Although Sprint does offer international cellular service, very few of the cell phones they offer are compatible for international use. If you are a Sprint customer and want to use their service overseas, you will need to either rent a cell phone or buy a cell phone that is compatible for international travel. Sprint rents and sells phones that have GSM capabilities, but if you buy a GSM enabled phone from Sprint, you will have to get the phone unlocked. If you are a Sprint customer, you may be due for an upgrade and therefore get a discount if you decide to purchase a phone.

Please note that Sprint's international roaming can be expensive. Rates start at about $1.00 for Western Europe (Italy, Spain, France, UK, etc.) and go upwards to $5.00 in parts of Africa. Also, 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.

Here is a further breakdown of Sprint's rates for international cell phone use.

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 the Cellular Abroad home page for information on how to make international cellular service affordable.

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