Cell Phone service in Europe.

[Mr Sunshine]

Hey man...2 weeks in Europe and then a 2 day motorcycle school.  Am I setting a good example.

[Global Rider]

I'm not a glued-to-my-ear cell phone user.

If that is the case, you're like me...I have a cell phone for emergency use and convenience. Mine may have rang 5 times while I've been in Europe this past 5 weeks.

I'd suggest buying your next cell phone; one that is unlocked. One that can be used with any provider, even when on a contract (like you may be on in the US).

The next time you're overseas, just buy a SIM card (about $25) and top it up as needed by buying a pay as you go card at the local gas station or Trafik (newspaper/smoke shop).

I have both a o2 LOOP and TIM card and charge them up with a mere 10 Euro before I leave and I'm good for a year to maintain card/number activation.

[RBEmerson]

It's my understanding Verizon is useless in GSM-land (i.e., the rest of the known universe).  We're currently bound in indentured servitude to AT&T but come October we'll be able to drop them like a hot rock.  I'd planned to go back to Verizon (dropped because they had "no bars" in the area around our new address) but if the phone is useless outside of North America, forget that.  

[Uwe]

Correct, a normal Verizon phone absolutely, positively will not work in Europe.  Verizon uses CDMA, a technology which simply doesn't exist in Europe.     Verizon does have a few special "international" phones which can be toggled between CDMA and GSM and those work fine if you make the appropriate roaming arrangements with Verizon before you depart.    Of course, just like any other US phone, you'll get nailed something around $1/minute in roaming charges if you use it in Europe.  

Most AT&T phones will work, 'cause AT&T uses GSM (which they adopted from the Europeans).   However, the frequencies are different, so you need at least a tri-band phone, and a quad-band is much preferred.   Again, you need to make international roaming arrangements with AT&T prior to departure.

FWIW, Sprint is CDMA (like Verizon) while T-Mobile is GSM (like AT&T).

-Uwe-

[RBEmerson]

Sigh... I was afraid of that.  I sooooooooo hate AT&T.  

[Uwe]

Cell phone companies are like politicians, the question is: "Which one do you hate least".   The thing I hate about Verizon (and the reason I dropped them a couple of years ago) is that they offered nothing but crappy crippled phones, and if you didn't buy your phone from them, they absolutely would not activate it on their network.  

GSM providers will happily let you use whatever GSM phone you like on their network (they really have no choice about it).   Just pick up a SIM card from the provider of your choice, pop it in, and you're good to go.  Plus a quad-band GSM phone will work pretty much world-wide.   Don't want to pay roaming in Timbuktu?   Pick up a pre-paid SIM card there, pop it in, and again you're good to go.

-Uwe-

[Ant]

GSM providers will happily let you use whatever GSM phone you like on their network (they really have no choice about it).  

Unless they've locked the phone to their network of course!

[RBEmerson]

Agreed cell phones are generally a Hobson's choice.  It's sort of like the bad old days when that lumpy thing with a bell on it was the property of the phone company, and they kindly rented the phone to you, charging for the service and the phone, too.    

[Uwe]

Unless they've locked the phone to their network of course!

Most US GSM carriers are pretty good about unlocking the phones of paying customers who ask nicely.   I've got two employees who spent a couple of weeks in Europe earlier this year.    I called AT&T and asked them to unlock those phones so they could pick up some local pre-paid SIM cards while in Europe.    It about 10 minutes to get unlock codes for both phones.   Yes, you have to have a history with the carrier, usually something between 3 and 6 months.   No, you cannot just walk into a company store and buy a subsidized phone and have them unlock it.     If you want to buy a brand-new unlocked phone, there's plenty of them available, but you'll have to buy them from an independent dealer and you won't get the carrier-subsidized price.

But even if you already have a locked phone and can't get the carrier to unlock the phone, there's an "aftermarket" unlocking solution for just about every GSM phone ever made.

-Uwe-

[Baron Samedi]

But even if you already have a locked phone and can't get the carrier to unlock the phone, there's an "aftermarket" unlocking solution for just about every GSM phone ever made.

-Uwe-

in every market. Thank the Lord we can still steal mobiles!

[kevin_stevens]

in every market. Thank the Lord we can still steal mobiles!

Not clear what you're stealing.  They gave you the phone in exchange for signing up to a contract.  If you've fulfilled the contract, what are you stealing?  Plus the FCC ruled explicitly that consumers have the right to unlock their phones (but in typical Solomonic fashion, NOT to buy software that will actually accomplish that).  

KeS