mobile phone use in europe
 

Does anyone know if you can automatically use your mobile phone in Europe. <BR>And does calling home on it cost less than using a public phone. (home is Australia)

I suppose it all depends upon your Coverage area as stipulated in your Cell phone provider contract. I know here in the US, you can by subscriptions that work internationally, but it's substantially more expensive then your usual coverage area. <BR>You should call your cell phone company, or if you have a non-contractual card type of deal that they have in Europe, you may want to call the specific card that you use to find out what their coverage is.

Only if your phone is enabled for roaming, which you have to arrange with your operator before leaving. You have greatest choice of networks if you have a 900/1800MHz dual band phone (most modern phones are). Cost for calling varies depending on your operator, the country you are in and the network you roam with. Your mobile provider should be able to give you details (check their website under 'international roaming'). Sometimes it's cheaper than using a payphone, sometimes more. Remember you pay to receive calls when roaming. Cheapest option for calling home is to use one of many calling cards available from a fixed-line phone. If you are staying in the same country for a lengthy period, it may be worthwhile getting a local SIM card which cuts down on costs (but you need an unlocked phone, not tied to your operator).

Dave <BR> <BR>If you are a subscriber of a GSM network in Australia, your telephone will work in Europe with 100% probability. <BR> <BR>Each European country has tipically 3 or 4 operators with overlaped coverage area. The cost of calls to/from Australia may vary a lot according to the operator you are registered in. <BR> <BR>So, do some homework and check with your operator (usually there is an official Internet homepage) which operator has the most favorable tariffs for you in each country. <BR> <BR>GSM telephones have a nice feature, allowing them to select automatically one operator. Alternatively you may force network "x" to be chosen. <BR> <BR>Further to this, I agree everything Alec said. Let me just stress that it's worthwhile to check with your operator if your account is allowed for roaming (usually a free call to a customer care number is enough) and remember that you pay for both initiated and terminated calls. <BR> <BR>When roaming, the most cost effective way of communicating is the SMS (short message service) allowing text messages of 160 characters. Usually reception of SMS is free and generation is cheap (.20 or .30 USD). <BR> <BR>Retrieval of voice messages from voice mail is usually expensive, but you can deactivate your voice mail system while abroad. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

Dave, <BR>I am Australian too and have used my digital phone in Europe very successfully on two recent trips. <BR>You have to advise Telstra, or your provider, when and where you are going and they then lock you on to global roaming, and provide you with a list of call charges etc. for each of the countries. <BR>We had conversations several times a week with relatives back home and the bill was not nearly as bad as I had expected - and it is was certainly very convenient.