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Rent-a-Cell on the Continent
Ask Chris · May 11, 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, 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 is a travel commentator and author of A Bridge to Nowhere: A Year in the Florida Keys. All e-mailed questions may be edited, condensed or republished at the site's discretion. Ask Chris appears weekly on this site.