World Travelers..Cellphone help for US/France
 

Good morning..
I have a friend coming from France to drive across this beautiful land of ours.
(Actually, he'll be driving the route of 'On the road'.) I've advised him to get a cellphone for emergencies, as i know there can be long stretches of seeing nothing and nobody.
Does anyone have a recommendation for a phone that can be used in France and in the US? And, how does that work?
I'm not sure if it would be best for him to purchase a pay as you go phone here in the US..as that can be done for under $100 for both the phone and the minutes, or purchase a phone for US/France.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Trying again..any suggestions?

T-Mobile can be used in US and Europe. They are global.

Orange (france telecom) phones will work in the US if you activate that option (free). However it is expensive to place or receive calls in the US with your Orange phone. Also they only work in GSM covered areas and you must purchase a tri-band phone so that it will work in the US. Your friend should go to www.orange.fr and under L'offre Orange click on a l'etranger for full details.

That said they would probably get better coverage with a pay as you go phone for use in the US only.

Thank you MorganB, I was thinking the same, but i was unsure on mobile service in europe.

Would anyone happen to know if Virgin Mobile offers service in france, paris specifically? i was thinking of suggesting virgin, as they have a reasonable pay as you go plan with no roaming, "free"long distance and use of the sprint network across the US...and i know they offer service in the UK.
If not Paris, he could at least use it on other european vacations!