Any US Cell service work in Amsterdam?
 

Or do I need to break out the calling card?

they all do but roaming is gonna cost you a fortune

if you post what service I can check prices what the /min prices are here on a dutch network

I have heard T-Mobile's a good company if you do a lot of overseas travel by comparison to some of the other US providers. I do not have them, nor do a lot of traveling abroad, but they included that in their sale pitch when they jumped me at the mall.


:1orglaugh :1orglaugh

hi daddie :-)

tmbole is a smaller provider here, Id go for Vodafone, theyre pretty big and cheap, 50 eurocents a min to the US, prepaid is expensive, at least a Euro a min to the US

im worried about that as well..i think im going to do calling cards...going to buy one local once i land..for 5 bucks we can probably call anywhere in the world for 3 hours

Tmobile to Vodafone in EU is Euro 1,30/min, Id get a calling card, the roamingcosts are gonna cost an arm and a leg

Tmobile will hit you for a buck a minute, but it does work.

depends on your cellphone, not operator (usually).
If you have quad-band, it should work. Of course the roaming makes it expensive, but if you have a regular dual-band phone, it won't work in europe no matter what roaming deals your operator has with dutch operators.
European cells are 900/1800mhz and the us cells at 850/1900 MHz

bring a US one, cause calling cards arent that common in Holland, never used one here not even sure weve got dutch ones...

just call your carrier and make sure they have roaming agreement with a european carrier. I am with Rogers /ATT in Canada , no problem making or receiving calls. My last bill when I was in Prague and Hungary was under a hundred, I was expecting a lot worst :2 cents:
ps and as TGF said , you do need a quad band phone

yeah gotta have a tri or quid were on a different network.

And check if your AC adapter takes 230 as well... wouldnt be the first American who blew up his laptop or so here...

if you want calling cards you probably have to go to some small (mostly arabic) phone shop/cafe. But that's still better then roaming, I've done it when I had a US cellphone and it cost me a small fortune

Mine's a Samsung SCH-i730 PDA, Dual band (1900/800 MHz digital) on the Verizon network.

hmm, I don't think that'll work.

wont work

Visitors from the USA and Canada

In the USA and Canada the GSM frequency is 1900 MHz. The GSM frequency of mobile networks outside the USA and Canada is 900 MHz or 1800 MHz. If you have a dual band handset (900/1800 MHz or 900/1900 MHz) or a triple band handset (900/1800/1900 MHz) you can use it in the Netherlands. However, if you have a single band handset (1900 MHz) you can not use your handset outside the USA and Canada. It is possible to buy or rent a dual or triple band phone and use your own SIM card.

Sprint has a International option for $4 a month.

I think $4 is very cheap

Correction - mine works here because it's tri-band. Assumed that's what you had, Lens.

dont you have email ? ;)

time to get a new phone, pick up a blackberry 7290 its a quad band and it will do everything. But if you do decide to buy something new , make sure they unlock it , so you Can use it abroad. Most of them are locked because of fraud. I had a tri band phone prior to this and it wouldnt work , the quads will.

and Julius should be the one who knows best :1orglaugh

i travel all over and i believe that T-Mobile GSM tri/quad band phones are the best option for maximum coverage in Europe and Asia

Agreed,

T-Mobile is based on TDMA technology @ 1900MHZ (GSM)
Cingular is based on TDMA technology @ 900MHZ and TDMA @ 1900MHZ
Nextel is based on TDMA technology @ 1700MHZ

Sprint is based on CDMA technology @ 1900MHZ (PCS)
Verizon is based on CDMA technology @ 900MHZ and CDMA @ 1900MHZ

If you have cingular or t-mobile, you can use your phone in other countries, however the carrier has to unlock your phone for international use. This usually requires 3-6 months of service before they will unlock the phones for you. You can purchase unlocked phones from ebay or private parties that are ready to be used overseas.

Once you are over there, you can purchase pre-paid minutes if you have a phone that works on their system. This is usually much cheaper than paying the $1.50 that t-mobile wants to charge me for Australia. I'd be interested to hear what the Amstradam charges are.

Get your phone unlocked at your nearby dirty phone dealer. You can get a chip in AMS for like 15E that will give you a rate of .35E per min local calling. You can get a phone card in AMS from the local dirty phone stores that will let you get cheap calls to the US from the cell.

And SkypeOUT kicks ASS.

T-Mobile works fine. It is not cheap. $.99US per minute. Soon that will be less than 0.35 Euro

I would recommend buying a prepaid cellphone SIMcard in Holland, I'm pretty sure it will fit in your phone ( you'll have a different number though )

most people in the USA dont have triband GSM phones. most people do not even have GSM phones

i dont think Lens is sweatin' a $300 phone bill

Thats what I'm doing, they are selling it on every streetcorner in Amsterdam

Vodafone stores everywhere :thumbsup

Jeezus christ what are you trying to put Lens out of business and have me lose my job? Gee thanks!

I'm on Tmobile that was part of their pitch to me too.

Dont forget that youll have to have a charger that fits European wall plugs. American ones wont work

best is to buy a converter 110/220V so that also the american plugs fit. i have one of those that works both ways so that i can use my stuff in the US. it was like 30 bucks or something like that

tmobile will work. go out and get a sidekick the data is free, .99 per minute to the US, .35 per minute to euro numbers

I've been concerned about that too. I'm suprised that Verizon and others haven't come up with a good and affordable solution for international business travelers especially for people who use devices like that mega-Samsung i730 like Lens's. Anyone have any info on new services and technology coming out soon or in the works?

Oor if you have an unlocked phone you could order one of these SIM Cards and a prepaid time card. Or Order a package with the phone, card and time :thumbsup

Verizon does not work in Europe. Their solution is for you to rent a satellite phone.

T-Mobile, I believe, currently sells 'international' phones that will work in Europe.

bring your VOIP box and phone and plug it into your ethernet port in the hotel ..assuming you have a box, hub/router and hotel Intenet connection :)

Just buy a disposable phone or a prepaid simcard, in the end it's gonna cost you less than your roaming costs :winkwink:

Hey Lens... check out http://www.cingular.com/cingularworld for their info and rates... works for me on my Palm Treo 650 :D

XOXO
Girlie

Just get a prepaid sim card from a local cell provider and use international calling cards.

For in room calling Net2phone or Vonage.

its not gonna be $300, Ive used my phone 2 yrs ago in Egypt, did some browsing called like 10 times, was over Euro 1200 :/