Although Sprint does offer international service, the US handsets that they sell are not compatible with their international cell phone service. Therefore, you will have to rent or purchase a cell phone if you want to use Sprint while overseas on business or pleasure. Sprint's international cellular service is probably the most expensive of all the major US carriers and it only makes sense to keep in touch overseas only if Sprint is already your US carrier and you absolutely, positively need to be reachable overseas via your usual Sprint cell phone number. You should investigate Cellular Abroad's solution as an inexpensive way to stay in touch overseas. Even though you will not be able to retain your US number (unless you have it forwarded), you can always leave a message on your voice mail asking people to reach you on your new number.

Here is a breakdown of Sprint's rates for international cell phone use. Upfront, you must pay a $30 activation fee and a $6 monthly fee for at least a one year commitment. Since your Sprint PCS cell phone will only work in a few select places (predominantly, some Caribbean and Central and South American countries), you will need to rent or purchase a GSM cell phone. Please note that currently there almost every international destination uses the GSM system and those that do not are going that direction. In any event, a cell phone rental through Sprint is from $35 for one week to $590 for one year. Sprint also offers a GSM triband cell phone for sale for $495.

Besides the activation, monthly rates and handset rental and purchases costs, you will also be charged for the cell phone usage. The rates for their PCS usage is $0.99 plus roaming rates which range from $1.20 to $5.60 per minute. Exact roaming rates are difficult to pinpoint as they may vary depending on what roaming partner your handset may randomly select in the country to where you are traveling.

Luckily, sort of, most countries in the world now use GSM so when traveling to a GSM country, you will "only" be charged $1.50 per minute, for all your incoming and outgoing calls. At $1.50 per minute on top of all the start up fees, unless your expense account does not have a ceiling or you are going to be using your cell phone strictly for emergencies, your bill can add up fast.

A good way to take control of your international cell phone expenses and to pay the lowest possible rates is to use the Cellular Abroad solution. In short, Cellular Abroad offers a prepaid cell phone solution that offers the same exact rates that the locals pay, including, unlimited free incoming calls for most countries. Please start with theCellular Abroad home page for information on how to make international cellular service affordable.