Are you planning that dream vacation to Europe?  If so, then one question you will probably be asking is, “Well my cell phone work?”  The answer is maybe; depending on the type of cell phone technology your service provider uses.  Most countries use GSM (Global System for Mobile) technology, and unless your service provider is T-Mobile or AT&T most United States cell phone companies, Verizon, Sprint, or Cricket, use CDMA, or iDEN technologies.  So the first thing you will want to do to ensure that your cell phone will work overseas is to acquire a cell phone service that provides GSM technology.
 

Once you have a GSM enabled cell phone there are still a couple things that you will want to consider before heading on that dream vacation.  One thing that you will want to remember is that even once your cell phone is compatible with overseas’ networks you will still be liable for roaming charges that apply to the country in which you are located and those fees can range anywhere from $1.50 to $5.00 per minute on both incoming and outgoing cell phone calls.  One option that you might want to consider is a world network enabled cell phone that you can usually rent for approximately $30 to $60 a week.

One of the best options available and it won’t cost a lot of extra money or aggravation is to buy a prepaid SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card for your GSM cell phone.  GSM phones are not loaded with a phone number or service attached but it is activated on the SIM card used for that cell phone.  When you purchase a prepaid SIM card you will receive a local number and only pay for local, non-roaming rates that usually run around $.25 per minute and usually incoming calls are free even if they are coming from the United States.  These SIM cards can be reloaded if you run out of minutes and you don’t have to worry about running up a huge cell phone bill.

One final option that is available through some U.S. service providers offer a worldwide service package for their subscribers.  You can compare all of these options and figure out which option will work best for you both financial and conveniently to help make your international vacation a dream come true.