>One big question about getting a phone with QWERTY keyboard (or “pager” as we call them), is “Will it work when I travel?” The answer will depend on the type of pager you have, the pager’s wireless network type, the carrier you have, and where you are traveling. Answers will vary from “no”, “yes”, to “you will need to rent”, and even “it will cost you lots of money”, and so forth.

Generally speaking, GSM/GPRS is the major international standard. GSM is used in 860 networks in 220 countries throughout the world. The only problem is that in the US/Canada, different frequencies are used (850/1900 MHz) than the rest of the world (900/1800 MHz), meaning your GSM pager will need to be at least tri, or preferably, quad band in order for it to even have a chance to work internationally. You can easily tell if your device is GSM if it requires a SIM card to work.

CDMA (1xRTT, EVDO), while very popular in the US/Canada, is less popular internationally. Your CDMA pager will probably only work within South Korea, and a couple of other places mainly in the Asiatic area. There are some dual radio phones for the CDMA carriers in the US (Sprint/Verizon) that also have a GSM radio/SIM card slot for use when roaming internationally.

In this article I will review the major carriers that DeafPagers.com offers pagers from, and summarize what their international coverage policies are.

Cingular Wireless/”the New AT&T”
Cingular uses the GSM/GPRS standard, so there is a very good chance devices you are using under Cingular will be able to work worldwide in more than 190 countries. More specifically, if your device has tri or quad band GSM, it will work internationally. Most new phones these days include at least tri band GSM with support for higher 2.5 or 3G speeds (EDGE or HSPDA). Popular devices available through Cingular such as the BlackBerry 8800, 8700c, Samsung BlackJack, and Treo 680 & 750 will work internationally. Cingular also offers roaming on cruise ships. Cingular will let you rent a phone if you’re going to a country such as South Korea or Japan that do not have GSM coverage.
For more information regarding Cingular’s international coverage, click here.

Sprint
Sprint uses the CDMA standard for its Vision (1xRTT) and Power Vision (EVDO) offerings in the US. This CDMA standard does not have the global reach of the GSM/GPRS standard, but there are some areas internationally that do work with this carrier’s phones, such as Canada, Mexico, China, India, several countries in south-east Asia, some countries in central/south America, and some islands in the Carribean. Popular devices available through Sprint such as the Treo 700p, 700wx, and BlackBerry 8705e, will work internationally. However Sprint has GSM phones that you can rent if you are going to an international destination that does not have CDMA coverage.
For more information regarding Sprint’s international coverage, click here.

T-Mobile
T-Mobile uses the GSM/GPRS standard, and because they are owned by one of the largest European carriers, Deutsche Telekom, they have excellent EU roaming support. Most T-Mobile devices are able to work worldwide. More specifically, if your device has tri or quad band GSM, it will work internationally. Most new phones these days include at least tri band GSM with support for higher 2.5 or 3G speeds (EDGE or HSPDA). Popular devices available through T-Mobile such as the Sidekick 3, BlackBerry 8800, 8703g, and the Dash have quad-band GSM. T-Mobile, like the other carriers here, allow you to rent a phone if you’re going to a country that isn’t covered by T-Mobile.
For more information regarding T-Mobile’s international coverage, click here.

Verizon Wireless
Verizon uses the CDMA standard for its BroadbandAccess (EVDO) phones, like Sprint. This CDMA standard does not have the global reach of the GSM/GPRS standard, but there are some areas internationally that do work with this carrier’s phones. Popular devices available through Verizon such as the BlackBerry 8700v, Treo 700wx, and Motorola Q can be used in certain areas internationally. Verizon also has a GSM phone rental service for international travelers whose Verizon phone does not work in their destinations. Verizon also offers some special “Global Phones” that have both CDMA and GSM modes which allow you to use the GSM coverage internationally.
Verizon’s international services website has a good overview of what they have to offer internationally. If you want to learn more about your roaming choices, visit Verizon’s international roaming coverage website. Verizon’s roaming covers a good assortment of cruise ships as well. Additionally, here is information regarding Verizon’s international rental program, which is quite extensive, offering international phones, Japanese cell phones, Satellite phones, and international BlackBerries for rent or purchase.

Coverage
CDMA: To see where you can roam globally with a CDMA pager, visit this link.
GSM: To see where you can roam globally with a GSM pager, visit this link (WARNING: large PDF file!!). For more specific coverage information and carriers for a particular country, visit this link.

If you want more information regarding international roaming for the six major US carriers, visit this link, but be warned, the last update to this site was March 2004. You may get better information from the links listed above under specific carriers.

Recommendations
It really does not matter what type of pager you get for traveling internationally, as long as it has quad-band GSM with dual-band UMTS/HSDPA. However, it’s been our experience that the most popular pager here in the US is also a great choice especially if you plan to travel to Europe extensively - and that is the T-Mobile Sidekick 3. It works very well, and you do not even have to get an international SIM card.
Be warned! If you want to avoid excess data/roaming charges, you may want to consider getting or renting a different phone while you travel, so that your US friends do not text/page/IM you all the time while you are abroad. It’s not as cheap as it is here to stay connected to AIM all the time!