Mobile Phones

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How-To: Use a mobile phone around the world.

This article is accurate as of July 3rd, 2008. Suggestions, in the discussion page, are welcome!

Using a mobile phone abroad is a tricky business for a pair of reasons:

  1. Different countries have different phone systems which are incompatible.
  2. Finding a single plan to cover all the bases that is also affordable for your typical traveler is hopeless.

Contents

Ground Rules

You need to figure out and decide on the following:

  1. What countries you are going to
  2. How much time you are spending in each
  3. What your calling habits are
  4. How important it is to you to have a single number anywhere you go

Write these down and look at them frequently because you can quickly find yourself awash in information.

Resources

Most of this was gathered from just a few places:

Be careful with phone reviews! US and European models, while having the same model number, will have different capabilities in general, but sometimes the reviews don't mention this. For example, GSM Arena lists the LG CU500 as having UMTS2100 capability, but the US model which you can buy on eBay is only UMTS850/1900 (and therefore useless in Japan; see below.)

Also, while I am a big fan of new tech and shiny things, I've noticed an undesirable bias in CNET's reviews toward flashier things instead of functionality and actual utility. Believe me, when you really need a phone, you won't care if it's 3.5G and can browse the Internet if the battery dies in 20 minutes.

Finding a Phone

I've amassed a lot of technical detail which you can find in a rant here. There are three technologies in wide use today:

  • CDMA: Used primarily in the US, e.g., Verizon. It is impossible to bring a CDMA phone to a different carrier and get it on the network. (It's not technically impossible, but no carrier will do it. Don't waste your time.)
  • GSM: Used all over the world, e.g., by T-Mobile & AT&T in the US. You will need a quad-band "worldphone" to have guaranteed service anywhere you go, because the Americas (North and South) use different frequencies from everywhere else in the world. Japan is a notable exception: it does not have GSM service, and never did.
  • UMTS: AKA, 3G. Next generation technology in growing use around the world. Unfortunately, just like with GSM, there are many frequencies in use (six, actually), and the US uses different frequencies than either Japan or Europe. However, there is some overlap between Japan and Europe, because both places have carriers that offer service on the same frequency (2100MHz.)

Thus, if

  • You need a phone for the Americas: Take your US, bi-band mobile with you (GSM 850 and 1900.)
  • You need a phone just for Europe: Buy a cheap, bi-band mobile in Europe (GSM 900 and 1800.)
  • You need a phone that will work anywhere there is GSM service: Buy a used, quad-band worldphone in the US (GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900.) The Motorola V180 and V188 are highly-regarded. Note that there are many phones nowadays that are actually quad-band, including the Blackberries and the 1st gen iPhone.
  • You need a phone in Japan: Buy it there (UMTS 2100.)
  • You need a phone for Europe and Japan: Buy it either in Europe or Japan, but it will cost you a pretty penny. (UMTS 2100)
  • You need a phone that will work anywhere in the world that has mobile phone service: Buy a quad-band GSM, tri-band UMTS phone. As of now, these are the leading edge of technology, using GSM 850/900/1800/1900, and UMTS 850/1900/2100. The 3rd gen ("3G") iPhone will do this.


Compatibility Matrix
Technology Also Known As Americas Europe Japan Where to Buy Estimated Cost Popular Recommendation
GSM 850 / 1900 bi-band US X USA $20 or Free w/Plan
GSM 900 / 1800 bi-band Europe X Europe EUR20 or Free w/Plan Any Nokia
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 quad-band, "Worldphone" X X Cheapest in the US on eBay $50 w/shipping Motorola V180, V188; LG CU400, CU500
UMTS 2100 3G X Japan  ??? Possibly Cheap with Plan
GSM Quad-Band, UMTS 850/1900, 2100 3G "Worldphone" X X X Probably US (maybe Akihabara in Tokyo?) $400 The 3G iPhone will work...

Finding a Carrier

Take a look at GSM World first, as it will tell you what services are offered at what frequencies in which countries.

Deciding on a Plan

It really comes down to two options,

  1. If you absolutely need to be available at a single phone number for the duration of your entire trip, you are traveling to many countries and spending only a little time in each country, and you can afford it, you need to look at a SIM card which offers cheap roaming.
  2. For everyone else, you will just buy new SIM cards everywhere you go.

You may wonder, how much money can you save by buying new SIM cards everywhere? In June 2008 I developed a calling profile for us (how many minutes per week from what location to what other location, between what two mobiles, and received from different places.) I then plugged this into a spreadsheet and compared seven or eight different Pay-as-You-Go SIM card plans from Yallo, Sunrise, Orange, Swisscom, Tele2, UnitedMobile, Lebara Mobile, and maybe some other people.

It turns out that for us, we will save anywhere from $300 to more than $1500 by buying new SIM cards everywhere we go. Roaming plans typically charge $2-$5 per minute to receive or send calls when you are on a foreign network. When the cost of buying a new SIM card is <$10 and 15 minutes, plus you get to interact with a local shop owner, it is really a no-brainer decision.

If on the other hand, you need a single number, there are really only two choices available to you:

  1. UnitedMobile: You get a single number from either Lichtenstein or the UK (US number promised some-time in 2008.) You place a call, hang up, and you get called back with the other person already connected. I have no experience with this, but call-back systems are not new, so this may be a good way to go.
  2. Telestial: Is one of many people offering to sell you a "Global SIM". You get one number, again, but there is no call-back system, AFAIK. Last I checked, this was about twice as expensive as UnitedMobile.

Note that neither UnitedMobile nor Telestial are a good deal if you are spending more than a few days anywhere! You can get much cheaper rates just by buying a local SIM card. If you don't believe me, do all the work of developing a calling profile, look up the rates, plug the numbers, and you will see! :-)

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