Wherever I am in the world, I MUST be able to communicate. Usually with the locals so that I can schedule my ho's, check on flights, schedule my ho's, etc.

HOW CAN I USE MY US MOBILE PHONE OVERSEAS? Frequently, in many countries, especially Thailand, you can purcahse a SIM card, with a certain amount of minutes on it and a local Thai number, and just pop it in your US mobile phone.
This is easier than it sounds, just recall when you last purchased a phine in the US. The clerk opened the phone up, and placed a small, square chip inside. That SIM card carries your phone number, cell company data, etc.

WHERE DO I GET A SIM? In BKK, you can find SIM's all over Pantip Plaza and MBK. You can purchase them quickly and cheaply. The clerk will even install the SIM for you.

HOW DO I UNLOCK MY PHONE: You MUST however obtain a handset "UNLOCK CODE" from your service provider. I have T-Mobile and e-mailed them, here is the data the need to process my request:

Thank you for taking the time to contact T-Mobile.
All phones sold by T-Mobile are locked for use by T-Mobile SIM cards only. To unlock your handset, you must meet the following criteria and this criterion cannot be waived.

-Must have a T-Mobile phone number.
-You must have a contact name/and or email address
-The account must have been active for 90 days and a refill within the last 30 days
-IMEI must be provided directly from the customer(s) handset (The IMEI can be obtained by pressing *#06# on handset).
-Only one Unlock Code will be issued per active line within a 90-day period.
- Handsets purchased through e-bay, garage sales, pawnshops, etc. must still meet these requirements.

I used the example of Thailand but you can follow these general steps all over the world. Happy calling, happy mongering, and always remember to "KEEP YOUR PIMP HAND STRONG!"

If you're technologically challeged like me, this is a useful and informative article on buying and using a cellular tephone overseas.
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Answering the call for more info on phone use overseas
By Ellen Creager
Detroit Free Press

The telephone shop down an ancient street in Rome was as small as a walk-in closet and as bright as a suntan booth.

"I'd like to buy a cheap cellphone," I told the clerk.

She nodded and said something in Italian.

"Cellphone; call the United States," I said, gesturing.

She smiled.

"Tri-band," she said, then pointed to one phone among dozens in a glass case.

What was a tri-band? Who knew? I nodded. "OK."

She opened the back of the cellphone, stuck a tiny plastic chip the size of a postage stamp in an equally tiny holder, then put the battery on top and closed the phone.

"SIM card," she said. I nodded but was thinking, what the heck is a SIM card?

Before I knew it, I was the proud owner of a Nokia 3120 cellphone that would work all over the world. She switched the language on the phone to English. After providing a copy of my passport and signing purchase papers, I took the phone back to my hotel room and began to read the directions:

"Prima di inserire la carta SIM ... " it began.

The manual was in Italian. Luckily, it wasn't hard to figure out the basics of using the phone. And it was a lifesaver when I was later stranded at the airport.

The cell I bought in Rome for about $100 offered good rates: 35 cents per minute to call the United States, free for incoming calls from the States and elsewhere, and 10 cents a minute within Italy. If you are in European or other overseas countries for business, study, military duty or vacation, buying such a phone overseas can be a good and comparatively cheap way to go. Here are some frequently asked questions:

Q: Can I use my regular cellphone when traveling overseas?

A: Unlikely. Some T-Mobile and Cingular phones are compatible with overseas use, but most American and Canadian cells can't talk to cells in the rest of the world. That's because our operating system, CDMA, and their system, GSM, are different. About 75 percent of all cellphone users in the world are on the GSM system.

Q: How does a GSM phone work?

A: Most GSM phones are "tri-band," which means they can pick up the three frequencies commonly used in about 190 nations around the world — 900, 1,800 and 1,900 megahertz. You can use a GSM phone in Europe, Africa, Australia, Asia (except Japan and Korea) and, increasingly, South America.

Q: Where can I get one?

A: If you are a T-Mobile or Cingular customer you may be able to configure your U.S. phone for "international roaming." You also can buy a GSM phone before you go abroad at Cellular Abroad (www.cellularabroad.com) or Telestial (www.telestial.com).

The cheapest way is to buy one at your destination. The same phone I paid $100 for in Rome cost more than $200 in the United States through Cellular Abroad. Just make sure the charger is dual voltage and you get an English instruction manual either with the phone or on the company's Web site.

Q: Can I rent a GSM phone?

A: Yes. Rates vary. Through CIBT (www.cibt.com), it's about $45 for a week, including shipping. Calls are $1 to $4 a minute, but it's not a bad deal if you're calling only in emergencies.

Q: What is a SIM card?

A: SIM stands for Subscriber Information Module. It is a little chip inside the phone under the battery that contains the phone number, service info, network and account information.

Most American phones are permanently locked in the back so you can't access them. Overseas, people own their phones outright and buy pre-paid service from providers. The information is stored on a SIM card, which can easily be put in, taken out or swapped.

Q: Once the minutes are used up, can I recharge it?

A: Like the locals, buy a SIM recharge card at any convenience store or tobacco shop. You dial a number listed on the card to add minutes. Travelers should not buy more SIM minutes than they will use on one trip because SIM cards expire about a year from the date of charging, depending on the country.

Q: Can I use the GSM phone I buy in one European nation in another European nation?

A: Yes. You also can use it in most nations around the world (to check coverage, see maps at www.gsmworld.com). Buy SIM cards before you leave the United States or wait until you get to your destination.

To get the best rates, buy a new SIM card for any country you plan to stay in for a while. If you spend a month in Italy, then a month in England, swap your Italy SIM card for a United Kingdom one. Always ask about rates to the United States and within the host country when you buy a SIM card or recharge. You also can buy an international SIM card that will give decent rates in multiple countries.

Q: Can you text message on a GSM phone? Leave voice mail?

A: Yes, but frequent travelers say these services are not always reliable. If it is working, text messaging is a very cheap way to communicate — 10 to 25 cents per message or less. Sometimes incoming text messages are free.

Q: What are the costs?

A: T-Mobile or Cingular customers with GSM-compatible phones may get "international roaming" plans. Although you can keep your regular U.S. cellphone number, these plans aren't cheap. Calls cost $1 to $5 a minute, depending on the country. You are charged for incoming and outgoing calls. There also may be hidden service charges and fees you won't know about until you get the bill. Contact the companies for their world traveler plans.

If you want to buy a GSM phone with an interchangeable SIM card, you'll spend $100-$250.

After the initial expense, this is the cheapest way to go: Depending on the country, calls to the United States will likely be less than 40 cents per minute and incoming calls, even from the United States, are free. You'll use pre-paid minutes so there will be no bill.

Q: Does every traveler need a GSM phone?

A: If you do not plan to make lots of calls, your trip is shorter than two weeks, you travel abroad infrequently or you will be in a populated area with easy-to-use pay phones, don't bother with a cell.

You can use a cheap international calling card for pay phones.

Q: Is a GSM phone the same as a world phone, international phone, mobile phone or satellite phone?

A: A GSM phone is sometimes called a world phone or international phone. Outside the United States most people call cellphones "mobile phones," as in, "Call my mobile." A satellite phone is more expensive, uses a different technology and is used to reach people out of the range of cellphone towers.

Here are two recent articles on using a cellphone overseas:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,135768/article.html

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,134851-page,11-c,cellphones/article.html

I traveled to Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore and Bali in February making calls very cheaply. First I bought a used AT&T tri-band GSM phone in the US (Craigslist)about $40, then got it 'unlocked' at a local mobile store for $25. Never paid more than $10 for Sim chips with 30+ minutes in any country at the local 7/11 or Circle K. (separate chip for each country.) My purpose was to stay in touch with my travel companion, emergencies, and stay in touch with the ladies. Nothing better than having a local number when new in town.

If you need to call the US (or your home country) get a local Skype account at home, then acces it from your laptop or any internet cafe. With Skype I can call any landline in US or Canada for 2 cents a minute. I think its 4 cents to call a cell phone.... but sure cheaper than these dollar a minute plus I have read about.

If you only need to call USA - and have a broadband internet connection in your hotel - Magicjack is great. It's VOIP like Skype.

And for those in the iPhone world, there is a Skype app, so you don't even need the laptop.

I've been having probls w/ skype lately, bad connections and/dropped calls. Maybe the problem is particlar to Indonesia.

Skype works great for me. I have an iphone so I can use my laptop or iphone. I prefer using my iphone. A lot of malls and airports have WIFI. You can use the skype on iphone with any WIFI connection.

You do need to jailbreak then unlock your iphone if you want to use another SIM card in it. I used mine in Colombia and it worked great.

Once your iphone is jailbroken you can use can download voipover3g from cydia. Now in the US I can use Skype over the 3G network. Calls to or from any computer are free. Calls to cell phones in another country are affordable.

I am going to be traveling to Panama City, Panama in April for 4 days.I have a AT&T cell service and I like to know if I was to call my friends in US will it show my information.I want them to think I am still in US.....also if they were to call me I will be able to see their information.

This topic has been consolidated with the previous message relocated here from the Panama City section of Discus as it applies to all countries.

The following responses were posted to Central America/Caribbean Chat.

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quote:

Panama is GSM so you will be able to receive/send calls on AT&T.
However, you will have to dial "00" - then the US number to get on that local carrier to dial back to the US. Caller ID might show up as "caller id unknown" or something weird like "00 xxx xxx xxxx".

As for the someone calling you -- there is no way around it, they will hear the long international ringing. That person might here it ring a couple times before it even rings once on your phone. You may or may not get a Caller ID from them.
Additionally, if you happen to be in a dead-spot then the person calling you might receive a message in Spanish that the phone is out of the area.

If a person calling you has a 1/2 a brain and ever called someone out of the country, there is a very good chance they will know you are not in the country. BUT, the good thing is most people never travel out of the country and weird stuff going with caller id, long-tone ringing, etc. ....you can just say you are trying Google Voice/Skype and something got messed-up.

The biggest problem is you are roaming on that telecomm company in Panama. They have the strongest association with the US (use the US dollar, a former territory, lots of American influence with the canal) so you might get a little lucky with how those Panamanian telecom companies treat US-based telephone numbers.

Personally, I leave the country a lot and got myself a Skype phone number. I give this number to business colleagues to call me. Caller ID both ways works fine and no strange ring tones. Then I will forward my personal cell phone number to this Skype number for family members. When things completely crap-out and people can't reach me, I just tell them that I had billing dispute and my phone was temporarily out of service.

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quote:

If you get a free Google Voice number and forward it to you AT&T number, caller ID will work correctly both ways and your US callers will always get a US style ring on their end.
If you have an Android or I-Phone you can use Google Voice even more creatively and make and receive free calls on wifi or if you have local 3G access.

Only downside is that the GV number will be different than your AT&T number so you will have to hand out your "new" US number.

I've been using GV ALLOT from the Philippines and a few other countries and no one has ever suspected I was not in the US. The only major issue has been internet connectivity on 3G or WiFi and then the call just breaks up and you have to apologize for "crappy reception".

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In case anyone is interested, data is free within Brazil, Argentina and Peru with any internet ready Nextel phone. I assume that Nextel service is only available to Sprint customers (like me) but this does have some huge advantages. If I could get my GrooveIP to work better, I could also place and receive free calls to/from the US.

Being in Rio earlier this month, I paired an unlocked iPhone with a prepaid Tim sim chip. Interestingly enough and to my surprise, I had internet usage and was able to send MMS back to forth to the States. This was not the case last year.

On certain days, after some heavy usage, I was sent a message basically saying I had used my daily allowance and they would now throttle my data speed until the next day. I kept checking my credit balance and it never debited due to internet usage.