The Heart of your GSM phone - a SIM card
GSM cell phones (in the US a mobile phone or ‘handy’ is called a cell phone) have a major advantage over regular US style cell phones. They have a removable and replacement computer memory chip - a SIM card (Subscriber Information Module). This SIM card stores your account information and phone number as well as your phone directory, text messages, and various other settings.
What is so good about this? Two things. First, you can change phones, but keep the same SIM and not need to change your phone number or lose any of your phone directory information. This makes upgrading, or even borrowing someone else's phone, a very easy task.
Secondly, you can change the account and the service that you use on your phone just by swapping the SIM chip from one service provider for a SIM chip from another service provider. And therein lies the first 'trick' that can save you enormously on your international cell phone calling.
NOTE : You can only swap SIM cards if your phone is 'unlocked'. Check with your local service provider.
Local Prepaid Phone Service
You can probably already guess the solution to this type of problem. Yes - buy yourself a new SIM and account from a local GSM service in the first US city you enter. This can be a very simple procedure if you buy a prepaid account. You don't have to fill out any paperwork or provide any credit checks or anything at all. You simply pay a moderate amount of money and in return get a SIM, a phone number, and a certain prepaid balance to be used for the cost of phone calls.
When you have spent the initial prepaid amount, you can buy additional time - perhaps paying by credit card via the phone, or perhaps buying extra time through phone shops. A new SIM card and phone number and account setup will typically cost somewhere between $10-30, and then you'll find that your local call costs are probably 20c-30c a minute - perhaps only one tenth of the cost of a US based service! You can buy pre-paid SIM-only phone cards for your GSM mobile phone at drugstores, supermarkets and phone shops. Make sure your mobile (cell) phone is a Tri-Band phone, meaning it works on the US networks. If you are not sure read your phone manual or check in a store. (Courtesy of thetravelinsider.info).
Having a working mobile/cell phone in the US is handy when you travel for a couple of weeks from one place to the other (and imagine having car trouble along some highway), however most people will just use a hotel phone for an occasional call or even use their own mobile/cell phone (Tri-Band) and just except the higher costs associated with International Calling. But make sure you check your local hotel phone rates before you start telling them at home about your 2-day hiking trip in the Grand Canyon, minutes add up!
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