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International Cell Phones

Getting an international cell phone while you are abroad is a personal choice. Some people enjoy being able to call their friends, host family, etc. An international cell phone isn’t a neccessity and many students go without them. However, if you are thinking about getting an cell phone there are several options for using cell phones abroad.

  1. First, if you have a cell phone that is tri-band/GSM and your carrier offers service abroad you can bring your cellular phone with you overseas. (The two services that offer this are T-Mobile and Cingular). I had T-Mobile and used it a few times while traveling (though not usually in Russia itself. I’ll explain in a minute). Generally, it’s between $1-$5/minute and with T-Mobile every country I traveled to had service in the major cities.
  2. Another (better) option for cell phone use while traveling or studying abroad is to buy a cell phone once you’re there. (Don’t get one before you go). In many countries you can buy a used phone for about half the price of a new one and you can buy prepaid SIM cards as you go. We found this to be the best bet. Plus, before you leave you can sell it back to the shop you bought it from (for about 75% of what you originally paid). Buying a phone in the host country will be cheaper and have more reliable service.

Personally, one of us didn’t use a cell phone abroad and the other used both options above. That is, I brought my US GSM (T-Mobile) cell phone and bought one while abroad. I used my US cell phone only when I traveled because the local cell phone I had didn’t work outside my host country (Russia). When I used my US phone it racked up charges really quickly ($1-$5/minute) so I used it very minimully. In Russia, I used the cell phone that I purchased from a used cell-phone shop (about $30) and paid pennies a minute for the prepaid SIM card. As previously stated, if you don’t already have one, don’t bother to buy a GSM phone before you go. And, since you will be abroad for awhile, renting a cell phone will be a waste of money.

A good site showing cell phone (GSM) coverage abroad is GSM Roaming.