Things You'll Need:
- PDA phone/device
- International calling and/data plan
- Phone charger
- International adapter
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Step 1
Most PDA devices are made to operate overseas, so just check and make sure yours does too.
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Step 2
Check with your cell phone carrier to see if they have international calling and data plans (for emails and Internet use).
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Step 3
Hours before or even right before you board the flight, call your cell carrier and have them add-on the international data plan to your service. This ensures that upon landing in the foreign country and turning on your phone, the international data plan is firmly intact and you won’t be charged exorbitant fees for usage.
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Step 4
Since most cell carriers don’t really have good international phone rate plans (prices are still on average $1 to $2 per minute, depending on what country you’re traveling to--and sometimes even higher), you should leave your phone turned off unless you need to use it. Otherwise, you might be charged for the first minute for all incoming calls, even if you don’t answer them and have them go to voicemail. This is because the call needs to be routed through the foreign country’s circuitry in order to reach you. In essence, you’re using their airtime, so they’re charging you!
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Step 5
But if you need to keep your phone on in order to receive and send out emails, then at least you’re covered by the international data plan that you had added-on before you left. Depending on the duration of your travels, you’re usually prorated for the data plan, if you're traveling under a month’s time. This turns out to be a much cheaper option to have. You’ll soon see the savings you’ve saved by implementing this plan!
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Step 6
Text messages and Internet surfing generally aren’t covered in data rate plans (check with you carrier), so be careful not to incur a huge bill doing either.
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Step 7
Don’t forget to charge your phone up every night using the international wall adapter so it’s ready to go again!
