options: Lots of variations on the theme, but here are a few notables. National Geographic's Talk Abroad Travel Phone works on a prepaid model, allowing customers to buy or rent a phone and then pay in advance for minutes. The service, which starts this month and will work in more than 100 countries, includes a United Kingdom-based number that customers can keep no matter where they go. You buy or rent the phone and the minutes. You pay a low flat rate of $0.90 per outgoing minute in the most frequently traveled countries. Rental starts at $18 a week; owning the phone costs $199. The phone is a bare basics phone. There are many other companies that offer the same services and cost anywhere from $20 to $50 a week for a phone rental.

Mobal World Phone is a phone you can buy for $50 (it's a GSM phone). You keep this phone and take it with you each time you travel. You get one international number that's yours as an added benefit.

If you want to bite the bullet and buy a new smartphone that'll work in most countries, look at PC Magazine's selection for global travelers. One of the top rated, the Samsung BlackJack with quad band, 3G speeds, and support for the HSDPA network, seems to be a great choice.

Crackberry addicts—you can even rent a BlackBerry for $99 a week, $25 a month for an annual contract.

My two cents? If you're a frequent overseas traveler, then buy yourself a good smartphone. If you're a less frequent traveler who mostly wants to check in at home, look for the rentals. Don't forget to bring the right international electric outlet adapters and set up your international activation before you go. Bon voyage.