Where to Start When You're Traveling With Your Cell phone

The first thing to realize is that not all mobile phones will work overseas, since different countries have different wireless standards. The majority of countries outside the U.S. have standardized on a wireless network technology called GSM, while some U.S. wireless companies use different technologies.

For example, AT&T and T-Mobile have GSM networks, so many of their standard phones will work overseas. If you're an AT&T or T-Mobile subscriber, you can expect to pay between $.99 and $1.25 per minute for incoming and outgoing calls from Western Europe to the United States. The iPhone is a good example of an international mobile phone.

Verizon and Sprint's networks are based on a different wireless technology, meaning that many of their standard phones will not work in other countries (with GSM networks). However, both Verizon and Sprint sell special dual-mode phones that include GSM support, such as the BlackBerry Storm2 or Bold.

If you do travel internationally and are signing up with Verizon, make sure to select a global phone. If you've been a Verizon subscriber for six months or longer and don't currently have a global phone, Verizon will loan you a global phone for free for trips of 21 days or less. Verizon's customer service will ship out a global phone (such as a Motorola Z6C) two day FedEx for $9.99. Once the customer receives the phone, they call Verizon to activate it and select an international rate plan (if they want to). When the trip is over, simply ship it back.

Another option for saving money while traveling is to consider purchasing a separate international travel phone.