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If you’re thinking of purchasing a “world cell phone”, then there are many important factors which you should consider before proceeding further. The first point you should bear in mind, is to be certain that your cellular phone operates in all three bands and is an unlocked cell phone which can work with any cell phone service provider anywhere in the world. Many of us have undoubtedly faced or undergone cell phone hassles or troubles while traveling abroad. The moment you take off from the United States, your cell phone changes from being a fundamental business tool to a useless crappy device due to the American cell phone system which is incompatible with the GSM system, a universally renowned and adopted network. In this blog, we’ll talk about how to acquire a cellular phone that will operate anywhere in the world. We’ll also give you a review of all the major frequencies at different destinations so next time you’re travelling you can be ready with minimal disruption. 

So the salient and most important question is: Why aren’t all cell phones compatible? Pretty basic you might think, but read on. There are two answers to this question. First answer: There are various cell phone services which use different radio frequencies and programming services. So there’s a major problem if your cellular phone doesn’t receive the frequency and encoding of the local service provider, making it a totally useless toy. Second answer: This is a commercial problem- Your cell phone will only operate on different companies’ services if there is a roaming contract between the service providers, and that’s where you get dinged big time! Having a roaming contract within the US is less problematic than obtaining an international one. If you want to get a cell phone service provider in another country, you should purchase a compatible phone plus a compatible account. You can buy or rent a cell phone either in the US or overseas, but should definitely be one that is internationally compatible in the countries you are visiting.  

Frequency and Compatibility

The great news is that there are GSM networks almost everywhere in the world except for the US and Canada. The GSM type cell phone service was initially at a 900 MHz frequency and has been upgraded to an 1800 MHz frequency. If you own a GSM phone, you can avail of this service in over 212 countries around the world! The United States has some GSM service providers including our leading pioneer T-mobile. The cell phone service is of a different type (CDMA or TDMA, iDEN) along with a different frequency!

Regrettably, the GSM service in the US is in different frequency bands than the rest of the world. All major GSM service providers in the world use 1800 and 900 MHz making it a most frustrating issue! So there’s really no chance of using a 1900 MHz cell phone at 1800 MHz (or vice versa). Now, let’s talk about other countries. Not all countries utilize the ordinary 900/1800 MHz GSM. Exceptions include: Canada, Mexico, Japan, Korea, and some Central/South American countries. These countries might have some limited GSM networks and/or GSM networks at the US 1900MHz frequency.

There are 4 major types of cell phones which operate internationally:

• Multiband Phones

A 'tri-band' or 'quad-band' GSM phone that operates at 900/1800/1900MHz for maximum compatibility.

• Dual Band Phones

A dual band 900/1900 MHz phone works perfectly well on the US GSM network, and on most (but not all) of the international GSM networks.

• Triple Band Phones

These phones operate on international frequencies plus one US frequency or both US frequencies and one international frequency. The latest phones are tri-band. We highly recommend a tri-band phone rather than a dual-band one.

• Quad Band Phones

GSM providers in the US have started “recycling” these earlier frequencies that were first used on original analog cell phone services. These frequencies are in the 850 MHz band. The advantage of these phones is that have a slightly longer range with a lower frequency in comparison to the higher 1900MHz making them practical in rural areas.

So next time you’re ready to fly, reread our blog to get an international phone so you don’t go MIA and alarm your loved ones!

Tags: international cell phone service, cell phones, gsm cell phone, cell phone deals, gsm phone