any way of getting a us mobile phone from uk?

[Guest jon guy]

really mundane question - sorry - but wondered whether any of you stateside know of any way i might be able to get a us.cell phone number in order that i can advertise the number ahead of arriving in new york next month.??

 

in order to sign up, most companies seem to require that you have a us. based credit card billing address - which of course, i don't.

 

There must be some way around this - isn't there? Dispairing....

 

x jon http://www.jonguy.com

[Guest bottomboykk]

I know there are places here that rent phones for use abroad. Some will allow you to have a permanent number for you to use each time you rent the phone for travel. That allows you to print cards, stationery, etc. I don't know if places like that exist in the UK for use in the US, but check around.

[Guest Kalifornia]

Try a pre-paid phone instead of one on credit: http://www.verizonwireless.com/ics/plsql/prepay.intro

 

Mark -Kalifornia

[Guest Kalifornia]

Jon Another idea would be to get yourself a us voice mail number most answering services have them for about 15. x month. Then when you arrive buy a pre-paid cell phone and put your cell phone number on your voice mail number. just an idea to get around the problem.

Mark -Kalifornia

[Justice]

A pre-paid cellphone is one way of getting around the problem. A friend of mine swears by his pre-paid cellphone. (He hates being tied to a contract or having to pay for time that he may or may not use.) He uses a service which he says is called "track phone". I just did a search and came up with the following link: http://www.tracfone.com/home_page.jsp. A google search for "pre-paid cellphones" would probably give you additional choices.

[Will]

I wouldn't have thought to ask this question here, but the responses to Jon's post have been really helpful to me, so I'll ask.

 

I'd like to have a prepaid cell phone, because I'd use it only when I travel. The greatest proportion of my travel is professional; but because I'm not in business, it isn't that frequent and I hate to pay for something I'm not using. So it's good to know I can get a prepaid phone here in the U.S.

 

My further question, though, is this: Is it possible to get a cellphone that I can use both in the U.S. and in Europe? Some say "No," others say "Yes, but you have to buy it in Europe." I don't know the right answer, and -- frankly -- I'm a babe in the woods when it comes to electronic toys. (Read that as you will.) Thanks in advance.

[Boston Guy]

Will -

 

The answer to your question is a little complicated, since the US is on a mostly-incompatible cell standard. But, yes, you can do it. HOW you do it, though, will depend on how much you need to use the cell phone, whether you want to use it in the US as well, how often you'll be out of the US, which countries you'll be visiting, etc.

 

A few links that might be helpful:

 

http://www.planetomni.com/FAQ_gsm.shtml

http://mobile.msn.com/content/how/gsm.asp

http://www.buyundercost.com/SIM_INTL.shtml

http://www22.verizon.com/about/community/learningcenter/articles/displayarticle1/0%2C4065%2C1023z1%2C00.html

http://www.rentcell.com/gsm-info.htm

 

Enjoy.

 

BG

[topcat]

Will -

 

In the UK such phones are called "Tri Band". They work all over Europe, some parts of Asia/Australasia and in North America. Motorola makes a good-selling model.

[+ deej]

Will, I'll second the "Tri-Band" nomination.

 

A Canadian friend who frequently travels Europe has one. Last I heard, he had to swap out a little "chip" thingie when he finds himself abroad, but that was a couple of years ago. Surely they have phones these days that switch without switching pieces and parts.

 

I'm a little leary of Motorolla with the financial woes they're having but these days who ISN'T having financial woes? x(

 

I'm in a slightly different boat. I'm about to relocate to the LA area and my Motorolla/Sprint PCS phone didn't work worth a damn out there. So I'm up for suggestions for a replacement! (And the phone was taken by burglars just about a week ago x(, which actually forces my hand.)