If you want to travel internationally then you will need an sim free cell phone. And, you will need to know what services are available to you and how your phone will work internationally versus in the United States. Keep in mind, however, that your regular US cell phone will not work internationally unless you purchased one of the unlocked cell phones available on the market.
There are different types of services available to contract free phones depending where you are in the world. Generally, the US uses a cell phone services called DMA, TDMA, iDEN, or AMPS. And, like many things, the majority of other countries use a different type of service. There are hundreds of other countries that use GSM cellular service. So, if you plan on traveling internationally and want to take your cell phone with you then you need to buy a GSM cell phone. US phones that are not GSM phones won't work with this system so there is no need trying to figure out how to make them. It is much easier to simply buy a GSM cell phone.
Remember, too, that all GSM phones are not the same either. In fact, there are up to four different frequencies that GSM phones use currently. The vast majority of countries using the GSM service use frequency bands of 900 MHz and 1800 MHz In the US the frequencies are a combo of the frequency bands 850 MHz and 1900 MHz.
This might not make much sense to you, but it really is important. This can easily be explained using an example of an FM radio. If your favorite radio stations are 900 MHz and 1800 MHz but your radio is preset to two stations, either 850 MHz or 1900 MHz, then you are out of luck. This makes it easier to understand about the frequencies and why they matter.
It would make sense if all cell phones supported all frequency bands. But, this is not the case and the ones that do are quite expensive. The majority do support two or three bands. So, this leaves you wondering what frequency bands you need to make sure your cell phone has. It is a good idea to have a cell phone that supports 900 MHz and 1800 MHz if you are traveling internationally. If you plan on using the cell phone in the United States as well then it must support 850 MHz and 1900 MHz as well. The easiest thing to do is simply buy a cell phone for international use and one for home use and take the easy way out!
Caitlina Fuller is a freelance writer. If you want to travel internationally then you will need an SIM free cell phone. And, you will need to know what services are available to you and how your phone will work internationally versus in the United States. Keep in mind, however, that your regular US cell phone will not work internationally unless you purchased one of the unlocked cell phones available on the market.
Source: www.articlecube.com
