APPENDIX - Portugal - page 402

Mobile Phones
Traveling with a mobile phone is handy and practical. Whether you're using a smartphone
or a conventional cell phone, the basics for how to make calls and send texts are the same.
For specifics on using your smartphone to get online, see the sidebar.
Roaming with Your Mobile Phone: Your US mobile phone works in Europe if it's
GSM-enabled, tri-band or quad-band, and on a calling plan that includes international
calls. Phones from AT&T and T-Mobile, which use the same GSM technology that
Europe does, are more likely to work overseas than Verizon or Sprint phones (if you're
not sure, ask your service provider). Most US providers will charge you $1.29-1.99 per
minute to make or receive calls while roaming internationally, and 20-50 cents to send or
receive text messages. If you bother to sign up for an international calling plan with your
provider, you'll save a few dimes per minute. Though pricey, roaming on your own phone
is easy and can be a cost-effective way to keep in touch—especially on a short trip or if
you won't be making many calls.
Buying and Using SIM Cards in Europe: You'll pay much cheaper rates if you put
a European SIM card in your mobile phone; to do this, your phone must be electronically
“unlocked” (ask your provider about this, buy an unlocked phone before you leave, or
get one in Europe—see “Other Mobile-Phone Options,” next). Then, in Europe, you can
simply buy a fingernail-size SIM card, which gives you a European phone number. SIM
cards are available at mobile-phone stores and some newsstand kiosks for $5-10, and of-
ten include at least that much prepaid domestic calling time (making the card itself almost
free). When you buy a SIM card, you may need to show ID, such as your passport.
Insert the SIM card in your phone (usually in a slot behind the battery or on the side),
and it'll work like a European mobile phone. Before purchasing a SIM card, always ask
about fees for domestic and international calls, roaming charges, and how to check your
credit balance and buy more time. When you're in the SIM card's home country, domest-
ic calls average 10-20 cents per minute, and incoming calls are free. Rates are higher if
you're roaming in another country, and you may pay more to call a toll number than you
would if you were dialing from a landline.
Other Mobile-Phone Options: Some travelers like to carry two phones—both their
own US mobile phone (allowing them to stay reachable on their own phone number) and a
second, unlocked European phone (which lets them do all their local calling at far cheaper
rates). You could either bring two phones from home, or get one in Europe. If you have
an old mobile phone sitting around, ask your provider for the “unlock code” so it can be
used with European SIM cards. Or buy a cheap, basic phone before you go (search your
favorite online shopping site for “unlocked quad-band GSM phone”).
In Europe, basic phones are sold at hole-in-the-wall vendors at many airports and train
stations, and at phone desks within larger department stores. Phones that are “locked” to