How To: Use cell phones in the US

The times when you could only be reached via the hotel phone while on vacation are long gone. But using a cell phone abroad can be very expensive, especially in the case of an unforeseen emergency or if you have to be available for business calls. That's why, today, we would like to inform you about call rates and conditions in the US. By now, the US has a well-developed GSM network, while a few years ago it mostly had analog networks that were not compatible with the European GSM standards. Nevertheless, there are still big differences between cell phone use in the US and in Europe. First of all, usually it's just the big metropolitan areas and Interstate Highways that have service, not the areas in between. In addition, the cellular phone network works on a frequency range of 850 and 1900 MHz. So if you want to use a cell phone in the US, you will either need a separate cell phone that works on those frequencies or a so-called tri-band or quad-band cell phone that works for the European networks on the frequencies of 900 and 1800 MHz as well as the American frequencies.

If you don't have an American cell phone, you can usually borrow one from your network operator or provider. Usual, customer support will be able to help you with this. If you're in the US frequently, it will probably be best to acquire a cell phone that works in the US the next time you re-new your contract. Many of the new cell phones are already suitable for the US, e.g. the Nokia N70, or the Sony Ericsson K600i. Other than in Europe, most often only one GSM network is available in the US. That means you won't be able to choose the most favorably-priced roaming partner of your usual European provider. And also Calling Cards are not really a way of saving money. 1-800 or 1-888 numbers are free of charge from a landline, but from a cell phone you pay the same as for an inland call.

OVERVIEW: ROAMING PRICES (IN EUROS)

Cingular Wireles (AT&T)
Display: AT&T
Calls inside the US: 1.36 - 1.56 Euros
Calls to Germany: 1.88 - 2.57 Euros
Text messages: 0.41-0.44 Euros

T-Mobile US
Display: TMO
Calls inside the US: 0.83 - 1.01 Euros (invoice pulsing 60/60)
Calls to Germany: 1.19 - 1.45 Euros
Text messages: 0.24 - 0.28 Euros

Rogers Wireless (Microcell)
Display: ROGERS
Calls inside the US: 1.19 - 1.30 Euros
Calls to Germany: 1.85 - 2.01 Euros
Text messages: 0.36 - 0.39 Euros

Text messages for T-mobile and O2 customers plus the German rate for a text message! Information from June 2006, no responsibility is taken for the correctness of this information, rates may be rounded off.

You also have to pay if you receive a call in North America. The caller will only pay the rates for your German contract. The rates from Germany to the US or Canada will be paid for by you, plus surcharges of the American provider. Important: you may also be charged for receiving text messages by some American providers. The same applies to missed calls (the time of connection and ringing). You should also keep in mind that calling your mailbox might be rather expensive.

Prices for received calls (in Euros)

Cingular Wireless
T-Mobile: 1.88 Euros
Vodafone: 2.15 Euros
E-Plus: 2.20 Euros
O2: 2.11 Euros

T-Mobile US
T-Mobile: 1.35 Euros
Vodafone: 1.66 Euros
E-Plus: 1.71 Euros
O2: 1.60 Euros

Rogers Wireless
T-Mobile: 1.64 Euros
Vodafone: 1.94 Euros
E-Plus: 2.00 Euros
O2: 1.91 Euros

As of June 2006

In case you're in the US for a longer period of time, you might want to consider buyingan American PrePaid card. Some providers, however, might want to see an American social security number, which, of course, complicates things. For this, www.teltarif.de in cooperation with Globilo offers a special service: if you need a prepaid card for the US, you may buy it online here.

The advantage of acquiring a foreign prepaid card prior to departure is also that you can give your number to your family and business partners before you leave. While the costs of the Globilo prepaid cards are higher than the costs of cards in the US, you won't have to inform the people at home about your new number, which will save costs again. In addition, calling Germany from a prepaid card is cheaper than paying the roaming fees of calling Germany with a German card from the US or Canada. And you will receive a detailed German instruction manual.

Please note, however, that compared to other countries, a prepaid card for the US is still not a real money-saver. You will still pay for received calls. That also applies to contract phones. The reason: cell phone network providers don't have their own prefix codes. Cell phones have regular landline numbers. That way, callers pay the same they pay for a call to a regular landline. The costs for the cellular network are paid for by the person receiving the call.

For callers from Germany, calling an American cell phone number is more expensive than calling a German number in the US. Many call-to-call providers charge less than 2 cents for a one-minute call to the US. Find detailed rates for the US on the database of teltarif.de.

Special conditions apply to roaming with the Nextel network. This doesn't work with the GSM compatible iDEN standard, so you will need a special phone. You can borrow one from your network provider. The advantage of Nextel that is being used by a lot of truck drivers is that it is covering a significantly larger area. Users who wish to use videophones or broadband online services will be disappointed, because there are no European UMTS standards in North America. Instead, network providers in the US use their own 3G standards that are not compatible with European systems.