MAY
30

Staying In Touch While Travelling

Over on USA Today, there is a great article about staying in touch while in another country, and the type of forethought that it takes to make sure the cell phone you have brought with you, will continue to allow you to phone home.

Currently, GSM is much more widely used than other phone technologies as more than 185 countries use the GSM system. I don't know how accurate this is, but as far as I know, only Rogers Wireless provides a GSM service and phones in Canada, meaning that it is very likely that you won't have a GSM phone that can be used in other countries.

Not all major U.S. (or Canadian) providers use GSM or CDMA standards. In 2004, Sprint merged with the Nextel wireless service to make them the largest U.S. retailer of iDen products and services. This "walkie-talkie" or "push-to-talk" network is popular among businesspeople for instant communication with colleagues or clients, coast-to-coast or even country-to-country. Some Asian countries with operating iDen networks include the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and parts of China.

Then you have to consider things like roaming charges, the network frequencies supported by your phone, prepaid SIM cards, and calling packages, all which might help you save money, and stay connected while abroad. Make sure you do your research or you might end up carrying a fancy looking paper weight.

Staying in touch while abroad takes thought [USA Today]

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