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Travelling Smart Overseas With Your Cellphone

Some time ago, I was in charge of developing a business concern on the beautiful island of Sri Lanka while based in the United States. At one point, I needed to send an employee there to set up the quality control program. This employee did not have a GSM cell phone so I lent him mine to use "in case of emergency only". The employee spent time each night chatting with family on the cell phone and came back with a $3,000 phone bill in two short weeks.

If you have a US GSM cell phone and service account, you may find that it will cost you something in the range of $3 per minute to use your phone overseas due to international roaming. As an example, on one trip to Hamburg, I had lost my party at a very large exposition. I used my cell phone to call them and found out that instead of it being a local call, it went to the US and back via their networks thus charging me for two international calls!

A little while later I was on a plane to Sri Lanka. As we were about to land, the gentleman next to me took out a small bag and dumped the contents into his palm. They were SIM chips. I asked him what this was all about and he told me he was looking for his chip for Sri Lanka. He informed me that the chip enabled him to make calls in and from Sri Lanka without incurring the extremely high roaming charges my friend above met with. He traveled throughout Europe and Asia and had chips for each major locale.

I was intrigued by this idea and did some research on what it took to use these local chips in my cell phone. Here is what I found:

Your basic cell phone service provider places a unique serial number into your cell phone. This unique number is called an "ESN" and it is used by the service provider to identify who you are. The service provider uses this number to know where to send phone calls too when someone dials your number.

A GSM phone is a little different animal. "GSM" (Global System for Mobile Communications) is a type of digital mobile phone service. GSM is the most common standard for cell phones in the world. GSM service is common in over 210 countries around the world with over 1.5 billion users. The popularity of GSM makes international roaming very common between cell phone operators, enabling the user to successfully use their phone in many parts of the world. One of the key differences with GSM is that the phone itself is not directly linked to you. Rather, the removable "SIM" (Subscriber Information Module) chip is encoded with a unique serial number which is what now identifies you to the wireless provider.

Having your info embedded into a removable SIM chip rather than into your cell phone is what makes this all so interesting. If you place your SIM chip into a compatible cell phone, you can use that phone as your own because the service provider will recognize the SIM chip inside of it as yours. Conversely, you can buy compatible SIM chips from the country you are about to visit and use them in your phone. This is what allows you to avoid the ugly international roaming charges mentioned above.

Before you can do this, however, you will most likely need to "Unlock" your cell phone. Most wireless service providers "lock" their cell phones which means that they program them to only work with SIM chips issued by their company. Unlocking a cell phone is basically reversing this programming. The process is very easy and quick.

There are many service providers online that specialize in mobile unlocking. Once the cell phone is unlocked, it is permanently unlocked.

Now I wanted a SIM chip that would work in the country I was headed too, again, Sri Lanka. I was told that the best way was to find a cell phone store there in Colombo but this sounded difficult as my schedule would be very busy. While searching for an alternative, I was directed to www.Telestial.com as a source of chips via the internet. I found that I could buy a chip from Sri Lanka with pre-paid minutes on it. They did also offer a great variety of SIM chips from most major destinations around the world. The process was quick and painless and I found the cost to be very reasonable ($79 vs. $3,000!). The only drawback to the system was that this did give me a new phone number which I had to pass out to family and business associates prior to departure.

The trip went well as I was able to coordinate activities with local vendors and business associates without feeling like I had to hang up the phone after two sentences.

About the Author

Ted Anders of ExpressUnlock, LLC has been involved in the Telecommunications industry since 2000. ExpressUnlocks patented software specializes in Nokia unlocking. We hope you find the above article informative and helpful.

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Traveling with a Detailed Map of Spain

The first thing to do after you?ve decided to vacation in Spain is to get a map of the area. If you?re not sure of where to go, or if you?d like to plan your itinerary, a detailed map of Spain is invaluable. It will help you schedule your day trips and calculate driving times, making for a more enjoyable vacation.

If you?re starting in the north, you?ll find a variety of coastal resorts and sleepy fishing villages, each with a different ambiance. The Pyrenees Mountains border Spain and France, and offer the opportunity to enjoy hiking and walking tours. You?ll enjoy immersing yourself in Spanish culture in the small towns, including La Rioja, where you can enjoy the fruits of the industry here: wine production.

Sprinkled throughout the small towns are fascinating points of interest, such as ancient monasteries and cave paintings. The metropolitan areas, including Madrid, the capital of Spain, bustle with activity and house many historical landmarks, including ancient churches and museums. Depending on your interests, you can enjoy natural, outdoor activities, or more fast-paced ones.

The center of the country is populated by several mountain ranges. The Sierra de Guadarrama, Sierra de Gredos and Montes de Toledo are the biggest ranges in this area. These areas are generally only visited when travelers are en route to the other side of the country.

The Mediterranean Sea borders the east side of the country. This region is divided into smaller coastal areas, such as the Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol. Here you?ll find the resort towns of Alicante, Torrevieja and Barcelona. Tourists generally flock here for the beaches, shopping and nightlife. Travelers are also drawn to the wide variety of golf courses in this area.

Whether you?re traveling with a group or on your own, be sure to get a map of the area. Even if you?re with a group, you?ll still find it helpful to have a map, to keep from getting lost. Identify the areas on your map that you?ll be visiting, to ensure you?re on track. If you?re traveling independently, it helps to have a very detailed map. If you?re driving, familiarizing yourself with the lay of the land, the major thoroughfares and the local streets may take some of the stress out of driving in a strange land.

With a detailed map and a brief overview of the popular areas of Spain, you?ll be equipped to plan the vacation that you?ll enjoy.

Being very passionate about spanish culture and Spain, Clinton Maxwell is writing several newsletters on this specific topic. You can see his writings on detailed map of Spain and spanish culture over at his site and different sources for Spain news.

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