By Connie Marianacci
It is very comfortable to take your cell phone everywhere you travel and for it to work.
There are actually a few options available:
1) You may check with your local provider to make your roaming available at the country you are traveling to.
2) You may buy a local SIM card when you arrive to the host country and have a local number.
3) You may rent a local cell phone.
Please note that the options may vary depending on the country you travel.
Roaming
This option is the most expensive both for receiving and making calls either to your home country or localy at the host country. You would maintain your original phone number at all times including the country and state code.
Local SIM Card
This option is the cheapest option but not available in all the countries; please check if it is available in the country you are traveling to. To be able to do this there are a few requirements you would need to take into consideration.
1) Cell Phone Bandwith
The cell phone bandwith is "the capacity of a telecom line to carry signals. A greater bandwidth indicates the ability to transmit a greater amount of data over a given period of time." (Mobile Media).
There are four different types of bandwiths used throughout the world, 850, 900, 1800 and 1900 Mhz, and each country is set up to work with at least one of them. (Kropla)
Bandwiths divided by continent:
North America: 859 Mhz, 1900 Mhz
Europe: 900 Mhz, 1800 Mhz
South America: 1900 Mhz
Note: There are countries that are exceptions to these figures, please check bandwiths for specific countries at GSM World
2) Cell Phone Lock
When you buy a cellphone, it is "locked" by your telephone provider so you may only use it with that provider. Some cell phone models come with the option of buying them unlocked and the cost is quite different. You may unlock your cell phone at some stores that sell cell phones either at your home country or your host country. You may also find this service available on internet stores. This will allow you to use a SIM card from any provider in that phone.
3) Prepaid SIM Card
When traveling for a short period of time, you want to find a prepaid SIM Card which you buy at the host country. The charge per minute is normally more expensive than if you called form a Plan Set SIM Card but this is your only option if you do not have a permanent address at the host country.
RENTING
This option might not be available in all the countries and the cost is normally very expensive.
All in all, please do a search online to see what you find on this matter since tecnology is quickly improoving and I have already seen other options that might be also interested but I have not tried myself.
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