Title: The Best Ways to Get a Cell Phone While Traveling in Europe | USA Today
Headings: The Best Ways to Get a Cell Phone While Traveling in Europe
The Best Ways to Get a Cell Phone While Traveling in Europe
Travel Tips
Buy a Phone In-Store
Buy Prepaid Mobile Online
Auction Sites and Secondhand Stores
Travel Tips Video
Rent a Phone
Alternatives
SIM Card for International Travel
Travel Tips
GSM Technology
Locked vs. Unlocked Devices
Country-Specific Cards
International SIM Card

Content: GSM Technology
The underlying technology that allows you to use your U.S. cell phone on foreign networks is known as the Global System for Mobile Communications, or GSM for short. If your cell phone has a SIM card, you know it's a GSM device -- otherwise, it uses Code Division Multiple Access, or CDMA, a technology that transmits signals and stores information internally. If you have a CDMA phone, you won't be able to use a foreign SIM card in it. Locked vs. Unlocked Devices
U.S. cell phone companies understand the portability inherent in GSM technology -- and, as a result, most restrict or "lock" their devices so that you can only use them on the network of the carrier from whom you purchased it. Overcoming this restriction involves taking your phone to a repair specialist, paying a small fee and collecting your device once it's unlocked, as you must have an unlocked phone to use an auxiliary SIM card. Alternatively, you can purchase an unlocked phone on a third-party site, such as eBay or Craigslist. Country-Specific Cards
The first option you have when traveling is to purchase SIM cards in each country you visit. The primary advantage to exercising this option is that you'll have a local number you can give to hotels, tour guides and anyone you meet while traveling. In some regions, such as Southeast Asia and South America, purchasing a SIM card is extremely cheap -- and you can refill your minutes by purchasing "top-up" cards at convenience stores. Although similar cards and service cost more in Western Europe and Australia, they lack the contractual commitments to which you're accustomed as an American, offering you flexibility and freedom while on the road.