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(c) Elliott Publishing.

Rent-A-Cell
ChrisCrossings · July 27, 2000

Q: What companies are good for renting cell phones for European travel?

-- Loraine Lawson

A: As you probably know, cellular phones in the United States are incompatible with the ones used in Europe. Here in the States we're on an analog standard called AMPS - that's shorthand for Advanced Mobile Phone System - while Europe uses digital GSM phones (Global System for Mobile communication, just in case you were wondering).

American digital wireless phones like Sprint's PCS use the GSM standard, but they're on a different frequency, so they don't play nice together. (There are dual-band phones that work on 900 and 1800 MHz - but that's a topic for another column.)

One way around the incompatibility is to rent a cell phone for your visit. I would recommend getting the phone in the United States before you travel. Budget Worldwide rents GSM phones starting at $99 per week and then $15 per day after that.

Other businesses that specialize in overseas phone rentals include Rentcell.com which advertises rates as low as $40 a week or $100 a month, Roberts Worldwide which promises rental phones starting at $40 per week or $125 a month, and Smartcoms.com.

Another popular way to get connected overseas is through a car rental agency. Auto Europe offers wireless phones starting at $59.98 per week or $200 per month. In the past, the company has bundled car rental packages with rental phones, which have proved to be excellent deals.

A note of caution: these rental rates don't include the actual phone calls, which can be quite expensive. Calling the United States from France on one of Auto Europe's rental phones can cost $2 a minute. The rate from Bulgaria is an exorbitant $5.20 per minute. Compare that with calling-card rates, which are often around 50 cents per minute, and a bargain-conscious visitor will probably want to stay wired.

Bottom line: if you have to rent a phone, do it in the United States. Shop around for the best rate before deciding on a unit, and don't forget about the old-fashioned alternative - the standard phone. If you forget to plan ahead, check with your car rental agency when you arrive at your destination.

Christopher Elliott's column appears on Thursdays. All e-mailed questions to ChrisCrossings become property of Ticked.com and may be edited, condensed or republished at the site's discretion. You may reach Elliott at chris@ticked.com. Or visit his home page at http://www.elliott.org.