Nancy

My family and I will be visiting and touring Ireland in few weeks. Can we use our cell phone there?

Paul

Unless 1) your cell phone is currently operating on the GSM network in the US, and 2) you have a dual-band GSM phone, you cannot use your USA cell phone in Europe. The problem is that in the USA, we use 3 networks, only one of which is GSM, the network which all of Europe uses. In addition, we in the USA do not use the same GSM frequency as is used in Europe, so you need a GSM phone with two frequencies (bands) in order to take it to Europe. Hope that this answers your question.

grossed out

By all means, do carry your cell phone and use it often, especially around other tourists who will be delighted to have their holiday interrupted by another obsessive-compulsive American who can even go on holiday without giving up their electronic gadgets.

Cathy

Nancy, <BR>Check out the following web sites for an email address of the Irish Telecom Companies and they might be able to answer your question www.eircom.ie and www.esat.ie

Dear Grossed out

Grossed Out: <BR>I'll have you know that in many places like Latin America and Hong Kong, cell phones are found more often than land lines.....Americans are not the only ones who use them. How narrow to think that the only sane people are those who sit by their phones in their air-tight offices....haven't you ever heard of telecommuting? Many people enjoy better lives because of cell phones--they seamlessly blend work and family, enabling them to enjoy their lives-- better than those workaholics that cannot remove themselves from behind their desks no matter what. <BR> <BR>Give the lady a break!

Margo

Cellular phone: I never thought about doing this before but with today’s inexpensive technology this is an affordable and sometimes quite necessary expense. For the first time, I rented an international cellular phone to take along with me. It was the best and most comforting thing I have ever done for myself on a trip. I move around a lot from town to town, hotel to hotel, and having the portable phone made it possible for my husband to keep up with my travels and eased his worries about my traveling all alone in a foreign country. My family and friends didn’t have to struggle with broken French/Italian to reach me. It also made it quite convenient for me to keep in touch with home as well as make advance hotel reservations along the way. What was really great was being able to use it while I was on a seven-hour train ride. I didn’t have a chance to make hotel reservations before leaving the last city, so I called while I was on the train. There are several companies in operation but I recommend Cellhire, USA because of their low rates and excellent reputation. Cellhire, USA: (888) 476-7368 or http://www.CellHire.com/ <BR>