We have standard US issue cell phones (Sprint CDMA phones for what it is worth) and plan to spend time in Italy. We understand that the practical solution is to not bother taking our phones and just get short term rental (2 months) in Italy. What is the best phone solution for Americans traveling in Europe?
Thanks
Much cheaper and simpler to just to buy a pay as you go phone at shop in Italy - not worth renting.
See this thread - and many similar ones - on Trip Advisor.
Don’t know what you should do to go the cheapest – however your personal handset will (almost) definitely not work* in Italy (or the rest of Western Europe at least), as they have GSM networks exclusively.
- Unless your handset is a fancy dual-band (and these do exist, you may want to check,) it is most likely just a fancy paper-weight in Europe.
There are four major frequency bands for GSM coverage. Canada and the USA use bands named GSM1900 and GSM850; Europe, Africa, and Asia use GSM1800 and GSM 900. Other regions of the world, especially the Caribbean and South and Central America, use a mixture of the bands. A few places do not use GSM at all (South Korea and Japan come to mind).
Quadband GSM phones will work in both Europe and the USA. Most tribands will work, but with differing degrees of coverage, depending on whether they include GSM1800 or GSM900 or both. Dualbands must include GSM1800 or GSM900 to work in Europe. A “North American” dualband, which includes only GSM1900 and GSM850, will not work.
Most of the phones being sold by my provider these days are either triband or quadband.
CDMA phones will not work, unless you have one of the few multi-mode phones that also includes GSM900.
BTW, CDMA is not the default standard for US cell phones; it is one of several standards. Others include IS-54 digital, IS-136 digital, and AMPS analogue, but most of these are being replaced. The US market for new phones is roughly half and half CDMA and GSM.