cellphone overseas

July 6, 2010 6:10 AM

We are going to Spain for 4 weeks, and need advice on cellphone use. We need to communicate w/each other when we are there. Should we switch to a local sim card? get temp phones? My present service plan is Verizon. Long distance Credo. Cell phone LG, model no. VX5400.
posted by ebesan to Technology (12 answers total)

CDMA phone. It won't work in Europe. You will need to rent a phone when you get there (or upgrade your current phones to GSM ones and then you can just use them)

On using local SIM cards - depends on if it is worth the hassle to you. To me it isn't so I never do.
posted by JPD at 6:29 AM on July 6, 2010

not sure about Spain exactly - but in the UK if you have a phone that works in the that country then you can just pop into a Mobile shop and pickup a free Pay-as-You-Go Sim and stick say £10-£20 on that. £10 will probably last you the entire 4 weeks.

Whereas on Roaming I think you'll spend loads more....
posted by mary8nne at 6:39 AM on July 6, 2010

JPD has it. Other than a few "world phone" blackberries, all Verizon phones are CDMA and won't work overseas. Pick up a cheap disposable or rent (or switch to AT&T/T-Mobile and unlock).
posted by Oktober at 6:52 AM on July 6, 2010

Ask around for friends who might have an old GSM phone kicking around and get a pay-as-you-go card. You can also get a inexpensive phone with the card for about 10-20€ more, if I recall correctly.
posted by Dick Paris at 7:07 AM on July 6, 2010

Not shilling for Verizon, but their CDMA phones do in fact work out of the US. The list of countries can be found at Verizon International Roaming (Spain is not on that list). When you turn on your CDMA phone in a roaming country you get a text telling you all about the service (but not the rate). You can also get a phone from them for use while traveling internationally if you want it billed to your Verizon account. If you don't need that I've received good service from Telestial on getting a phone and sim for international travel.
posted by Runes at 9:03 AM on July 6, 2010

DO NOT get a verizon global compatible phone (like the blackberry tour) and go over there with a Verizon plan.

My GF unwittingly raked up like a $3k bill (although some of that might be data) in Spain recently.

It's probably worth it to get a relatively cheap unlocked international phone and get a local prepaid SIM.

Just my .02
posted by rampy at 9:49 AM on July 6, 2010

Not shilling for Verizon, but their CDMA phones do in fact work out of the US.

Sure CDMA exists outside the US - but it does not exist anywhere in Europe.
posted by JPD at 10:12 AM on July 6, 2010

My GF unwittingly raked up like a $3k bill (although some of that might be data) in Spain recently.


She must have been on her phone a ton because VZ is quoting 1.29/min for voice.
posted by JPD at 10:15 AM on July 6, 2010

@JPD I don't believe she was, but who knows... I think it was a mixture of voice/txt/data. Luckily she was able to call customer service and got it knocked down to $500. She now relies on skype/google voice via wifi/laptop.
posted by rampy at 10:21 AM on July 6, 2010

Not shilling for Verizon, but their CDMA phones do in fact work out of the US.

Um, yeah, in Canada (for the time being as every company has moved to GSM) and parts of the Caribbean and Latin America, but in most of the world, and absolutely in Spain, a CDMA phone is a worthless.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 10:25 AM on July 6, 2010

Get a couple basic dual-band phones from an electronics shop. Then pick up a few rechargeable SIMs from a kiosk, gas station, convenience store, etc. Get the same brand of SIM and perhaps enjoy some savings. Save the phone boxes and documentation, take out the SIMs, and sell the phones on eBay when you return.
posted by mdonley at 1:21 PM on July 6, 2010

if you decide to get a prepaid card, the cheapest one for calling other phones within spain is YOIGO. if you need a prepaid to call back to the states, look for HAPPY MOVIL or LEBARA.
posted by maca at 12:42 AM on July 21, 2010