Most travellers when they go overseas on holiday like to take their mobile phone (cell phone) with them. However, regularly you hear stories of how they didn’t get service or their phone wouldn’t work on the network. This article will set down some of the facts and some of the myths.
1. Roaming or buy a local SIM card?
Whether or not to buy a local SIM card is usually determined by how long you are going to spend in the country. Roaming nearly always costs more than getting a local SIM card.
But I don’t see any point in going to a place for a week, getting a local SIM card and letting people know what your new number is. If you need to make a lot of local calls maybe it’s worth it. I think if you’re going to stay in a country for a month I would get a local SIM card for sure.
2. Networks
Most countries in the world use a GSM 2100Hz network for 3G. If you have a 3G phone in a country where they do not have a 3G network then quite often you will get coverage on the 2G network. You do this by going to Networks on your phone and change the search setting from Auto to Manual.
The exceptions to this are listed below in other networks.
If you are American or Canadian you need a phone that can receive 2100Hz if you want to use your phone in Europe.
3. Other Networks
There are 2 other networks that need to be spoken about.
1.3G 850 Hz – This network is found in the following countries
Argentina, Brazil*, Canada, Israel*, Mexico, New Zealand*, Peru, USA
*these countries also have 2100Hz network
To be able to access the 850Hz network you need a phone that is able to receive the signal – they are referred to as Quad band phones and one of the most popular is the Motorola V3 Razr.
2. 1900 Hz Argentina, Canada and USA also have the 1900Hz network and there is a wider range of phones available that can use this network. These are referred to as Tri Band phones and Nokia, Samsung, Sony and Motorola are just some manufacturers that produce tri band phones.
3. Australia – In Australia in the major cities a 2100Hz 3G phone will be fine however if you were driving around Australia in campervan it would be worth considering Telstra Next G. This network has a much wider range in the country areas than 3G but is not GSM but is UMTS 850Hz so your quad band will not work on this network.
If you do not have a tri band or quad band phone your phone will not work in the United States or Canada.
