While Cingular does offer International cell phone service, they seem to have the least amount of roaming partners of all of the major US cell phone providers. Still, the most frequently traveled countries, such as Mexico, Canada and Western Europe are covered by Cingular's international service. There is a handful of countries where the rates are a moderate $1.29 per minute for both in and out calls as well as a handful of countries where the rates are $2.49 per minute but the vast majority of all calls are charged at $1.99 per minute. At an average of two dollars a minute for in and out calls, anything more than using your Cingular cell phone overseas strictly for emergencies is cost prohibitive for most people.

With today's alternatives, the majority of cell phone users who still use Cingular (or their usual domestic cell phone provider) while overseas, are those that absolutely need to maintain their US number everywhere they go and cannot leave an alternative phone number on their voice mail. If you do not mind the expense, in order to use your Cingular service internationally, you must first make sure that your current Cingular cell phone has the appropriate bands for overseas (900 and 1800 Mhz). If not, you will need to obtain a phone - either through Cingular or otherwise (Cellular Abroad has a wide variety of cell phones).

Many people ask if they can use their current Cingular cell phone with our service. Until recently, Cingular has only sold locked phones that were not compatible with other carriers service. However, there are now a select few models that are compatible with other SIM cards as well. If your Cingular phone is an international phone with this "unlocked" capability, you are much better off if you buy one of Cellular Abroad's Prepaid SIM Cards (link /SIMcards.php).

If you cannot use your own phone and do not want to purchase another phone, you can also rent a handset through Cellular Abroad and purchase a SIM card. For more information regarding Cellular Abroad's services, please visit www.cellularabroad.com.