Have Cell Phone, Will Travel To Europe

When Barbara Klausner of Arlington was planning a trip to Italy, keeping in touch with relatives back in the United States was a priority. "My father was elderly and not in good health," she said. "We needed to be able to be reached." She scouted the Internet for international cell phone rentals and went with a company called WorldCell in Silver Spring. "It made me feel really secure," she said. "It was so much easier for my father, knowing he could call me directly rather than going through European hotel staff who may not speak English well."

On a subsequent trip to Paris, she and her husband rented an international cell phone from the Rent-a-Cellular kiosk at Washington Dulles airport. "Again, it worked out great," she said. "It was really nice knowing [the family at home] could find us right away."

Using cell phones to keep in touch is not a new concept. But U.S. travelers, worried about the war in Iraq and the threat of terrorist attacks, are increasingly looking for the ability to communicate instantly when traveling abroad. While there are no firm figures on tourists' use of cell phones, companies that rent international cell phones say business is good.

"While it appears that travel is down, it appears that everyone traveling definitely wants a phone," said Lynn Klar, managing director for InTouch USA, a Chantilly company that rents cell phones and satellite phones. "If you have a cell phone, then you know the disconnected feeling when you accidentally leave it at home or at the office. "

Klausner lucked out, finding reputable firms that rented her a complete kit that included the right phone, an extra battery, an electrical adapter, detailed instructions, a clear and easy delivery system, and even a car charger. But others have been, at best, confused by the myriad choices and, at worst, stuck with an expensive phone that doesn't work.

"It's sort of crazy," said Joni Blecher, who writes an online column called "Ask the Cell Phone Diva." "There are a lot of choices."

Cell Phone Dynamics

So why can't you just take your cell phone to another country and use it there?

Simply stated, because most U.S. phones don't work in most other countries. Without getting too techno-geeky, the United States doesn't have a technology standard, so wireless companies use many different formats, including TDMA (AT&T and Cingular), CDMA (Sprint and Verizon) and I-den (Nextel). Most of the rest of the world, including Europe, Australia, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, uses a standard technology called GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications). The GSM Association estimates that about a billion people in more than 190 countries use the GSM standard. GSM is also used in the United States by T-Mobile, and to a lesser extent by AT&T and Cingular, but the frequency is different than elsewhere. Digital U.S. cell phones that are not GSM are not always useless outside the borders, although older analog phones won't work.

There are countries, mostly in South and Central America and the Caribbean, that also don't subscribe to the GSM format. And some U.S. carriers have agreements with network providers in those countries that allow you to use your standard digital phone there -- for a fee. Nextel phones, for example, can be used in all or portions of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Mexico, Peru and the Philippines. AT&T digital phones can be used in 26 countries, including 15 Caribbean islands, Argentina, Bermuda, Brazil and Venezuela. AT&T Next Generation phones can be used in 150 countries, including in Europe, but subscribers must first notify the company of their travel plans.

But using your own basic cell phone is not an option in most of the world. For the traveler who wants to stay in touch while overseas, there are three basic options:

• Buy or rent a multi-band phone through your regular cell phone provider.

• Rent a multi-band phone through one of the many companies dedicated to providing this service.