VoIP When Overseas

Leave your (U.S.) cell phone at home and stick to VoIP and a local prepaid device when traveling overseas, suggests a Wall Street Journal blog post.

Users wishing to dodge outrageous roaming charges when traveling to foreign lands should first set up an account with a VoIP provider, such as Skype, Gizmo or TruPhone, along with a U.S. landline number. Take the landline number and give to those who need to reach you and leave it on your voicemail.

After arriving in foreign lands, either secure a cheap prepaid cellphone--easier to do on the ground than trying get one in advance over the Internet--or take your U.S. cell phone and pop in a local SIM card, assuming: 1) You have a GSM phone; and, 2) Your U.S. GSM provider gives you an unlocked phone (iPhone users may gnash their teeth at this point).

Once done, log onto your VoIP account and set it up to redirect calls to your new prepaid cell phone number. Costs should be cents per minute, rather than dollars, while State-side callers can reach you on a U.S. "local" number.

For more:
- Ditch your cellphone, use VoIP when going overseas [1], says WSJ

Related articles:
iPhone VoIP Options [2]
TruPhone Buys SIM4travel [3]