One of the most unforeseen expenses when traveling are the over-priced hotel telephone charges you are presented with when checking-out, or the invoice you receive when you get back home from your mobile carrier with incredibly high rates for mobile roaming. This is a hidden cost the travel and telecom industries are aware that consumers rarely ever bother to price shop. The travel industry and mobile carriers believe the convenience of providing pricey, easy-to-access communication services often outweigh the surcharges consumers are willing to pay. While traveling, the lack of options available to you when it's time to make that important call back home or to the office is when they know you'll be least inclined to search for lower cost alternatives.

"It is, of course, true that absurdly high roaming charges are an international scandal and each time I've used my cell phone overseas, the bill has given me more than a minor heart attack"

INTERNATIONAL CELL PHONES When traveling, renting international cell phones can free you from being locked to a hotel phone service or your own personal roaming cell phone while providing reliable and yes, even an economical way of calling back home. There are two very good reasons for renting a cell phone while you travel.

1) Telecom Standards: Your local mobile phone is designed for a specific telecom standard. There are many available today such as CDMA, TDMA, AMPS, GSM and others. Each have their benefits. Europe is mostly standardized on GSM while other areas of the world vary greatly. North America offers virtually all standards, but services between different regions vary. You may be traveling to a country in where the local standard is different from the one your phone supports (visit our Service Area page). Even in instances where the standards are identical, compatibility is not guaranteed (technical glitches or complexity in setting up your mobile for compatibility). In addition, your mobile carrier must have roaming agreements in place with the local providers, usually not a problem, but this is how charges begin to get expensive - roaming rates. Is there any way around paying such exorbitant fees? Read on!

2) Local Rates: Quite often the local rate (non-roaming rate) for incoming calls are free in most countries (not usually the case in North America). Also, when calling out, local mobile phone rates are much cheaper in comparison to the charges a user pays who is connected through a roaming service.

There are two methods in how you are charged when roaming. First, when in a foreign country and making a call to a local number through a roaming service, you pay the normal local airtime rate, plus an extra roaming fee. The calling rates vary greatly per country and in some cases may change based on the carrier you are connected through at the time of the call (there may be different providers who can connect you in the same region), hence the confusion.

Secondly, charges are even higher when you make long distance calls. You pay the roaming charge plus an extra fee for long distance calls based on agreements between your carrier and the local provider. In most cases, travelers don't have a clue as to what price they are being billed for when making a call. Like I mentioned earlier, the carriers know it is the service convenience that matters.

Renting a cell phone with a local number will turn the pricing model in your favor (visit our Cell phone rental page). One of the greatest benefits with this option is the ability to receive unlimited free incoming calls* from anywhere in the world. You will be charged by the local provider as a non-roaming subscriber. In other words, you are paying the rate of a local user and not one of a foreigner in roam mode, and we all know when traveling if you are singled out as being a foreigner - you will be overcharged! The only disadvantage is the phone number you will be provided is not your own. If you are expecting phone calls on your existing mobile cell number, well... you will have to set-up some alternative options. Several solutions are; leave a voicemail on your personal cell phone directing callers to your international cell phone number, call forward your calls to your international cell phone, or take your personal cell phone along - take the call, and then redirect the caller to your new number.

To sum it all up, when traveling, renting an international cell phone will ensure compatibility, all the while saving you money. Not to mention the opportunity of trying out the latest and greatest in new mobile technology.

Visit our rentals page for information on renting international cell phones and see for yourself the great selection and service options we offer.

Select from below a destination you are traveling to:
International Cell Phone for Canada
International Cell Phone for Europe
International Cell Phone for USA
International Cell Phone for ASIA

*Not all countries have free local unlimited incoming calls.