Keeping in Touch While You're On The Road
Joe Sharkey, the New York Times writer who miraculously survived a tragic mid-air collision in Brazil earlier this month, wrote an article yesterday about the 'how to's' of cell phones when you are traveling to foreign countries. Unfortunately, given the minor inconvenience of surviving a plane crash, he was unable to do his research while he was in Brazil and didn't have many answers.
A recent article in Budget Travel Magazine explored the same topic:
The GSM network, used by T-Mobile and Cingular, is the standard for most of the world. If you have a Verizon Wireless phone, which operates on the CDMA network, chances are you won't be able to make calls in Europe, Australia, or Africa. The frequencies, or bands, also have to match. Some cell-phone models are dual-band, which is fine for the two GSM frequencies most common in the U.S., 850 and 1900 MHz. Others are tri- or quad-band, so they work at home and abroad, where the most common frequencies are 900 and 1800 MHz.
I am a huge proponent of traveling with a tri-band phone and buying a SIM card from the local phone company when you arrive at your destination. It's cheap, easy, and gives you a phone number where friends and family can reach you so you don't have to incur the long distance charges yourself! It also allows you to easily get in touch with local service providers for reservations, information and directions when you're lost. Our Staying in Touch section provides details on how to buy a SIM card in Brazil and who to buy it from, as well as alternatives for those who aren't too excited about taking on this task in Portuguese.
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